YWAM's Tenderloin walk

We want to bring love, socks, and hot coco to our neighbors in the Tenderloin, under the guidance and direction of YWAM Street Outreach Captains. There was a Section 8 Lottery opportunity for San Francisco, so we also encouraged folks to come to YWAM the following day to receive help applying for this.

Youth with a Mission is an international organization that helps people via youth ministry. They have been doing Street Outreach in San Francisco's Tenderloin district for nearly 30 years. In addition to this, their doors are open 5 days a week for people to have a safe, communal space to eat, shower, get clothes, and toiletries, have assistance working towards their goals, enjoy activities and church events. They also do a Street Service outside once a week, and a BBQ dinner every Friday. They are known for their kindness, dedication, and delicious hot coco.

Around twenty volunteers who regularly attend the We <3 SF weekly meet ups came to YWAM in the Tenderloin District to learn how YWAM operates their weekly outreach. Their Director gave our coalition an overview of the history of the tenderloin, noting that this has been a hub for low-income, SRO, Single Resident Occupancy buildings since the early 1900's. This has also been a famous region for music, speak-easies and political action. Staff also shared their tips and best practices for engaging with folks on the streets. For example, they discouraged us taking photos, touching people, or talking about unhoused folks we encountered until we return for our debrief. They went over safety measures and paired each group of 2-3 volunteers with an Outreach Captain. We had hot coco, socks, hygiene kits, housing workshop flyers, nutritional bars, and fresh lavender.

The volunteers were very energized when they returned. The main takeaway is that it felt good to connect with people most of them don't often engage with. The bridge was created from the volunteers to the support and learn from the unhoused residents of the Tenderloin. A lot of the people we met loved the lavender and also the socks were very popular. It was nice having the hot coco, because the community immediately recognized this group as YWAM, and trusted them. The coco was the icebreaker and people were excited to hear about the affordable housing opportunity they could access at the Ellis Room (YWAM) the following day. Those who couldn't make it, took a flyer with a link to the online form. Through the 5 different outreach teams, we invited roughly 50 individuals to apply for Section 8 in 45 minutes. This event was a success and the next one will be 12/07/23 at the same location.