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Transformation Plan
Vis Vision A Transformation Plan for San Francisco’s Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley OCTOBER 2014 Acknowledgements COMMUNITY PLANNING SESSIONS Economic Mobility Eddy Lee Greg Asay Jason Heckler Kelvin Johnson Nabihah Azim Emily Claassen David Mauroff DCYF OEWD Resident FACESSF Mercy Housing Mercy Housing McCormack Baron Salazar Laura Critchfield HeartBeets Education Acknowledgements 2 Athena Harven Alice Chan Ruby Smith Olivia Taylor Setu Petaia Scott Brown Silvia Cordero Dorick Scarpelli Micaela Reece David Fernandez Emily Claassen Nabihah Azim Larry Jones Theresa Wilson Curt Yagi Health & Wellness David Fernandez Emily Claassen Nabihah Azim Audrey Roderick Mario Rosas Kristen Shawnte Beck James Lewis Roshawn Lafu Semaneu Safety TURF SF Public Library Resident Resident SCDC SFUSD SFUSD/El Dorado 5 Keys Charter YMCA Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Boys & Girls Club ROCK We extend our thanks to all those who participated in the creation of this plan Dorothy-Joan Curry Rani Singh Setu Petaia Diana Olivia-Aroche Cheeko Wells Jonathen Massox Rena Ilasa Francisco Ferra Amor Santiago Cortez Anderson Willy Ward Jim Trail Mike Peregoy Robert Cowen David Mauroff Diana Bradford Housing Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Urban Sprouts WSF DPH Peer Leader/Resident Peer Leader/Resident Peer Leader/Resident Peer Leader/Resident River of Life Church SFDA SCDC Mayor’s Office of Crime and Safety Health Right DPH Adult Probation SF VVSF VVSF Resident Resident SFPD SFPD River of Life Church McCormack Baron Salazar River of Life Church The 500 Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley Community members who participated in the Master Planning process Samoan Speaking Seniors Vaoita Taylor Otila Uagolile Tusitala Tietie Vasa Palega Parawu Talanoa Seu Lafaele Loini Lafaele Asoiva Faatau Faatafa Matuu Atvevilli Seuseu Filit Uifu Patanife Oufn Simalua Taiauu Telesia Sefilino Eseta Afalava Salua Vaifale Faafetai Boomhower Aunao Sala Uiagalalei Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident African American Young Men Vaughan Davis Resident Tristean Duree Resident Marvin Williams Jr. Resident Anthony Hodges Jr. Resident Tyree Manuel Resident Angel Sostre Resident SmokeyResident Joe Joe Resident JayeResident Chinese Speaking Adults Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Spanish Speaking Adults Carmen Ledezm Beryha Perez Sandra Monga Sua Morew Virginia Ruiz Marcela Sosa Edwin Tobar Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident Resident The Loyal Butterfly Women’s Wellness Group La Jeanae Thompson Ms. Melody Anne White Ms. Carolyn Ward Ms. Sheila James Ms. Judy Taylor Ms. Tanya Tomiko Spruell Roshawn Finley La Tanya Lowe Dyesha Garner Tatiana Solorazano Davina Smith VISVISION STAKEHOLDERS CBO Collaborative Retreat Zoey Rogers Dorick Scarpelli Lakland Long Helen Hale Pierre Stroud Faye Henderson Romonica Grayson Micaela Reece Lillian Lai Ra’shena Martin Amor Santiago Jack Siu Larry Jones Patsy Harney Nabihah Azim David Fernandez Neikiha Jones Robert Cowan Setu Petaia Drew Jenkins Angelica Flowers Patsy Tito Theresa Wilson Curt Yagi La’Jeana Thompson Kristen Lyseggen Kim Mitchel Mercy Housing 5 Keys Charter FACESSF MOHCD MOHCD BUTLCFRC STA/Resident YMCA YMCA VVSF VVSF VVSF Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Mercy Housing River of Life Church VVSF/SCDC TURF TURF SCDC Boys & Girls Club ROCK Loyal Butterflies Photographer TURF 3 Acknowledgements Judy Taylor Ernestine Chester Latanaya Warren Dorothy Forre Romonica Grayson Chanella Hunter Maria Stewart Lisa Lezcano Tanisha Landry Yu Qun Zhao Hui Xiang Li Huizken Huang Dirun Thin Chu Chung Liao Jian Yan Li Rier Eurue Bi Fang Huang Hui Chang Lin Sirby Rus Gemong Yue Lue Ying Zhing Juan Sitze Jian Ming Huang Miuon Shum Rui Ying Zhen Acknowledgements (continued) Partners Acknowledgements 4 Tomiquia Moss Mayor’s Office Mayor’s Office Malik Looper Mayor’s Office Ronack Okoye Anne Romero Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development Pierre Stroud Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development Helen Hale Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development Anne Griffith Enterprise Community Partners Enterprise Community Rich Gross Partners Ellie Rossiter Campaign HOPE SF Toni Autry Housing Authority Visitacion Valley Planning Alliance Fran Martin Chris Barnett Anne Seeman Marlene Tran Resident Resident Resident Resident Heartbeets Consultants Laura Critchfield Shelby Lanza Sheila Pagcu Ria Espinoza Lianna Chun Anthony Williams Juanita Brown Jennifer Duenas Katya Khan Loey Hargrovw Facilitator Intern Intern Intern Intern Yoga Instructor Facilitator Intern Architect Muralist Learning For Action Consultants Nancy Latham Elba Garcia Jasmin Serim Sarah Illing Stephanie Lloyd Amy Fourrier Valerie Okelola Hannah Melnicoe Svetha Janumpalli Annie Dods Liz Tang Resident Surveyors Breana Ball James Lewis Lafu Seumanu Roshawn Finley Development Team Doug Shoemaker Lydia Tan Bill Witte David Fernandez Ramie Dare Barbara Gualco Nabihah Azim Larry Jones Emily Claassen Tonja Boykin Jessica Soske Resident Resident Resident Resident Mercy Housing Related Companies Related Companies Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Mercy Housing Strategic Advisory Team Captain Falvey Carla Javits David Fernandez David Mauroff Diana Olivia-Aroche Doug Shoemaker Emily Claassen Fran Martin Jessica Wolin Larry Jones Lydia Tan Nabihah Azim Phylis Strain Principal Cordero Principal Lee Ramie Dare Raymond Martin Tomiquia Moss Toni Autry SFPD REDF Mercy Housing Staff McCormack Baron Salazar Mayor’s Office of Safety Mercy Housing Staff Mercy Housing Staff Vis Valley Resident SF State Mercy Housing Related California Mercy Housing Staff Vis Valley Resident Eldorado Elementary Vis Valley Elementary Mercy Housing Staff Sunnydale Resident Mayor’s Office SFHA Tracy Parker DPH Youth Residents/Seedfolks Plan Creation and Documentation Team EJP Consulting Abbott Consulting VMWP Architecture and Urban Design Crook Beales Design 5 Acknowledgements Armond King Seedfolks Emani Williams Seedfolks Haylee Seumanu Seedfolks Jonathan Green Seedfolks Kinglogostasi Ale Seedfolks Lamar Chappelle Seedfolks La’ Joy Spruell Seedfolks Lakayla Gathron Seedfolks Mia Moore Seedfolks Natae Armstrong Seedfolks NyrishaBeasleySeedfolks Olivia Austin Seedfolks Raymond Brown Seedfolks Saleena Ortiz Seedfolks Samson Laefele Seedfolks Talia Green Seedfolks Tristaen Duree Seedfolks Vereaye Louisville Seedfolks Contents Executive Summary Contents 6 7 Partners in Hope 15 Neighborhood History & Context 25 Neighborhood Plan 47 People Plan 61 Housing Plan 79 Implementation Plan 93 References 94 Appendices 107 Executive Summary VisVision’s Big Picture Transforming San Francisco’s Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley The Visitacion Valley neighborhood and its Sunnydale-Velasco Housing project are within San Francisco, but they don’t always have access to the vibrant economy and other advantages seen in the rest of the City of San Francisco. Determined to change this, Mercy Housing California and Related California have combined forces to lead the planning and implementation of VisVision: the People, Neighborhood and Housing plans for a comprehensive transformation. Executive Summary 8 Mercy and Related are partnering with Visitacion Valley residents, community organizations and businesses, the City of San Francisco, the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA) and many other stakeholders under the umbrella of San Francisco’s HOPE SF Initiative, a