The C.L.A.E.R. Project Responds to Slow EMS Response Times to the Southeast Sector

The C.L.A.E.R. Project
1099 Sunnydale Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94134
www.claerproject.org
www.theclaerproject.blogspot.com
TWITTER: TheCLAERProject

**Media Advisory**
9/25/09



Contacts:
Sharen Hewitt, Executive Director, 415-724-4797
Laurel Moeslein 415-694-8355

Yesterday the San Francisco Examiner reported that of the 10 Fire/EMS zones in San Francisco, Zone 9, which encompasses the majority of San Francisco’s Southeast sector, has the slowest response time.

The C.L.A.E.R. Project salutes and continually commends the diligent and heroic work of San Francisco’s firefighter’s and emergency medical staff, who act as first-line respondents for the sick, wounded, and terrified. However, when response times lag we must remember that the victim is not the only one who suffers. If an individual is shot and the ambulance is slow to respond, the neighborhood is victim to this image, and children suffer from PTSD and trauma for years to come. Many of the children living in San Francisco’s Southeast sector have attended far more funerals that graduations, and death is far too commonplace in our neighborhoods. Slow response4 times mean not only more lives are loss, but the culture of death and destruction is more likely to saturate our already vulnerable communities.

Response times in vulnerable neighborhoods should be comparable to those of District 2. Parity is not just something we should hope for- but something that should be absolutely guaranteed.