INTERN AT THE C.L.A.E.R PROJECT
C.L.A.E.R. is looking for undergraduate students to intern during the SPRING 2009/ SUMMER 2009 semester
Looking for Students Interested in:
PUBLIC POLICY
GRASSROOT ORGANIZING
SAN FRANCISCO POLITICS
URBAN POLITICS
ABOUT C.L.A.E.R
CLAER (Community Leadership Academy and Emergency Response) is San Francisco's leading organization providing immediate crisis stabilization for victims of violence. We are there in the moments after a violent crime occurs; assessing needs and helping families navigate through a wide variety of appropriate support services.
WHAT WE DO
Direct Services
San Francisco Mayor's Office of Community Development
San Francisco's Department of Children, Youth and Their Families
Community Capacity-Building
Educational support
Monthly "brown bags" and events
Media engagement
Public Policy Advocacy
Local, state and federal policy development
www.claerproject.org
PLEASE CALL 707-696-7951 or 415-333-3017 for more information.
EMAIL laurel.claer@yahoo.com or lacrecia.claer@yahoo.com
Monday, March 30, 2009
The C.L.A.E.R. Project Responds to the Four Officers Murdered in Oakland
The C.L.A.E.R. Project
1099 Sunnydale Ave.
San Francisco, CA
415.333.3017
Media Release 3/26/09
*Sharen Hewitt, Executive Director 415-724-4794
*Lacrecia Gardner 415-595-1446
*Laurel Moeslein 707-696-7951
We at The C.L.A.E.R. Project extend our most sincere and profound sympathies to the families of the four slain officers of the Oakland Police Department, and also to the Oakland Police Officer’s Association, who lost their colleagues and friends.
As first respondents to homicide and violent crime in a disadvantaged community, we at The C.L.A.E.R. Project are not strangers to death, destruction, and grieving families. We know that at this time the officer’s families need love, support, and above anything else, answers.
This tragedy is horrific, but not unexplainable. Mr. Mixon was a part of a deeply flawed and broken system of ex-offender reentry. The parole board is severely backlogged, with too many cases and not enough agents to manage them. Mr. Mixon’s parole agent manages over 70 cases, so its no wonder that he missed the signals that Mr. Mixon had gone back to his old ways.
Many news reports since the shooting have noted that Mr. Mixon’s parole agent did everything “by the book”. This is a clear and devastating sign that “by the book” is clearly not good enough, and that the parole system as it stands is a major threat to public safety. Like many parolees, Mr. Mixon was allowed to skate through the system and various reentry programs until he finally violated his parole on February 19th. Our overcrowded prisons show that this pattern is not extraordinary, but it fact, is the norm.
The parole system and any ex-offender reentry programs cannot be successful without using a direct and personal model of intervention and prevention like the one used by The C.L.A.E.R. Project. Rather than promote programs that allow participants to meet the absolute bare minimum just to get by, the parole board must find ways to engage ex-offenders through civic participation, job training, anger management, and drug rehabilitation. Without all of these elements we cannot expect parolees to triumph and successfully reenter society.
The C.L.A.E.R. Project is praying for the grieving mothers, sons, and wives of these brave officers. We are also praying for a comprehensive reentry program for ex-offenders, and a subsequent increase in safety for everyone.
1099 Sunnydale Ave.
San Francisco, CA
415.333.3017
Media Release 3/26/09
*Sharen Hewitt, Executive Director 415-724-4794
*Lacrecia Gardner 415-595-1446
*Laurel Moeslein 707-696-7951
We at The C.L.A.E.R. Project extend our most sincere and profound sympathies to the families of the four slain officers of the Oakland Police Department, and also to the Oakland Police Officer’s Association, who lost their colleagues and friends.
As first respondents to homicide and violent crime in a disadvantaged community, we at The C.L.A.E.R. Project are not strangers to death, destruction, and grieving families. We know that at this time the officer’s families need love, support, and above anything else, answers.