Citywide initiative to break the cycle of poverty at public housing sites and create thriving, vibrant mixed-income communities that benefit all residents. The VisVision Transformation Plan, developed with the input and ideas of hundreds of Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley (SVV) residents, aims to transform this community into a safer, friendlier place with high-quality housing, inviting places for recreation and healthy living, and new opportunities for lifelong learning and development. Visitacion Valley is far from the City center, and public transit and workforce connections are insufficient. Unemployment at Sunnydale is approximately 75% and the poverty rate for the entire Visitacion Valley neighborhood is 29%. Typical educational attainment at Sunnydale is at or below high school level, and the educational trajectory for neighborhood children is troubling: Many households don’t avail themselves of the City’s free Preschool for All programs and children entering kindergarten are often illprepared; chronic absenteeism and truancy are serious problems at the elementary school level; and the Visitacion Valley Middle School is low-performing. Adult and youth residents often use the emergency room for primary care and chronic ailments at rates up to three times higher than City wide rates, and mothers get less prenatal care than mothers Citywide. Chronically high crime rates in the neighborhood create behavioral, social and economic distress for its residents and businesses. Community assessments highlight the barriers to neighborhood integration: The unusual street and housing design isolate Sunnydale from Visitacion Valley; language barriers inhibit dialogue with a majority of Visitacion Valley residents speaking a primary language other than English; cultural gaps further complicate communication with more than 50% of Visitacion Valley residents born outside the U.S. while over 40% of Sunnydale residents are African Americans born in the U.S. Critical to the success of the Transformation Plan is aligning common interests and ensuring that community efforts cross-fertilize and result in a cohesive Neighborhood. Theory of Change VisVision’s Transformation Plan builds on a place-based, shared leadership approach that integrates HOPE SF’s efforts to bring together City departments with Mercy/Related’s resident centered community engagement. This approach will be implemented through three Community Initiatives that strengthen Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley, even before constructing new housing. Adding together these innovative investments and their tangible results will bring a “tipping point” in which the City ensures delivery and assessment of effective programs and services, and Mercy/ Related spearheads construction of new housing and amenities. This transformed neighborhood will be sustained by residents who assume leadership with support from a cohesive community. Sunnydale resident at a community event. 9 Executive Summary VisVision Theory of Change al governance Loc departmen ts City d an SAFETY FIRST, HEALTH & WELLBEING, LEARNING & EARNING INITIATIVES SHARED LEADERSHIP DISEMPOWERED RESIDENTS AND FRACTURED COMMUNITIES RESIDENT LEADERSHIP TIPPING POINT i d e n ts V re s ,V ie s M NEW HOUSING, NEIGHBORHOOD HUB, COMMUNITY BENEFITS S o ci a l c o h e er cy an Executive Summary 10 HO PE SF ves tive in tments ova n In Ho u s i n g , R e la t e o dC m p s Tang ible result VISVISION MODEL OF SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBORHOOD TRANSFORMATION sio n One Cohesive Neighborhood People Make it Possible The Neighborhood Plan seeks to unite these historically divided communities into one thriving neighborhood through place-based shared leadership. The community has identified the following priorities for its Neighborhood VisVision: VisVision’s People Plan represents a partnership with Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley residents, service providers, and merchants. The planning efforts thus far have built trust and developed agreement on key initiatives to move the plan forward and achieve results that everyone can see. • Physical and Social Cohesion, building community hubs and offering activities that bring diverse groups together • Systems Alignment & Accountability, bringing the vast array of City resources to Visitacion Valley through HOPE SF • Resources, leveraging additional funding and services • Sustainability, brought through community-driven decisionmaking, increased local capacity, and environmental improvements • Resident and Community Empowerment, bringing in active resident leaders at every point in the planning and implementation • Collective Action, to implement a neighborhood governance model Community members were engaged extensively in the Master Planning and Community Planning phases of VisVision, and have already seen results. • Prevention, with strategies to prevent violence • Enforcement, which creates a collaborative neighborhood safety plan • Restorative Justice, which looks to repair the harm caused by crime • Community Wellbeing, which breaks down barriers between residents The Safety First Initiative has already reached hundreds of residents in Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley. Bringing stakeholders together along with law enforcement has seen a reduction in homicide rates and an increase in violence prevention activities. Also underway are a new police substation and expanded youth programming. 11 Executive Summary Results from the Community Engagement process as well as research into promising practices around the country highlight the importance of addressing sensitive issues of race, class, culture, and trauma if we are to realize the goals in this VisVision Plan. By building a strong foundation based on areas of shared concern, Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley residents should reach a point where trust and pride overcome decades of inequity and conflict. Then, the community can achieve a socially, economically cohesive and vibrant neighborhood where residents enjoy economic, health and education equity. Community Engagement for VisVision has emphasized: Safety First Initiative Violent crime in the neighborhood has divided residents from each other and reinforced social and physical isolation and “turf” areas. VisVision identifies four priorities: VisVision Big Picture Health & Wellbeing Initiative VisVision implementation will contribute to a community of people who are active and healthy and take care of themselves and each other. Community identified priorities include: • Physical Health, using Peer Leaders to increase access to high quality care • Mental Health, strengthening social cohesion through group programs and service referral • Self-Care, with technological tools, fresh foods, and other offerings based on interests and needs Executive Summary 12 Residents celebrate educational achievements. Learning & Earning Initiative Work during planning phases made clear that education and employment are inextricably linked in Visitacion Valley. This resulted in a combined Learning & Earning Initiative that brings in support for people in every age group to reach their potential. The initiative addresses gaps in education support and barriers to employment using the following four priorities: • Schools, with strategies to improve access to quality childcare, and educational achievement in neighborhood schools from Pre-Kindergarten through high school. • Jobs & Workforce, to increase employment • Arts & Environment, to support arts and environmental learning with tangible community benefits • Technology