2009 Accomplishments

Be sure to check out the accomplishments of Dolores Street's programs in 2009!

Dolores Housing Program
Richard M. Cohen Residence
SF Immigrant Legal & Education Network
Mission SRO Collaborative
Community Planning & Development

Dolores Street Acquires The Dolores Hotel

Dolores Street Community Services recently acquired a 59 until Single Room Occupancy Hotel - coincidentally called The Dolores Hotel - which will provide a next step for our shelter guests in moving into more stable housing.  We'll be beginning rehab of the building in the next few months and hope to have our first residents moving in next Spring.  This will be the first new supportive housing facility to open in the Mission in many years.

New Mission & Vision!

As part of our recent strategic plan, Dolores Street updated our Mission Statement to include the scope of all our new programs and created a Vision Statement as well.  

Mission

Dolores Street Community Services works to prevent homelessness, create affordable housing, build community, and empower low-income residents of San Francisco.  We accomplish this through culturally appropriate neighborhood-based services, education, advocacy, and community organizing.

Vision

We envision a vibrant and diverse San Francisco where multiple cultures, life experiences and contributions are honored, and all people live with dignity and hope.  Our vision is of a just and sustainable community where all residents – regardless of income, immigration or health status – have equal rights and access to resources, and are empowered to fully participate in shaping the City’s future.  Our work toward this vision is guided by the belief that the people most affected by poverty, inequity and injustice should be leaders in creating solutions for the problems they face.

We recently received this wonderful letter from students at Saint Ignatius College Prep and wanted to share it with everyone.

ICE RAIDS 

Hello SF city staff and community supporters:

Thanks to our city, labor and community organizations partnership through the Sanctuary City work – attorneys were present and ready to deal with our residents, families were provided support and we sent a clear message about our city’s commitment to being a city for all.  Since Friday, we continue to hear that ICE is driving around our neighborhoods sending panic to Mission residents. 

We want to thank each of you for your role in the Sanctuary City work.  While we can not stop ICE from violating our city, we can provide some relief to the families impacted. While many have been involved in this effort the offices of Tom Ammiano and Chris Daly, MOCD, DPH and the Mayor’s office have been particularly invaluable in providing support on this issue. United Way also stepped up in a big way by providing a hotline people could call for help.  We have been working with the American Lawyers Association, SFOP, BAIRC, the Interfaith Coalition, the SF Labor Council and countless other groups to support families in need.  

Just this morning we got another couple of folks who walked in requesting legal representation because family members were picked up the Embarcadero last night… it is awful!  Unfortunately we expect more raids to come.  The good news is we will be better prepared. Please keep up the goodwill and support to our immigrant families –they need it now more than ever.  

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call us. 

On behalf of the San Francisco Immigrant Legal and Education Network

Ana C. Perez, Executive Director
Central American Resources Center (CARECEN)

Eric Quezada, Executive Director
Dolores Street Community Services

SF CHRONICLE REACHES NEW LOW
FALSELY BLAMES HOMELESS COALITION FOR FATAL OVERDOSE

- By Jennifer Friedenbach, Coalition on Homelessness

In an outlandish and brazenly dishonest article by Chuck Nevius, columnist for the SF Chronicle, the Coalition on Homelessness citation defense program is blamed for the overdose of James Hill, a man who passed away recently in the San Francisco Library's Main Branch.

Last week I made the mistake of reading one of C.W. Nevius's  columns on homelessness in the Chronicle.  I was so outraged at the column that I made a few calls to other Homeless Service Providers to vent. I was planning to write to the Chronicle but dropped it, however today in the letters to the Editor Someone else wrote a letter that shed some light on the issue.  So I hope it is ok to reprint his letter on our blog. - Eric Quezada

Immigrant Legal & Education Network Update

We’ve been busy the last couple of months preparing for workshops, festivals and presentations. We’ve wrapped up our series at CCSF Downtown campus where we shared resources on what to do if you’re stopped by Immigration Customs Enforcement (I.C.E), what services are available for immigrants and one-on-one consultations with an immigration attorney.

Last weekend, rain or shine, we were out at the Chinese New Year festival talking to folks about immigration issues and handing out lots of brochures on: U-Visa, Tips on Traveling for immigrants and Deportation & Detention. You can download all these brochures in Spanish, Chinese and English on our website, http://www.sfimmigrantnetwork.org.

Next week we’re holding a workshop for families whose relative has been detained by ICE and how you can prepare your family in case of an emergency.

If your organization is interested in holding a workshop on Know Your Rights, please feel free to call any of our organizations.

We’ve got more events coming up, so be sure to check out the website to see what’s next!

Somewhere in the city, people with nice, cushy, leather-covered chairs have decided that chairs for people who are homeless cost too much...

When people can't get a bed at our Dolores Street or other shelters, sometimes they go to Buster's Place on Mission Street. Buster's Place is the only 24-hour drop-in center in San Francisco. For many people, it is a better alternative to being on the streets, and in some cases an alternative to shelter. This is a critical service that should be preserved until an alternative exists. A closure now will overwhelm other shelters and leave dozens of people out in the cold.

The community has to fight (again) to provide homeless communities a chair to sit in. Speak your mind on March 4, 2008, 3 pm, at 101 Grove Street, Room 300 in San Francisco.