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SF Expands Its Street Violence Intervention Program

New Community Safety Teams will work at building racial solidarity while also increasing public safety
By - posted 3/26/2021 No Comment

San Francisco just announced that it will expand the Street Violence Intervention Program in partnership with API non-profit organizations with new community safety teams in several neighborhoods, and extend a program to accompany seniors to medical and personal appointments.

San Francisco just announced new efforts to advance public safety in San Francisco and provide targeted support to members of San Francisco’s Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community. The first is an expanded community safety teams program that will provide outreach, support, and engagement in key neighborhood corridors throughout the City. The second is the extension of a program to accompany seniors to medical and personal appointments.

Community Safety Teams Program

Mayor Breed is announcing a new initiative to create community safety teams that will serve as a proactive presence providing outreach, support, and engagement in key neighborhood corridors throughout the City. This effort will be accomplished through an expansion of the Street Violence Intervention Program (SVIP) and partnership with community organizations rooted in San Francisco’s API communities.

The collaboration between SVIP and API community-based organizations will ensure these teams are culturally-competent and can collectively advance the work of building racial solidarity while also increasing public safety.

The community safety teams will begin working in the following neighborhood corridors:

  • Leland Avenue in Visitacion Valley
  • Grant and Stockton Streets in Chinatown
  • Clement Street in the Richmond
  • San Bruno Avenue in the Portola
  • Larkin, Eddy, Turk, Ellis, Golden Gate Streets in the Tenderloin

The City is working to create the teams as quickly as possible and expects that the teams will be in the neighborhood corridors no later than the beginning of summer. Following the initial phase of this program, the City may expand the program to additional corridors and neighborhoods including those in the Sunset, Outer Mission, and OMI communities.

Senior Escort Program

The Mayor is also investing in continuing a senior escort program, which provides individuals to accompany seniors to medical and personal appointments, such as going to the bank, grocery store, or doctor’s office. This program provides seniors with the added security of having a companion when walking around or taking transit. This program is currently focused in Chinatown, and the City will work with senior service centers and providers in other communities to assess interest in expanding to other areas of the City. Seniors interested in this program should call the Department of Disability and Aging Services (DAS) Resource Hub at (415) 355-6700.

Other Recent Community Safety Efforts

Today’s announcement builds upon two recent initiatives that Mayor Breed and other City officials announced to prevent repeat offenses and gun violence in San Francisco. In February, Mayor Breed and other City partners announced an agreement among the justice partners to implement coordinated efforts to prevent individuals from committing repeat offenses in San Francisco. San Francisco is also moving forward with an initiative aimed at preventing gun violence as part of an effort with the San Francisco Police Department and SVIP.

San Francisco has also received a $1.5 million California Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant over the next three years to help reduce shootings, break the cycle of recidivism, and to build trust between the community and the Police Department.

That program will start by identifying individuals who are most at risk of either engaging in gun violence or falling victim to gun violence and will connect them with SVIP to receive services and support. SVIP is on the ground, in the community, working with at-risk individuals by providing mentorship, guidance, and a path forward that does not involve violence. SVIP engages not only with the individual, but with their family and their support network to get them out of situations that can lead to violence and instead set them on a path to success. SVIP is currently in the process of identifying approximately 30 individuals who are the most at risk of either engaging in or becoming a victim of gun violence.

Read more at the Office of the Mayor.