and Finances, with classes to improve financial and technological literacy Planning efforts and early action have already resulted in on-site financial literacy classes and developing school partnerships. • Community Health, developing resident leadership in health and wellness activities The Sunnydale Health and Wellness Center was launched in 2014 to offer resident-centered services including blood-pressure checks, TB tests, health education, and referrals to physical and mental health care providers. VisVision Big Picture Implementation: One Shared Direction Sunnydale is the City’s largest public housing site at 785 units on 50 acres. It anchors one side of Visitacion Valley and is characterized by low-density barracks that suffer from years of under-funded maintenance. The VisVision Housing Plan replaces all of Sunnydale’s 785 decrepit units with a new, mixed-income neighborhood of 1,700 high-quality, energy-efficient homes of diverse design and type, affordable to a wide range of households. A housing “ladder” will be created on site that will include one-for-one replacement of public housing units, new tax credit affordable rental housing for working families, and new homes for purchase, affordable to San Francisco’s middle class, which is also suffering from the City’s housing crunch and lack of supply. In steering implementation, Mercy Housing and Related CA will rely on input from Initiative Implementation Teams, Participant Teams, and the Strategic Advisory Team. Together, these teams are a force of residents, service providers, City agencies, philanthropy, and innovative thinkers and leaders. Three Implementation Teams will be launched in early 2015, engaging residents and on-the-ground experts in Health, Safety, and Learning & Earning who will facilitate creation of and implementation of Action Plans for each Community Initiative. A Strategic Advisory Team will align these Community Initiatives with resident and funder priorities; make budget and policy recommendations; review research and evaluation outcomes; and be far-reaching ambassadors for Visitacion Valley. Through the 2015 launch of Projects and meetings to re-engage community members who participated in planning, and establishing a location to exhibit the plan and its early results, bringing even more residents into VisVision transformation process. The new housing will be constructed in combination with all new street and utility infrastructure, new parks and the new “hub” for the entire Visitacion Valley neighborhood. The master plan for this development is designed to reconnect Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley physically through a new street and urban design, and socially through a neighborhood hub of educational, recreational, health and retail activities that will appeal to the diversity of neighborhood residents. The build out of this master plan will be in phases, which will allow existing residents to be temporarily relocated into vacant units on site or in the neighborhood during their construction phase. All existing households in good standing (lease compliant) at the time of their relocation will be given the opportunity to move into a newly constructed apartment. These households will retain a preference over other eligible households even if they have received permanent relocation benefits. At a city level, HOPE SF leaders are currently developing a common set of goals and metrics for HOPE SF sites that will be used to evaluate progress over time. HOPE SF’s data and evaluation consultant, Learning for Action (LFA), collected baseline data that allows individual sites to track progress and to use early outcomes to inform their development efforts. By embracing this community-centered approach to transformation, it is our hope and expectation that not only will isolated and longdivided communities become a thriving, cohesive neighborhood, but also that everyone within the neighborhood will benefit from San Francisco’s abundant and expanding resources and opportunities. 13 Executive Summary Sunnydale Housing and Master Plan 14 Partners in Hope The HOPE SF Initiative, Mercy Housing, and Related Companies The HOPE SF Initiative VisVision is a Transformation Plan for Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley that has been developed under the umbrella of HOPE SF, a San Francisco initiative to transform public housing sites and the lives of its residents. HOPE SF is led by the City and County of San Francisco in partnership with the San Francisco Housing Authority and involves a cross-section of city agencies that deliver health, education, employment and human services. The philanthropic leader for the Initiative is the Campaign for HOPE SF, a partnership of philanthropy, business and civic leaders committed to supporting the Initiative with resources and technical assistance. Partners in Hope 16 Since 2007, HOPE SF development teams have been working on real estate and human capital development activities under the Initiative. HOPE SF will transform these highly distressed public housing sites in San Francisco into vibrant neighborhoods by rebuilding the existing 2,500 public housing units one-for-one and building an additional 4,200 units of affordable and market-rate homes. HOPE SF is a direct response to the circumstances informing the Seven Street Corners Study, a 2005 analysis performed by San Francisco’s Human Services Agency (HSA) to better understand what was happening with vulnerable families involved in multiple systems of care. When researchers mapped out where systeminvolved families were living, they found that the majority of children removed from their families and placed in the care of the child welfare system lived within short walking distance of seven street corners. Five of the seven street corners were adjacent to public housing sites: Hunters View, Alice Griffith, Potrero Annex/Terrace, Sunnydale, and Westside Courts. HOPE SF will create greater equity for San Francisco’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged families living in dilapidated public housing developments that have become concentrated pockets of poverty in an otherwise prosperous city. The HOPE SF Theory of Change outlines the four key strategies and expected impacts. Active HOPE SF Sites HOPE SF Theory of Change HOPE SF ADDRESSES SERIOUS PROBLEMS… •Environmental: HOPE SF properties are extremely dilapidated with leaking plumbing, boarded-up windows, vermin, mold, and non- functioning appliances, and are in neighborhoods with poor infrastructure. THROUGH A UNIQUE APPROACH WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR ANTI-POVERTY EFFORTS NATIONWIDE •Previous efforts to keep original residents have fallen short; the HOPE SF approach will create communities where residents will be able to stay and will want to stay. This approach includes: — On-site relocation and incentives to get on lease — Investment in community building and service connection on site and linking residents with the surrounding community •Social: HOPE SF communities are pockets of concentrated poverty, unemployment, social isolation and violence. •Extensive and intensive public-private partnerships to develop mixed-income communities •Health: The stresses of poverty, isolation, crime and lack of economic opportunity mean poor health outcomes for residents. •Cross-site evaluation, launched at the start with data-sharing agreements in place across city departments with implications for demonstrating effectiveness of physical and social interventions on improved resident outcomes — Partnerships with SFUSD to improve schools in the community THEN we can have these