Poder SF

People-Powered Solutions. Change and Transformation.

Updates

Meet our Promotora, Maria Elena Ramos!

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After the outcome of the 2016 November Election, our immigrant communities must remain calm, informed, and prepared more than ever. In the coming year, it will be important to share any new information that can support our communities as well as refresh ourselves of existing laws already in place to help. One in particular is the Language Access Ordinance (LAO) which ensures that all city departments in San Francisco provide services in the three certified languages: Spanish, Chinese, and Tagalog.

Our Promotora, Maria Elena Ramos, has done an amazing job outreaching to our immigrant communities in the Mission and Excelsior District around the LAO. She first became involved with PODER 7 years ago shortly after moving to the U.S. and settling in the Excelsior District. Maria Elena describes herself as “una mujer luchadora y vengo de El Salvador” and she proves this through her activism and strong will to help her community. Working with our Promotora has given us the opportunity to expand our community education efforts and speak with over 500 people in 2016.

We will continue our community engagement work so that our immigrant and monolingual communities stay prepared and informed. With our promotora we will continue to share information on linguistic rights in San Francisco so we can all access the services we need, in a language we understand. Come by our office to find out about workshops near you lead by our warrior promotora, Maria Elena Ramos !

Pa’ lante, Compañeros!

Maria Elena + PODER

How did your legislator score on Environmental Justice in 2016?

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The California Environmental Justice Alliance is just released their 4th Environmental Justice Scorecard today for the 2016 Legislative Session — the only one in the state to assess how well California’s elected officials supported actions to address environmental issues that impact low-income communities and communities of color.

For the first time ever, CEJA has also released an Environmental Justice Agency Assessment including EJ Principles for policy implementation, with an analysis of how state regulatory agencies, which play such a powerful role in protecting low-income communities and communities of color, can improve their commitment to and inclusion of environmental justice within policy implementation.

As environmental justice communities brace to be hit first and worst by attacks under the Trump administration, it is more important than ever that we lift up the values and principles that we must see from all our elected official in this new era.

Read the full EJ Scorecard and EJ Agency Assessment here.

1296 Shotwell Granted Affordable Housing Bonus Program Height Increase

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 2, 2016

1296 Shotwell Granted Affordable Housing Bonus Program Height Increase
Sets precedent as first-ever height increase for 100 percent affordable housing in San Francisco

San Francisco, Calif. — The Mission District’s housing crisis has been well documented by now, but its impact on seniors is often overlooked. To create housing stability for such vulnerable community members, in the fall of 2015 the City had granted the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) and Chinatown Community Development Center (Chinatown CDC) the right to develop a property at 1296 Shotwell Street that would provide affordable-housing apartment rentals exclusively for Mission seniors. The current site is an auto repair shop.

To maximize units, the developers sought an Affordable Housing Bonus Program (AHBP) increase to 85 feet. The Planning Commission yesterday unanimously approved this height increase, setting a precedent as the first time this has ever been done for a 100 percent affordable-housing development in San Francisco. The larger development at 1296 Shotwell can now provide an opportunity to bring 94 affordable apartment rentals to the Mission – an opportunity that has not been available for more than 10 years.

Said MEDA’s Senior Project Manager Elaine Yee, “We want to thank the many community members who came to the Planning Commission meeting to voice their support, plus the 600+ neighbors who signed a petition in favor of this height increase. This is an important win for our seniors, for the neighborhood and for affordable housing in general.”

Community-based organization PODER, spearheaded by Oscar Grande, helped the developers build support for this development, which was designed by renowned Herman Coliver Locus Architecture. This firm’s innovative design — incorporating neighbors’ feedback from community meetings — will ensure that this nine-story structure will seamlessly blend with the neighborhood.

San Francisco Planning Commissioner Myrna Melgar, who voted in favor of the height increase, explained her reasoning as follows: “I am so pleased that the Commission unanimously approved this wonderful project.  It is a small but significant downpayment on the affordable-housing deficit that the Mission has been carrying for some time. We, as a City, have an obligation to our elders — and all of our residents — who have been not just left behind but actually displaced by our recent prosperity.  I hope to see many more projects like this in the near future, and am grateful to MEDA and other affordable-housing developers for stepping up.”

The development at 1296 Shotwell is slated to open in 2019 or 2020.