This tragedy is horrific, but not unexplainable. Mr. Mixon was a part of a deeply flawed and broken system of ex-offender reentry. The parole board is severely backlogged, with too many cases and not enough agents to manage them. Mr. Mixon’s parole agent manages over 70 cases, so its no wonder that he missed the signals that Mr. Mixon had gone back to his old ways.
Many news reports since the shooting have noted that Mr. Mixon’s parole agent did everything “by the book”. This is a clear and devastating sign that “by the book” is clearly not good enough, and that the parole system as it stands is a major threat to public safety. Like many parolees, Mr. Mixon was allowed to skate through the system and various reentry programs until he finally violated his parole on February 19th. Our overcrowded prisons show that this pattern is not extraordinary, but it fact, is the norm.
The parole system and any ex-offender reentry programs cannot be successful without using a direct and personal model of intervention and prevention like the one used by The C.L.A.E.R. Project. Rather than promote programs that allow participants to meet the absolute bare minimum just to get by, the parole board must find ways to engage ex-offenders through civic participation, job training, anger management, and drug rehabilitation. Without all of these elements we cannot expect parolees to triumph and successfully reenter society.
The C.L.A.E.R. Project is praying for the grieving mothers, sons, and wives of these brave officers. We are also praying for a comprehensive reentry program for ex-offenders, and a subsequent increase in safety for everyone.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
SF Homicide Rate: Putting Names to the Numbers
2009: 10 homicides in the City and County in San Francisco
1. Damija Wells, 17, shot on the unit block of Northridge Road, 11:30 p.m., Hunters Point, 03/05. Died at SFGH. (03/07)
2. Javier Arroyo, 59, shot to death on the 5300 block of Mission Street, 8:30 a.m., the Excelsior. (03/01)
3. Peter Azadian, 57, beaten by two men on Stillman Street, between 2nd and 3d streets, 02/15. Died at SFGH. (02/27)
4. Leticia Hunter, 33, of Sacramento, shot to death, 5 others injured in drive-by shooting at Turk and Taylor Streets, 10:25 p.m., the Tenderloin. (02/23)
5. Myron Edwards, 40, shot to death at Eddy and Laguna Streets, 3:00 p.m., the Western Addition. (02/07)
6. Vanessa Lowe, 39, shot to death in murder-suicide at a motel on the 5000 block of Mission Street, the Excelsior. (01/28)
7. Darren Johnson, 24, shot to death near West Point and Middlepoint Roads, Hunters Point. (01/26)
8. Leo Jia Jian Yu, 23, shot to death at Pierce and Turk Streets, 1:15 a.m., Western Addition. (01/22)
9. Darnell Curry, 31, stabbed at Turk and Jones Street, 5:30 p.m., the Tenderloin. Died at SF General Hospital. (01/14)
10. Ryosuke Yoshioka, 59, stabbed to death in the Office Max parking garage at Geary Boulevard and Arguello Street, 2:45 p.m., the Richmond. (01/07)
The C.L.A.E.R. Project knows that the homicide rate is more than just numbers. These deaths mean grieving mothers, children, families and friends. When responding to violence and murder we must remember the human component of crime. Victims of homicide leave behind broken hearted families who need our support.
1. Damija Wells, 17, shot on the unit block of Northridge Road, 11:30 p.m., Hunters Point, 03/05. Died at SFGH. (03/07)
2. Javier Arroyo, 59, shot to death on the 5300 block of Mission Street, 8:30 a.m., the Excelsior. (03/01)
3. Peter Azadian, 57, beaten by two men on Stillman Street, between 2nd and 3d streets, 02/15. Died at SFGH. (02/27)
4. Leticia Hunter, 33, of Sacramento, shot to death, 5 others injured in drive-by shooting at Turk and Taylor Streets, 10:25 p.m., the Tenderloin. (02/23)
5. Myron Edwards, 40, shot to death at Eddy and Laguna Streets, 3:00 p.m., the Western Addition. (02/07)
6. Vanessa Lowe, 39, shot to death in murder-suicide at a motel on the 5000 block of Mission Street, the Excelsior. (01/28)
7. Darren Johnson, 24, shot to death near West Point and Middlepoint Roads, Hunters Point. (01/26)
8. Leo Jia Jian Yu, 23, shot to death at Pierce and Turk Streets, 1:15 a.m., Western Addition. (01/22)
9. Darnell Curry, 31, stabbed at Turk and Jones Street, 5:30 p.m., the Tenderloin. Died at SF General Hospital. (01/14)
10. Ryosuke Yoshioka, 59, stabbed to death in the Office Max parking garage at Geary Boulevard and Arguello Street, 2:45 p.m., the Richmond. (01/07)
The C.L.A.E.R. Project knows that the homicide rate is more than just numbers. These deaths mean grieving mothers, children, families and friends. When responding to violence and murder we must remember the human component of crime. Victims of homicide leave behind broken hearted families who need our support.