IMPACTS: AND we undertake these STRATEGIES: •Revitalization, community building and service connection will create a community where people of higher income levels will want to live. Creating mixed-income communities will improve opportunities and outcomes for public housing residents. Replace obsolete public housing within mixed-income developments •Neighborhoods with enhanced safety, high quality infrastructure, and nearby amenities reduce isolation, support economic self-sufficiency, and promote health. •This long-term, two-generation strategy of supporting adults through workforce development and service connection, while simultaneously improving learning, health, and self- efficacy among children, will help lift current families out of poverty and create the conditions for the next generation to escape the cycle of poverty and achieve their greatest potential. •Create new affordable housing, leveraging public and private local and national resources. •Incorporate green and healthy site designs and units. Improve social and economic outcomes for existing public housing residents •Implement a Service Connection model to link residents with needed services. •Create economic opportunities through workforce development efforts and the redevelopment process. •Promote community building efforts within public housing sites. •Provide resident training and capacity building to promote and sustain leadership and engagement. Create thriving, appealing neighborhoods desirable to people of all income levels by introducing new amenities and enhancing existing community assets •Integrate neighborhood improvement into the revitalization strategy. •Build a strong sense of community within sites and between sites and surrounding neighborhoods. •Promote mixed-income communities, which will in turn support revitalization in neighborhoods. •The supply of highquality affordable housing is increased. •Residents are stably housed, healthy, and economically selfsufficient. •Communities are economically and environmentally sustainable. •Children are free from abuse and neglect. •Mixed-income communities thrive at redevelopment sites. •HOPE SF serves as a new national model for public housing revitalization. LFA HOPE SF Baseline Report. Prepared by LFA Group: Learning for Action 17 Partners in Hope IF these HYPOTHESES are true: Components of HOPE SF C HOPE SF is designed to achieve its goals through the following initiative components. Mixed-Income Community Development Partners in Hope 18 HOPE SF redevelopment and revitalization plans include a mix of public, affordable, and market-rate housing that will double the density of housing units at the sites. Income limits for housing units will range from public housing targeted at extremely lowincome households, to affordable rental housing for households with incomes at 40–60% of Area Median Income, all the way to market-rate housing. The developments will include both rental and ownership housing, further increasing the diversity of these mixedincome communities. Within each site, public housing units will be replaced one-forone with new, quality affordable rental units. Construction will be completed in phases, enabling current residents to remain on site and to move into the new units as they are built. This strategy reflects the HOPE SF principle of prioritizing the needs of the current residents of the HOPE SF sites, ensuring that they receive the full benefits of redevelopment. Phased construction is intended to minimize disruption for existing households and neighborhoods. Onsite relocation is also designed to enable as many current residents as possible to take advantage of the opportunity to live in the improved developments. Top: Architectural rendering of the view from Sunnydale’s new community pavilion. Above: Architectural rendering of a street in Sunnydale. Components of HOPE SF Community Building To begin their extensive relationships with the residents at each site, the developer teams have launched extensive community building initiatives. At each site, community builders focus on strengthening community among the residents by engaging them on topics of importance and shared interest, such as public safety and neighborhood schools. During the development process, the community builders work to involve residents in important aspects of site planning. They also work in partnership with property management, service connectors and community-based organizations to build community and strengthen social cohesion. Service Connection Face painting at the Sunnydale Holiday Party. A guiding principle of HOPE SF is to involve residents at the highest levels of participation, which includes engaging residents in planning and implementing the transformation of their communities. Based on resident input and the need for ongoing resident participation, HOPE SF created a Leadership Academy. Through the Academy, residents are introduced to housing development and community building principles, and equipped with the necessary tools and information to participate in the revitalization of their communities. 19 Partners in Hope Leadership Development In the HOPE SF model, service connectors at each site play a specialized role in helping families navigate the complex array of public and private services. The service connection model purposefully links residents to specialized services in the surrounding community, and to more general service needs that can be met on site, like childcare. Service connectors conduct needs assessments with each household, develop individual service plans, refer individuals and families to services, and follow up to monitor service enrollment, progress, and changing needs. A dedicated network of social service providers supports service connectors, working actively to meet resident needs. HOPE SF Task Forces In 2011, the Campaign for HOPE SF convened three cross-sector Task Forces to develop goals, priorities, and strategies for making significant improvement in resident outcomes in the three core areas of Health, Education, and Economic Mobility. The Task Forces’ visions and strategies are summarized below. Vision for Health HOPE SF will help create communities and homes in which individuals and families reach and maintain health and wellness. Goals for Health • Residents live in socially-cohesive communities that support meaningful community engagement, and resident leadership. • Residents are safe from violence and unintended injuries, and the resulting emotional trauma in their homes and in the community, and healed from intergenerational trauma. • Residents live in communities free from substance use and the impact of untreated mental health conditions. • Residents have health coverage and are well-connected to preventative and primary healthcare services. Partners in Hope 20 In addition to developing vision and strategies, the HOPE SF Task Forces developed priorities for action in the short term that are feasible and leverage resources already in place. At sites in or nearing construction, the activities prepare residents for the changes that come with the transformation of their communities. In the long term, evidence based interventions responsive to resident needs, and targeted activities that are sustainable over time will be developed. Health • Residents engage in increasingly healthy behaviors, and participate in self-management of their chronic diseases and other health conditions. • Children and youth develop in healthy and resilient ways, supported by their families and their neighbors to become the next generation of hope. • Residents live in homes that are healthy and built or maintained with