Bay Area

San Francisco Opens Linkage Center as Part of Tenderloin Emergency Initiative

“Our work in the Tenderloin requires all of our City departments and community partners working together to address the major challenges we know exist,” said Mayor London Breed. “As part of that work, this Linkage Center will help us create a space for people who are struggling with addiction and other challenges to get immediate support, and then transition into longer term care and housing. This is hard work, and I appreciate everyone joining in partnership to make a difference for the people of the Tenderloin.”

Published

2 years ago

January 23, 2022

Oakland Post

San Francisco Mayor London Breed

Once fully staffed, the Center will serve up to 100 guests at a time connecting people to short- and long-term services, care, and programs

From S.F. Mayor’s Office of Communication

Initial operations commenced at the Tenderloin Linkage Center on Tuesday. The newly opened Tenderloin Linkage Center is an essential component of San Francisco’s Tenderloin Emergency Initiative that is forging a path to promote a thriving community and save lives through overdose prevention and connecting people to care and services.

The center, located at 1172 Market St., will initially operate seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and have reduced capacity due to the impacts of COVID-19 on staffing availability.

The Center will expand to operate 24 hours a day and seven days a week and have the capacity to serve 100 guests at a time.

The Tenderloin Linkage Center is a services-focused location designed to provide a safe, welcoming space for those ready to access San Francisco’s health and human service resources easily and quickly.

Basic services such as hot food; water; hygiene services such as laundry, bathrooms, and showers; personal protective equipment (PPE); and more are available at the Center.

Weekly wellness programs will also be hosted there to provide services like COVID-19 vaccination and testing as well as HIV and Hepatitis C testing.

Additionally, the new Tenderloin Linkage Center will connect people to short- and long-term services, care, and programs. Programs and services include, but are not limited to:

Behavioral health care
Shelter
Transitional housing
Housing assistance
Homeward bound
Sobering, detox and respite
Substance use treatment
Food coordination
Vocational support
Therapy and mentoring
Child and family care
Veteran support

People can self-present to the Center or arrive via vehicle or foot escort from a community partner, if requested.

If City outreach teams, first responders or community service providers encounter people on the street who may benefit from this Center, they can call upon a health or social services partner to provide more information and an escort to the site, if desired. People may come and go freely to and from the Center.

“A drop-in center where people can get off the streets and immediately linked to services, placements and care, without delay or bureaucracy is something we desperately need,” said Supervisor Matt Haney. “The City is facing a deadly, devastating drug epidemic, and we must do everything we can to save lives and provide relief and healing to a part of the city that has been so heavily impacted. The Tenderloin Linkage Center will absolutely support us in doing that.”

“I am optimistic that the new linkage center will provide new and useful services for Tenderloin residents who are battling mental illness and drug addiction,” said Supervisor Hillary Ronen. “I am also watching its success closely to see if it could be converted into a citywide resource as the permanent site of the upcoming Mental Health SF Service Center.”

Tenderloin Linkage Center staff, including escorts, are provided by community-based organizations including HealthRIGHT 360, Urban Alchemy and Project Homeless Connect.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

15 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

6 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”