Some S.F. African American history landmarks
Leslie Fulbright, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, February 16, 2009
San Francisco's rich African American history extends throughout the city, from Nob Hill to the Ingleside Terrace neighborhood. To celebrate Black History Month, we asked local historian John William Templeton to give us a guide to some of the city's most interesting sites. Some are still standing; others are commemorated with plaques or monuments.
Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples
Address: 2041 Larkin St.
Built: 1907
History: Opened at this site in 1944, this church had the first integrated and interfaith congregation in the country. It was led by Howard Thurman, who came to San Francisco from Howard University, and the Rev. Alfred Fisk. Many of its members were African Americans who came from Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas for jobs in the defense industry. Thurman, also an author and educator, wrote his seminal book, "Jesus and the Disinherited," while living in San Francisco. Published in 1949, it influenced many in the civil rights movement, and Martin Luther King Jr. is said to have carried a copy with him at all times.
Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church
Address: 2135 Sutter St.
Built: 1905
History: Run by the Rev. George Bedford, this church was a political center for the African American community's growth in the Western Addition. Bedford was instrumental in getting ministers involved in demonstrations to demand jobs on Fillmore Street in the 1940s and '50s. In the 1960s, he supported the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) sit-ins and backed the demonstrations on Van Ness Avenue's Auto Row. Numerous protests at a Cadillac dealership resulted in the hiring of the first black salesman. In 1968, his church hosted Jim Jones in an interracial worship after King's assassination. By 1972, Bedford was opposing Jones, accusing him of stealing members from his and other Western Addition churches.
Pullman Hotel
Address: 236 Townsend St.
Built: 1909
History: Now converted into an office park, the hotel was near the Southern Pacific Railroad and housed many African Americans who were restricted to jobs as porters. From the 1880s to the 1940s, all the porters on the passenger cars were black and the hotel was one of the few that allowed African Americans. After numerous demonstrations, San Francisco's hotels integrated in 1964.
Home of Cecil Poole
Address: 90 Cedro St.
Built: 1911
History: Attorney Cecil Poole and his family were the first African Americans to move into the Ingleside Terrace neighborhood in the 1950s. In 1958, the San Francisco assistant district attorney's home was the site of a cross burning. Poole was not intimidated and went on to become the first African American U.S. attorney in San Francisco - and the continental United States - and later the first African American federal judge in Northern California.
California Savings and Land Association
Address: 465 California St.
Built: 1857
History: The bank, in what is now the Merchants Exchange Building, was the first African American-owned bank in the country. Its president, Henry Collins, was one of California's wealthiest black leaders and owned land in San Francisco. He was also part of the movement to help runaway slaves gain freedom.
First A.M.E. Zion Church
Address: 2163 Golden Gate Ave.
Built: 1852
History: The church, originally on Stockton Street, is where black businessmen Mifflin Gibbs and Peter Lester hosted a meeting in 1858 to discuss the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, which declared that all runaway slaves must return to their masters. Faced with intense discrimination in California, more than 800 black people decided at that meeting to leave San Francisco and seek a better life in Vancouver, British Columbia. The church was destroyed during the earthquake of 1906 and opened again on Geary Street in 1915. Then, redevelopment took that building and First A.M.E. opened in its current location in 1960 under L. Roy Bennett, a pastor who relocated from Alabama, where he was president of the Montgomery Improvement Association before King took the helm.