safe materials. Health fair at Heritage Homes. Components of HOPE SF Department of Public Works participating at the Backpack Giveaway. Education Economic Mobility Children enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school and youth are prepared for success in college and career. Increase the earned income and assets of HOPE SF residents. Vision for Education Goals for Education • HOPE SF Residents aged 0–5 are ready for kindergarten. • HOPE SF residents are reading at grade level by 4th grade. • HOPE SF residents successfully transition from 5th to 6th grade, 8th grade to high school, and from high school to college or career. • HOPE SF residents graduate from high school college- and career-ready. • HOPE SF neighborhoods have high performing vibrant community schools with a range of programs and curricular opportunities that educate the whole child. • Families and community members are informed about and engaged in the schools. Vision for Economic Mobility Goals for Economic Mobility • HOPE SF residents of all ages who want to work — or participate in workforce development programs — are able to do so. • Residents succeed in competitive employment, increase their earned income, and build assets. • Residents build assets through smart money management. • Residents who work and save will be better off financially. 21 Partners in Hope Parents for Public School Partnership at the Backpack Giveaway. HOPE SF Leadership Partners in Hope 22 Given the complexity and scale of HOPE SF, the community of stakeholders is necessarily large and diverse. Key partners directly involved in planning and implementing HOPE SF include the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, the San Francisco Housing Authority, the Human Services Agency, the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the Department of Children, Youth and Families, the Department of Public Health, San Francisco Unified School District, First 5 San Francisco, The San Francisco Police Department, the Adult and Juvenile Probation Departments, the affordable housing developers and management companies represented on the development teams, public and private financing institutions, and many community-based organizations as well as individual residents, representatives from other city departments, and community leaders. To succeed, HOPE SF requires deep collaboration among these partners and stakeholders. HOPE SF uses three primary structures to bring together individuals and organizations critical to the initiative: • The HOPE SF Campaign Steering Committee. This committee provides the structure for public-private collaboration. It includes representatives from the City of San Francisco (the Mayor’s Budget Director and the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing), Enterprise Community Partners, The San Francisco Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, The Walter and Elise Haas Fund, Bank of America, and other key philanthropic and financial institutions. The Steering Committee has also helped to form a Campaign Leadership Committee, comprised of approximately 20 philanthropic and civic leaders who bring credibility, connections, and direct financial support to the initiative. • The City Services Team. This team is convened by the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD), and consists of high-level representatives of the Office of the Mayor, Housing Authority, the Human Services Agency, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the Department of Children, Youth, and their Families, First 5, Adult and Juvenile Probation Departments, the Department of Public Health, and the School District. This team originally came together to develop the predevelopment services plans for the residents. It continues to function as a collaborative body, bringing together key personnel from these departments to coordinate programs and services that are implemented on site. • The HOPE SF Oversight Committee. This committee, convened by the Mayor’s Office, is composed of director-level departmental leadership from all key City partners. It meets regularly to review service delivery and development activities. The goal of the Oversight Committee is to help create a more streamlined and efficient service-delivery system. Lead Agencies Campaign for HOPE SF The residents and staff of Mercy Housing’s four affordable housing developments in the Visitacion Valley neighborhood were directly impacted by Sunnydale, which motivated Mercy Housing to be a leader in its transformation. Partnering with MHC in the planning and development, The Related Companies has completed the revitalization of three large public housing communities in California into thriving mixed income communities and brings experience with large, master planned development to Sunnydale’s transformation. 23 Partners in Hope San Francisco has committed $95 million in public housing finance, as well as Section 8 funding, Redevelopment funds and Affordable Housing funds, and has secured some state and federal dollars for HOPE SF. Yet federal money for public housing revitalization has decreased in recent years. In response, Enterprise Community Partners (a national nonprofit intermediary for affordable housing) has partnered with The San Francisco Foundation, the Mayor and the City of San Francisco to launch an innovative fundraising Campaign to raise funds separate from the $2 billion in housing development costs. The Campaign mobilizes and aligns local and national philanthropic investment, and leverages public dollars to ensure that HOPE SF has the resources necessary to create diverse, thriving communities for all residents. The Campaign is governed by a Steering Committee and has a national Leadership Committee. The goal is to raise $25 million for grants, contracts, HOPE SF evaluation, and program-related investments over the next five years. The Sunnydale/Visitacion Valley Transformation Plan is led by a 50/50 partnership of Mercy Housing California (Mercy) and The Related Companies of California. This partnership was formed in response to the San Francisco Housing Authority’s 2007 request for developers and proposals for Sunnydale. Components of HOPE SF Mercy Housing California (MHC) Partners in Hope 24 MHC is a not-for-profit housing development corporation with the mission of creating and strengthening healthy communities through quality service-enriched housing for economically poor people and families. MHC developed, manages and owns four family and senior properties in Visitacion Valley: Britton Courts, Heritage Homes, John King Senior Community, and Carter Terrace and has also developed three community serving facilities in the neighborhood. Mercy Housing is one of the top notfor-profit developers of program-enriched housing in the country. The Related Companies of California The Related Companies of California is an industry leader with expertise in virtually every aspect of development and a commitment to continue to break new ground and reshape the industry. Related’s diverse developments span from luxury condominiums and rental residences to awardwinning apartments for low- and moderate-income seniors and families. Related is one of the most active developers of residential and commercial properties in California. Mission Creek by Mercy Housing is senior affordable housing in San Francisco, California. Neighborhood History & Context Tale of Two Communities Introduction San Francisco has a wealth of natural, cultural, and economic features that make it a world-class travel destination and a highly desirable place to live. The ‘City by the Bay’ is renowned for its counter-culture