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About Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA)
Rooted in the Mission and focused on San Francisco, MEDA’s mission is to strengthen low- and moderate-income Latino families by promoting economic equity and social justice through asset building and community development.
medasf.org

About Chinatown Community Development Center (Chinatown CDC)
The mission of the CCDC is to build community and enhance the quality of life for San Francisco residents.
chinatowncdc.org

About PODER
PODER’s mission is to organize with Latino immigrant families and youth to put into practice people-powered solutions that are locally based, community led and environmentally just.
podersf.org

About Herman Coliver Locus Architecture
Herman Coliver Locus Architecture has been nationally recognized for its work on affordable housing, schools and sacred spaces for nonprofits, as well as homes for private clients.
hclarchitecture.com

We Love Our Elders: Fran & Iris

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Name: Fran Taylor & Iris Biblowitz
Ages: 67 and 70
Born in: Hyattsville, Md. & Jamaica, N.Y.
Current Neighborhood: Mission

Why did you move to San Francisco?
I met Iris in Boston over 40 years ago, not long after in 1976 we both moved to San Francisco in a beat up old station wagon with all our stuff and not much money. We came out here because we heard that the City was racially and ethnically diverse, there were great political groups, and it provided a refuge for LGBTQ people like us.

What do you love about the Mission District?
Fran and I have lived in the Mission for 40 years in mostly rent-controlled apartments. We stayed here because the rents were cheap, we are walking distance to public transportation, and real close to our work and the shops we like. We know our neighbors; we talk to them at the laundromats, bus stops, and on the streets. We’ve gotten to know our community and our neighbors over many many years.

Seniors like us are important in a community. We have been here for the longest time, we have historic memory. We can tell you where the old appliance store used to be, or which family lived at that home on the corner before they got kicked out, before the high rents and gentrification. We have been part of creating a supportive community over the years. We see familiar faces at protests, we see the grandmas at community activities, and we are there for each when we are sick. As a nurse I have taken care of my neighbors, I have taken their blood pressure and provided advice.

Do you feel that you are you at risk of displacement?
There are still many of our old neighbors around us, but we all feel vulnerable that we can be evicted.
Landlords can decide to sell at anytime and cash in on all new tech money and luxury condos. I spent years taking care of people at the local shelters and churches, like Santa Maria. Two-thirds of the people that go to shelters are seniors or people with disabilities.

Why does the Mission need affordable housing for seniors?
You start to think about what is going to happen to people like Iris or me, as we get older, and things get harder for us. I ask myself, where will I go? I don’t have the energy to start over. The Mission is what I know, it’s my neighborhood… this isn’t the time in our lives to change everything and leave our community.

The Mission needs its elders and children to remain and thrive. The City is not just a place to make your money. We have worked and contributed to this City, we have earned our rest and care. We contributed to society all these years, now it’s time for society to give back. Now is the time because we are in a desperate situation, people in tents, on the streets, Latinos and African American families being forced out to Vallejo. We are losing the soul of our City.
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Do you support affordable housing for seniors in the Mission?
Please sign our petition in support of 1296 Shotwell 100 percent affordable-housing rentals for seniors.

We Love Our Elders: Amelia Andrade


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Name: Amelia Andrade
Born in: Mexico
Current Neighborhood: Mission (Navigation Center- Homeless shelter)
Ages: 62 years old

Why did you make San Francisco your home?

I came from Mexico looking for a better future. I came to the Mission, but was unable to find a place to stay because of the high rents.

What is your current living situation?

Right now I am homeless and looking for a place to sleep every night. I have a medical condition that requires a surgery, but without a stable place to live, I need to postpone my medical procedure.

Are you at risk of displacement?

I am in the Navigation Center. I find that better than the shelters or living on the street.

Why does the Mission need affordable housing for seniors?
There are many seniors in the shelters coming from the street. Most of the seniors are in vulnerable situations and getting worse because of health conditions. The City has the moral obligation to house them. Most of the seniors were displaced because of increases in rents or evictions by landlords.

What would you ask City leaders/politicians to do to help with the housing crisis?
Build housing that seniors can afford. We request more help because of our fragile condition. Seniors should not have to live on the streets.

Sign our petition in support of 100% affordable homes for our seniors at 1296 Shotwell

Tu Voto = Tu Voz

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Vote on Tuesday, November 8, 2016!

This November, we have the opportunity to vote for Affordable Housing, Good Government, Funding for Schools and City Services and Less Criminalization.

Get your bilingual San Francisco Rising Voter Guide here.

PODER is a founding member of San Francisco Rising, an electoral alliance that builds the power of working class communities of color in San Francisco!

We support the Housing Forward SF housing affordability slate:

Yes on Prop C to preserve affordable housing!

Yes on Prop M to create transparency for housing and development decisions!

No on Props P and U – say no to real estate developer giveaways!

Finally, check out the recommendations on statewide propositions by Bay Rising, our regional civic engagement and grassroots power building alliance. The voter guide is here.

Vote!