Leidesdorff Street
Address: Parallel to and between Montgomery and Sansome streets, from Pine to Clay streets.
History: The short street is named after black pioneer William Alexander Leidesdorff. Originally from the Virgin Islands, he sailed into San Francisco in 1841, became a prominent businessman and built the city's first hotel. He was on the first San Francisco City Council, was the city's first treasurer, and was a leader in changing the name of San Francisco from Yerba Buena.
Madame C.J. Walker Home for Girls
Address: 2066 Pine St.
Built: 1878
History: The home was opened in 1921 by Irene Bell Ruggles, president of the California Federation of Colored Women's Clubs and named after a cosmetics entrepreneur who was the first female African American millionaire. Black women were not allowed access to the YWCA at that time, so the home offered lodging and job referrals. There was also a social hall and kitchen for community events. The home provided a community for black women and children until 1972, when it was relocated to Hayes Street.
Tribute to Mary Ellen Pleasant
Address: Tribute on the southwest corner of Bush and Octavia streets.
Arrived: April 1852
History: Pleasant was a former slave who became a successful abolitionist and businesswoman, as well as a link in the Underground Railroad. She helped bring the movement to California during the Gold Rush era. Known as mother of human rights in California, she fought many court battles. After being kicked off a city streetcar in 1866, she argued against laws prohibited black people from riding them. The Pleasant vs. North Beach and Mission Railroad Co. case led to the outlaw of segregation on public transit.
Purcell's So Diff'rent Nightclub
Address: 550 Pacific St.
Built: 1906
History: Purcell's was the Barbary Coast's most famous black dance hall. It was one of the many jazz clubs frequented by African Americans along the waterfront area because they offered integrated audiences and performers. There were eight clubs owned and operated by black entrepreneurs that still stand. It was one of the first buildings erected after the earthquake and fire. It was owned by Lew Purcell and drew many musicians from New Orleans. It is said to be where Al Jolson first learned to dance the Texas Tommy.
E-mail Leslie Fulbright at lfulbright@sfchronicle.com.
Leslie Fulbright, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, February 16, 2009
San Francisco's rich African American history extends throughout the city, from Nob Hill to the Ingleside Terrace neighborhood. To celebrate Black History Month, we asked local historian John William Templeton to give us a guide to some of the city's most interesting sites. Some are still standing; others are commemorated with plaques or monuments.
Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples
Address: 2041 Larkin St.
Built: 1907
History: Opened at this site in 1944, this church had the first integrated and interfaith congregation in the country. It was led by Howard Thurman, who came to San Francisco from Howard University, and the Rev. Alfred Fisk. Many of its members were African Americans who came from Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas for jobs in the defense industry. Thurman, also an author and educator, wrote his seminal book, "Jesus and the Disinherited," while living in San Francisco. Published in 1949, it influenced many in the civil rights movement, and Martin Luther King Jr. is said to have carried a copy with him at all times.
Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church
Address: 2135 Sutter St.
Built: 1905
History: Run by the Rev. George Bedford, this church was a political center for the African American community's growth in the Western Addition. Bedford was instrumental in getting ministers involved in demonstrations to demand jobs on Fillmore Street in the 1940s and '50s. In the 1960s, he supported the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) sit-ins and backed the demonstrations on Van Ness Avenue's Auto Row. Numerous protests at a Cadillac dealership resulted in the hiring of the first black salesman. In 1968, his church hosted Jim Jones in an interracial worship after King's assassination. By 1972, Bedford was opposing Jones, accusing him of stealing members from his and other Western Addition churches.
Pullman Hotel
Address: 236 Townsend St.
Built: 1909
History: Now converted into an office park, the hotel was near the Southern Pacific Railroad and housed many African Americans who were restricted to jobs as porters. From the 1880s to the 1940s, all the porters on the passenger cars were black and the hotel was one of the few that allowed African Americans. After numerous demonstrations, San Francisco's hotels integrated in 1964.
Home of Cecil Poole
Address: 90 Cedro St.