movements, spirit of innovation, status as a sanctuary city, global leadership in gay rights and treating HIV/AIDS, and its pioneering of universal healthcare. Yet despite its progressive brand, the city is at a crossroads. Neighborhood History & Context 26 Visitacion Valley homes. San Francisco housing prices have exploded with a second tech boom and an influx of high-wealth residents. The median price for a two-bedroom house is now over $1 million. (Trulia, San Fancisco Market Trends) San Francisco is among the top cities in the U.S. (Bloomberg, Most Income Inequalities) with the greatest income inequality. Simultaneously, it has one of highest achievement gaps among California school districts. With quality housing and education increasingly out of reach for low and middle-income residents, the city struggles to curb the exodus of families and its diverse racial and ethnic populations. While the San Francisco skyline transforms with new midtown and downtown high-rises, the Visitacion Valley neighborhood, including the 50-acre Sunnydale-Velasco public housing development, experience a degree of physical and social isolation that leave the impression of being in a different city from the rest of San Francisco. This “tale of two cities” has been both good and bad for people living and working in Visitacion Valley and Sunnydale. Residents, businesses and neighborhood institutions suffer from a lack of investment, a dearth of commercial and social services, and major safety concerns, but they celebrate the community’s racial and economic diversity and its slower-paced, more relaxed feel. Visitacion Valley has a unique profile within San Francisco. Only 13% of San Francisco’s households include children, the lowest percentage of any major U.S. city, but about half of Visitacion Valley households are families with children. The neighborhood also has a higher rate of households with residents who were born outside the U.S., with 70% of households speaking a language other than English at home. The majority of Visitacion Valley residents are Asian, African American, Latino, or mixed race, and only 6% of residents are White. The median household income in Visitacion Valley is $44,373 compared to San Francisco’s median household income of $70,040. Demographics Age Distribution Race Sunnydale Visitacion Valley San Francisco Ages Sunnydale Visitacion Valley San Francisco White 20% 6% 48.50% 41% 25% 15.50% Black or African American 39% 57% 6.10% Under 20* American Indian and Alaska Native 1% 0.02% 0.50% 25-64* 39% 62% 70.70% Asian/Pacific Islander 23% 57% 34.00% 65+ 4% 13% 13.80% Latino 17% 21% 15.20% Some Other Race/Multi ethnic 1% 0.04% 6.60% *Sunnydale includes residents under 24. Visitacion Valley and San Francisco data combines ages 20–64 years old. in Poverty Percent ofPercent Households in Poverty Sunnydale is isolated from its neighbors in multiple ways. Only services and amenities located on or near the edges of the Sunnydale site are used by those who live outside Sunnydale; otherwise neighborhood visitors to Sunnydale are infrequent and social isolation is reinforced. The “us” and “them” feeling between Sunnydale and the surrounding Visitacion Valley is reinforced by perceptions that Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley residents, particularly youth, will not be safe outside their normal turf. This physical, social and economic isolation of Sunnydale must be reversed for residents to improve the quality of their lives and for Visitacion Valley to reach its full potential as a thriving, integrated neighborhood. 80% $80,000 70% 70% $70,000 60% $60,000 50% 40% 30% 20% 15% Visitacion Valley $50,000 Sunnydale $40,000 San Francisco $30,000 13.2% 10% 0% $20,000 $10,000 1 Median Household Income Sources: (LFA Preliminary Sunnydale Needs Assessment) (U.S. Census 2010, Visitacion Valley) (San Francisco 2010 Census) $0 27 $44,373 Neighborhood History & Context The contrast between Sunnydale and the surrounding Visitacion Valley neighborhood is also striking. While Visitacion Valley consists of regular streets lined with small, single family homes that connect to major transit thoroughfares, Sunnydale’s 50 acres is built with 90 long blocks of housing units that face perpendicularly to the street. Sunnydale is hidden to many, as it is surrounded on the west and north sides by the steep topography of McLaren Park. This physical location and design isolates Sunnydale residents from the rest of the Visitacion Valley neighborhood. All of Sunnydale’s housing is public housing subsidized to be affordable to extremely low-income households. On average, Sunnydale’s household annual income is only $13,487, compared to the Visitacion Valley annual household income of $44,373. Median H Neighborhood History Until 1777, when Catholics claimed the land for cattle grazing, solely Native Americans inhabited Visitacion Valley. Later, in 1834, the Mexican government took the land and gave it to prominent “Californios.” At that time, the land that would become Visitacion Valley was called Rancho Canada de Guadalupe, La Visitacion y Rodeo Viejo. Once the land was annexed by the United States in 1848, it was sold to host gardens, nurseries, and a dairy farm. Soon, industry came to Visitacion Valley, with breweries, silk ribbons, the Southern Pacific Railroad, and Schlage Lock. The latter was a neighborhood anchor for over a century, providing many jobs until it closed in 1999. Neighborhood History & Context 28 Two streetcar lines in operation by 1910 increased population growth in Visitacion Valley. Single-family dwellings were first built in the 1930s. Rows of modest, one-family stucco houses followed a design pattern similar to newer neighborhoods throughout the city. Farmland increasingly gave way to residential development and the main commercial thoroughfare along Leland Avenue. Residential housing also spiked as the San Francisco Housing Authority built affordable housing for 35,000 service members, war workers, and families. The largest project, the Geneva Towers, was built in 1967 as a private housing complex for middle-income renters. Over the next three decades, the two 20-story Geneva Towers fell into disrepair and became a haven for crime and violence, providing terrible housing conditions for its largely low-income renters. The property was eventually foreclosed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1991, demolished in May 1998, and three new family and senior apartment buildings were built to replace the affordable housing: Britton Courts, Heritage Homes and John King Senior Community. These three developments and Carter Terrace Sunnydale in 1941. are owned and managed by Mercy Housing California. Together with Sunnydale, they provide the 1,200 units of rental housing in the neighborhood. The rest of Visitacion Valley’s 6,762 units are all singlefamily homes. Built in 1939 to house wartime ship builders, the Sunnydale public housing development was designed with long, simple buildings located on its slopes to overlook the San Francisco Bay. Thomas Church, a well-known landscape architect, designed the wide-open lawns between buildings as key features of a garden community, and street circulation was minimized to contrast with the street grid of the City. Over time, though, the maintenance of the common landscaping and of the housing was neglected, and Sunnydale is now in a severely distressed condition. Land Use The Visitacion Valley neighborhood is located in the southeast portion of San Francisco, tucked in between McLaren Park on the west and north sides, Bayshore Boulevard on the east side, and Geneva Avenue on the south side. Most of Visitacion Valley is designed with a regular street grid, even where the topography is steep. Roughly three square miles in area, the neighborhood consists largely of single family and small multifamily homes, four nonprofit-owned affordable multifamily properties, and the Sunnydale public housing community. More than 13,000 residents live in the primarily residential neighborhood. Visitacion Valley has only 90 businesses employing 600 people. Many of the businesses are within the Leland Avenue corridor of small stores, eateries, and other neighborhood services. 