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!

Standard of Care for Shelters Legislation

Update - The Standard of Care legislation was approved by the Board of Supervisors and signed into law by Mayor Newsom on Friday, March 28^th. Changes are already under way at Dolores Street shelters.

A year ago, I started attending workgroup meetings by the Shelter Monitoring Committee to create a standard of care for shelters. On February 20, 2008, the Standard of Care Legislation was introduced by Supervisor Ammiano at the Budget and Finance Committee. We spoke strongly in favor of the legislation, with only one public comment spoken not in favor of this legislation.

It is a tough argument to make that San Francisco does not have money to support the provision of basic supplies, training and support for improving conditions. Other costly changes to the shelter system are being discussed in the media. At the same time community-based programs are asked to sacrifice unspent money from our budgets, to ameliorate the upcoming budget deficit. We need these standards supported to make shelters a viable alternative to living on the streets.

The hearing on the SOC Legislation will continue on March 5^th at 1 p.m., Legislative Chamber, City Hall, Room 250. We encourage our readers and supporters to contact the Board of Supervisors in favor of this legislation.

For more information contact the Shelter Monitoring Committee, or the Coalition on Homelessness.

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.

I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the new Director of Community Planning and Development.  I have spent the past two years working as the Coordinator for the Mission Anti-displacement Coalition.  Before that I was the project Director for St. Peter's Housing Committee. 

In my new role I will foster the long-term vision of Dolores Street Community Services to develop its capacity to build and manage housing for homeless immigrants and day laborers.  As part of the evolution of the Posada a Casa project, I will be coordinating the campaign to provide permanent and transitional housing to homeless immigrants.  I will regularly update the community on our progress through this website.

At the same time, as the ongoing Coordinator for the Mission Anti-displacement Coalition (MAC), I'll help Dolores Street staff, shelter guests, and residents participate more fully in the Mission District Community Planning Process.   Through this process we hope to gain more affordable housing for low and very low-income residents, promote the kind of economic development that will keep community serving businesses in the Mission and create a neighborhood that is livable and sustainable for immigrants and working families.    

This is both an exciting and challenging time for our immigrant community. In my new capacity I hope to help maintain and expand Dolores Street's leadership role in promoting services, housing, and social justice.   I look forward to meeting and working with all of you.

 -Nick Pagoulatos