Built: 1911
History: Attorney Cecil Poole and his family were the first African Americans to move into the Ingleside Terrace neighborhood in the 1950s. In 1958, the San Francisco assistant district attorney's home was the site of a cross burning. Poole was not intimidated and went on to become the first African American U.S. attorney in San Francisco - and the continental United States - and later the first African American federal judge in Northern California.
California Savings and Land Association
Address: 465 California St.
Built: 1857
History: The bank, in what is now the Merchants Exchange Building, was the first African American-owned bank in the country. Its president, Henry Collins, was one of California's wealthiest black leaders and owned land in San Francisco. He was also part of the movement to help runaway slaves gain freedom.
First A.M.E. Zion Church
Address: 2163 Golden Gate Ave.
Built: 1852
History: The church, originally on Stockton Street, is where black businessmen Mifflin Gibbs and Peter Lester hosted a meeting in 1858 to discuss the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, which declared that all runaway slaves must return to their masters. Faced with intense discrimination in California, more than 800 black people decided at that meeting to leave San Francisco and seek a better life in Vancouver, British Columbia. The church was destroyed during the earthquake of 1906 and opened again on Geary Street in 1915. Then, redevelopment took that building and First A.M.E. opened in its current location in 1960 under L. Roy Bennett, a pastor who relocated from Alabama, where he was president of the Montgomery Improvement Association before King took the helm.
Leidesdorff Street
Address: Parallel to and between Montgomery and Sansome streets, from Pine to Clay streets.
History: The short street is named after black pioneer William Alexander Leidesdorff. Originally from the Virgin Islands, he sailed into San Francisco in 1841, became a prominent businessman and built the city's first hotel. He was on the first San Francisco City Council, was the city's first treasurer, and was a leader in changing the name of San Francisco from Yerba Buena.
Madame C.J. Walker Home for Girls
Address: 2066 Pine St.
Built: 1878
History: The home was opened in 1921 by Irene Bell Ruggles, president of the California Federation of Colored Women's Clubs and named after a cosmetics entrepreneur who was the first female African American millionaire. Black women were not allowed access to the YWCA at that time, so the home offered lodging and job referrals. There was also a social hall and kitchen for community events. The home provided a community for black women and children until 1972, when it was relocated to Hayes Street.
Tribute to Mary Ellen Pleasant
Address: Tribute on the southwest corner of Bush and Octavia streets.
Arrived: April 1852
History: Pleasant was a former slave who became a successful abolitionist and businesswoman, as well as a link in the Underground Railroad. She helped bring the movement to California during the Gold Rush era. Known as mother of human rights in California, she fought many court battles. After being kicked off a city streetcar in 1866, she argued against laws prohibited black people from riding them. The Pleasant vs. North Beach and Mission Railroad Co. case led to the outlaw of segregation on public transit.
Purcell's So Diff'rent Nightclub
Address: 550 Pacific St.
Built: 1906
History: Purcell's was the Barbary Coast's most famous black dance hall. It was one of the many jazz clubs frequented by African Americans along the waterfront area because they offered integrated audiences and performers. There were eight clubs owned and operated by black entrepreneurs that still stand. It was one of the first buildings erected after the earthquake and fire. It was owned by Lew Purcell and drew many musicians from New Orleans. It is said to be where Al Jolson first learned to dance the Texas Tommy.
E-mail Leslie Fulbright at lfulbright@sfchronicle.com.
The C.L.A.E.R. Project Supports Mayor Newsom
The C.L.A.E.R. Project
1099 Sunnydale Ave.
San Francisco, CA
415.333.3017
Media Release 3/23/09
*Sharen Hewitt, Executive Director 415-724-4794
*Lacrecia Gardner, Executive Assistant 415-595-1446
*Laurel Moeslein, Policy Associate 707-696-7951
The C.L.A.E.R. Project wishes to express their support for Mayor Gavin Newsom’s campaign for Governor of California.
Mayor Gavin Newson has been a beacon of hope for the city of San Francisco. Six years into his mayorship Gavin Newsom continues to serve the Southeast sector of San Francisco, specifically in the areas of homelessness, healthcare, and neighborhood development.