29 Sunnydale Land Use Above: Sunnydale’s buildings do not face the streets. Below: The built form of Sunnydale, shown on the left, is visibly less dense than the typical surrounding neighborhood, shown on the right.. Asphalt parking lots provide off street parking. In addition to the housing stock, Sunnydale currently has three playgrounds totaling 0.5 acres, and 29,000 square feet of community facilities for youth programs, a community room, an early childhood education program, and the Housing Authority Leasing office. Neighborhood History & Context Sunnydale’s 90 residential buildings were constructed to overlook the San Francisco Bay and do not face the surrounding streets of Visitacion Valley. Rather than following San Francisco’s more typical grid pattern, only four winding streets were constructed on the 50 acres. Between the long buildings are grassy open spaces that people use to walk across the site, and that also serve as residents’ front and backyards, although they are without fencing or privacy. The long blocks of two-story attached units are aligned perpendicularly to the streets, so that the short sides of each block of attached townhouses face the street. This lack of building frontage on the streets also creates an internally focused “barracks” dynamic that uses the land inefficiently in this urban setting. With limited windows on the street-facing façade, the building orientation does not promote “eyes on the street.” The continuous roofs and flat facades of the buildings create long, uninterrupted forms that do not differentiate individual units. Crime and Safety Physical barriers divide Sunnydale from Visitacion Valley neighborhood and from recreation areas Neighborhood History & Context 30 Connections, Circulation, and Transit Visitacion Valley’s streets are in a regular grid pattern, most with one driving lane in each direction. Two major streets also provide access to the two nearby highways and to other neighborhoods. Bayshore Boulevard forms the eastern border of the neighborhood and leads to the 101 freeway, the City of Brisbane to the south, and the Bayview neighborhood to the north. The MUNI T light rail line also runs on Bayshore Boulevard, terminating at Sunnydale Avenue. The Schlage Lock development site, the Grocery Outlet, and several other businesses are located on Bayshore. Geneva Avenue is a major arterial that forms the southern border of the neighborhood, and is partially located in Daly City. Geneva Avenue leads to the Excelsior and Ocean Avenue neighborhoods, and to Interstate 280. Currently, there are no bicycle lanes in the neighborhood. Plans are in study, though, to convert Geneva Avenue from an auto focused street into one that is pedestrian friendly, has bike lanes and has a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line. The City of San Francisco is also planning a Green Connection from the Candlestick Recreation Area to the Sunnydale public housing development and McLaren Park that would be on Leland Avenue, Hahn and Sunnydale Avenue. A Green Poor Connections Impact Sunnydale and its Neighbors Sunnydale has only the four described street connections to the rest of the neighborhood: Sunnydale Avenue, Blythedale Street, Brookdale Street and Santos Street. The physical disconnectedness of Sunnydale resulted in the broader neighborhood building away from the housing development. Single-family townhouses along Parque Drive face their neighbors to the south, rather than the Sunnydale edge. Sunrise Way ends in a cul-de-sac, an atypical design in San Francisco, because it had nothing to connect to within Sunnydale. The Gleneagles Golf Course, created in the southeastern corner of McLaren Park in 1962, established another barrier, cutting off the neighborhood from the park. There is no direct pedestrian connection from Sunnydale to the Herz Playground. The four curvilinear streets of Sunnydale not only cut off Sunnydale residents from the rest of the neighborhood, but they also make traveling across the site difficult. Each long building includes narrow concrete paths that lead to apartment doors, but these paths do not connect to each other throughout the site. Residents and visitors often walk on the grassy open spaces in between the buildings, which are unlit and often filled with trash. Despite this less-than-ideal environment, the streets and sidewalks are filled with residents in the afterschool and commute hours, though poor lighting discourages pedestrian activity after dark. 31 Neighborhood History & Context Over 20% of Visitacion Valley households and over 50% of Sunnydale households do not have a car, so public transit is an important connector. The neighborhood is served by San Francisco’s public transit MUNI lines 9, 8X, 8AX, 8BX, 56 and the T light rail, which take passengers to other San Francisco neighborhoods, the Balboa BART station, and to downtown. The MUNI lines 9 and 8X run through the Sunnydale development. In addition to MUNI service, the Caltrain Bayshore stop is located 1/4 mile east of Bayshore Boulevard at Tunnel Avenue. The SamTrans line 292 connects Visitacion Valley residents at Bayshore Boulevard to downtown San Francisco to the north and to San Mateo County cities to the south. Connection is a pedestrian and bike friendly street network that connects people to parks and open spaces with wildlife, improving people’s access to the City’s urban ecology. Crime and Safety Visitacion Valley Transit Circulation Map Neighborhood History & Context 32 Visitacion Valley Housing Profile Sunnydale’s Current Streets Avg. Housing Units per acre Number of Listings (last 6 months of 2012) Annual Income needed to afford Two Bedroom Craiglist Fair Market Rent Median Home Value from Zillow Structure Type Single Family Housing 2–4 Units 5–9 Units 10–19 Units 20 Units or more Other Vacancy Rate Owner Occupied Renter Occupied 7.13 55% $72,000 $642,000 76% 9% 5% 4% 7% 0% 9.46% 55% 45% Source: (SF-Planning, San Francisco Neighborhoods Socio-Economic Profile) Housing Semi-public open space — between buildings Roads and parking lots A Willie Brown Jr. Teen Center, Boys + Girls Club B Internalized courtyard playground C An interior block basketball court D Typical front yard E Typical rear yard The neighborhood’s housing is more affordable than other locations in the City. Overall, the rent for a two-bedroom market rate unit in the area is $1,800 per month, compared to the Citywide average of $2981 monthly rent. Vacancy is between 5-10% per year. Visitacion Valley’s residential density is only 7 housing units per acre, while Sunnydale’s density is higher at 16 units per acre. Despite its low density, 13.3% of Visitacion Valley’s housing is overcrowded, defined as each habitable room occupied by more than 1 person. This is 2.5 times the Citywide 5.1% rate of overcrowding, (Asian Pacific Islander Council Report: A San Francisco Neighborhood Analysis) a result of multiple generations typically live under one roof. 33 Neighborhood History & Context Public open space — playgrounds, gardens, etc. The majority of Visitacion Valley housing, 76%, is single