Mayor Newsom has brought San Francisco into the 21st century. For example, this year Mayor Newsom launched the "Network of Community Networks" plan that makes free wireless networks available to over 2,000 units at San Francisco Housing Authority developments, including Sunnydale.
Mayor Newsom’s administration has also been a pioneer of green leadership. In partnership with current White House Green Jobs Advisor, Van Jones, and his organization, Green For All, Mayor Newsom has created and promoted green collar jobs in an attempt to broaden options for San Francisco’s workforce and lift people out of poverty.
Mayor Newsom has responded to years and years of benign neglect of Southeast neighborhoods. In 2008 he was able to secure $82 million in federal funding for the toxic cleanup of the Hunters Point Shipyard superfund site. By addressing this environmental blight, Mayor Newsom has proved his commitment to creating a healthy and safe Bayview Hunter’s Point.
However, no politician is perfect. Mayor Newsom’s handling of the development of Bayview Hunter’s Point is not completely without error. The homicide rates for the past six years have not been acceptable, but Mayor Newsom has tried from his early days to understand this phenomenon, and address the root causes of violence. However, we must remember that no elected official can be totally judged on a single issue.
Overall, Mayor Newsom has been a blessing to the people of San Francisco. Gavin Newsom stands for the kind of leadership that the State of California needs.
1099 Sunnydale Ave.
San Francisco, CA
415.333.3017
Media Release 3/23/09
*Sharen Hewitt, Executive Director 415-724-4794
*Lacrecia Gardner, Executive Assistant 415-595-1446
*Laurel Moeslein, Policy Associate 707-696-7951
The C.L.A.E.R. Project wishes to express their support for Mayor Gavin Newsom’s campaign for Governor of California.
Mayor Gavin Newson has been a beacon of hope for the city of San Francisco. Six years into his mayorship Gavin Newsom continues to serve the Southeast sector of San Francisco, specifically in the areas of homelessness, healthcare, and neighborhood development.
Mayor Newsom has brought San Francisco into the 21st century. For example, this year Mayor Newsom launched the "Network of Community Networks" plan that makes free wireless networks available to over 2,000 units at San Francisco Housing Authority developments, including Sunnydale.
Mayor Newsom’s administration has also been a pioneer of green leadership. In partnership with current White House Green Jobs Advisor, Van Jones, and his organization, Green For All, Mayor Newsom has created and promoted green collar jobs in an attempt to broaden options for San Francisco’s workforce and lift people out of poverty.
Mayor Newsom has responded to years and years of benign neglect of Southeast neighborhoods. In 2008 he was able to secure $82 million in federal funding for the toxic cleanup of the Hunters Point Shipyard superfund site. By addressing this environmental blight, Mayor Newsom has proved his commitment to creating a healthy and safe Bayview Hunter’s Point.
However, no politician is perfect. Mayor Newsom’s handling of the development of Bayview Hunter’s Point is not completely without error. The homicide rates for the past six years have not been acceptable, but Mayor Newsom has tried from his early days to understand this phenomenon, and address the root causes of violence. However, we must remember that no elected official can be totally judged on a single issue.
Overall, Mayor Newsom has been a blessing to the people of San Francisco. Gavin Newsom stands for the kind of leadership that the State of California needs.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
C.L.A.E.R.'s response to Obama's stimulus package
In evaluating the recently passed economic stimulus project, The Community Leadership and Emergency Response (C.L.A.E.R.), and the Sunnydale community, can’t help but wonder when we will see a comprehensive anti-violence package. The Obama stimulus plan will not create jobs quickly enough to end the bloodshed in our community.
As we enter this New Year, the city of San Francisco has already seen six homicides. The current economic crisis, coupled with the lack of jobs and adequate housing for our community, creates high tension in San Francisco’s Southeast sector, and this tension leads to increased violence. Mother’s lose sons, babies lose fathers, and young men lose their lives. An economic stimulus package has no relevance to those who are dead. This package does not provide our community with sufficient employment opportunities, job training, or a chance at an education.
As drug addiction, AIDS, gun violence, and lack of safe housing threaten the urban community, we at the CLAER project demand the immediate announcement of an Obama Administration anti-violence plan. The health of the family unit, and the safety of our community hangs in the balance.
As we enter this New Year, the city of San Francisco has already seen six homicides. The current economic crisis, coupled with the lack of jobs and adequate housing for our community, creates high tension in San Francisco’s Southeast sector, and this tension leads to increased violence. Mother’s lose sons, babies lose fathers, and young men lose their lives. An economic stimulus package has no relevance to those who are dead. This package does not provide our community with sufficient employment opportunities, job training, or a chance at an education.
As drug addiction, AIDS, gun violence, and lack of safe housing threaten the urban community, we at the CLAER project demand the immediate announcement of an Obama Administration anti-violence plan. The health of the family unit, and the safety of our community hangs in the balance.
C.L.A.E.R.'s response to budget cuts in San Francisco
Media Advisory
March 5, 2009
Press Contacts
Sharen Hewitt, Executive Director, C.L.A.E.R. Project; cell 415-724-4797
Elisha Rochelle, Team Leader Coordinator, C.L.A.E.R. Project; cell 415-704-5634
Laurel Moeslein, Public Policy Associate, C.L.A.E.R. Project; 707-696-7951
The C.L.A.E.R. Project would like to thank the Mayor’s Office of Community Investment for including our program in the preliminary recommendations for the Community Development Block Grant, and for their continued support of the work we do in Visitacion Valley.
However, it must be noted that during times of economic struggle, disadvantaged neighborhoods like Visitacion Valley should see an INCREASE in funding and services, not a DECREASE.
When the economy suffers, underserved communities like Sunnydale are hit the hardest. Jobs are lost, crime increases, and already suffering schools lose even more of their precious funding. 2009 has already seen 11 homicides in the city of San Francisco. A majority of those homicides have occurred in Visitacion Valley.
C.L.A.E.R. is one of the most economically efficient non-profits in the city of San Francisco. We serve over 700 people, and spend a mere .68 cents per individual. With just this .68 cents we provide after school programs, career and housing counseling, educational programs for children and adults, and a Latino clinic that focuses on breaking down cultural barriers.
As we talk about the San Francisco stimulus package, the Community Development Block Grant recommendations, and the city budget, let’s not forget the families living in Visitacion Valley. Please remember that we are here, and our families are suffering.
SF Homicide Rates
2007: 98 homicides in the City and County of San Francisco
2008: 99 homicides in the City and County of San Francisco
2009: 10 homicides in the City and County in San Francisco
A mere two and a half months into 2009 we have already seen 10 homicides, the majority of which have been located in Visitacion Valley. Of those 10 homicides, 7 remain unsolved, with no suspect in custody.
All of the 2009 murders in the Southeast sector remain unsolved.
Who We Are
The Community Leadership Academy and Emergency Response (C.L.A.E.R) is located in Visitacion Valley. The program helps people who have lost family and friends to violence-- specifically street violence-- or have been attacked themselves or witnessed assaults on others. While we serve the San Francisco community as a whole, our main focus is serving the women and families living in Sunnydale public housing. C.L.A.E.R. serves over 700 individuals.
C.L.A.E.R. is dedicated to the following activities:
- Increasing civic participation and social capital for residents of public housing and disadvantaged communities
- Public policy analysis and advocacy that helps to create a public discourse on the disproportionate effect of violence on minority communities in San Francisco, and specifically the Southeast sector
- Attacking the residual effect of violence on women and their families
- Providing support to women who have lost a loved one to violence
- Addressing the effects of long-term and generational depression on women and families, and specifically connecting those in need of counseling to therapists and other mental health professionals
The staff of C.L.A.E.R. is a group of women who work tirelessly to change and heal the neighborhoods in which they live. 98% of the staff lives in public housing in San Francisco's Southeast sector. Our motto is "Yes we can, Yes we have, and yes we will".
Visit our website for more information: www.claerproject.org
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