family homes. Occupants own 56% of the neighborhood’s housing stock, which is significantly higher than the City’s overall ownership rate of 36%, and a world apart from Sunnydale’s 785 units, which are 100% rental housing. Other multifamily rent restricted apartment developments in Visitacion Valley include Heritage Homes, Britton Courts, Carter Terrace and John King Senior Community, which are all managed and owned by Mercy Housing California. Parks and Open Spaces Left: Tree-lined ridge at McLaren Park and Sunnydale Parks and Open Spaces Below: Seedfolks youth present their ideas to improve Sunnydale’s playgrounds. The 312-acre John McLaren Park, the City’s second largest park after Golden Gate Park, flanks Visitacion Valley on its west side. McLaren Park includes natural areas rich in native plants and animals, playgrounds, sports fields, hiking and biking trails, picnic areas, gardens, a lake, and an amphitheater. Access to McLaren Park from Visitacion Valley is primarily through Mansell Street and Sunnydale Avenue, which climb up to the Park entrances from the neighborhood. Neighborhood History & Context 34 Sunnydale is bound by McLaren Park to the west and north, yet has minimal access to these spaces. The Gleneagles Golf Course forms the majority of the northern border of Sunnydale and McLaren Park. Adjacent to the golf course is the 6-acre Herz Playground and Coffman Pool, which are separated from Sunnydale by a grade change and a fence. On the west side, the wild, natural area of McLaren Park is accessed by a hidden unmaintained set of stairs. Just to the west of this natural area and down the hill is the popular Crocker Amazon Park, which contains sports fields, a skateboard park, playgrounds and other facilities. SF Urban Riders is fundraising to build a new off-road bike skills park immediately next to Sunnydale and Gleneagles Golf Course. In 2015, the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department will launch a “visioning” process to engage stakeholders in plans to improve access and activities in the Park. The other neighborhood open spaces include Kelloch-Velasco Park, Visitacion Valley Playground and the Vis Valley Greenway, a chain of small City owned vacant parcels that were converted into parks that are programmed by neighborhood residents as quiet open spaces and children’s learning labs for gardening and nutrition. At the Schlage Lock development site, an additional two acres of open space will be developed for the neighborhood in the next several years. Sunnydale’s Open Spaces Currently, the Sunnydale site itself has a great deal of open space, but most is amorphous, consisting of leftover space between buildings rather than well-defined places. Residents appreciate this perceived openness, but also feel that the spaces between buildings are unsafe and not very usable. Some residents have converted the open spaces in front or behind their units into gardens. There are three recreation areas in Sunnydale containing a basketball court and play structures. This summer, 17 Sunnydale youth in the Seedfolks leadership program conducted an assessment of Sunnydale’s recreation areas and made recommendations toward the goal of creating “a safe, family oriented” set of parks. The Seedfolks group noted that Sunnydale’s recreation areas contained play structures that were broken, did not have shade or benches, and the play areas did not feel safe. Two of the four community garden plots in Sunnydale are maintained by residents with guidance from the Boys and Girls Club, and Mercy/Related with Urban Sprouts. Parks and Open Spaces Local Economy Visitacion Valley’s 90 businesses are primarily small businesses located on Leland Avenue, Bayshore Boulevard and Geneva Avenue. On the east side of the neighborhood on Bayshore Boulevard is the 20-acre site that once was the home of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company and the Schlage Lock Factory. Vacant since 1999, the factory has been demolished, the site has undergone hazardous materials clean up, and the City recently approved the development of approximately 1,600 housing units and 46,000 square feet of neighborhood retail including a new grocery store to add to the recently opened discount store Grocery Outlet. Despite Leland Avenue’s under-performing spaces, an analysis supported the viability of an additional retail center at the Schlage Lock development site located just off Leland Avenue. The analysis indicated that the additional retail at the Schlage Lock development site could provide a more complete retail environment, attract patrons to purchase in the neighborhood, and stem economic leakage. The study found that 90% of spending by neighborhood residents, or $160 million annually, was on businesses outside the Visitacion Valley neighborhood. Future developments that will change Visitacion Valley Schlage Lock The Schlage Lock site on Bayshore Boulevard has been cleared and plans to construct approximately 1,600 housing units, 2 acres of open spaces, a new street grid, and approximately 46,000 square feet of neighborhood retail, including a major grocery store, have been approved by the City. Neighborhood residents and business owners are looking forward to the activity and services that these uses will bring to this side of Visitacion Valley, including beautification of Bayshore Boulevard and revitalization of nearby Leland Avenue storefronts. Construction may start as soon as 2015. Shipyard, Candlestick, and Executive Park Visitacion Valley and Sunnydale will be influenced by large developments underway and planned for adjacent neighborhoods. Currently in construction is the redevelopment of the Hunters Point Shipyards and Candlestick Park (former home of the San Francisco 49’ers football team) into 6,000 new homes, 930,000 square feet of retail and office space, and 100 acres of parks. Recently approved by the City is the development of a suburban style office park into 2,800 housing units at Executive Park. These developments are located only a mile east of Visitacion Valley. 35 Neighborhood History & Context Leland Avenue is Visitacion Valley’s “Main Street” with traditional small businesses, a public library, post office and bank. Lined with one- and two- story storefronts and new streetscape improvements, the four-block-long Leland Avenue corridor suffers from a 23% vacancy rate for its 66,000 square feet of existing retail space. The City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development has included Leland Avenue in Invest in Neighborhoods, an initiative to provide focused, customized assistance to meet the specific needs of San Francisco’s neighborhood commercial corridors. Leland Avenue business storefront. Neighborhood Services In Visitacion Valley there are a number of services developed by local nonprofit organizations to work with the neighborhood’s diverse residents. These services include childcare, family case management, youth education and leadership, and senior services. The Community Asset Map illustrates the variety and location of these services, with notes on the capacity of the childcare and youth programs, not including youth programs offered by the local schools and library. Community Asset Map RUTLAND ST. BUSY BEE CCC RAYMOND AVE. METROPOLITAN FRESH START HOUSE LELAND AVE. HERZ PLAYGROUND VISITACION AVE. BASKETBALL COURT VVSF FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER WILLIE L. BROWN CENTER SUNNYDALE AVE. JOHN MACLAREN EARLY EDUCATION BROOKDALE AVE. SUNNYDALE HEALTH AND WELLNESS CENTER YMCA SUPPORT SERVICES AND MERCY RELATED RIVER OF LIFE CHURCH VELASCO AVE. PARQUE DR. E AL KD OO BR N ASIAN PACIFIC COMMUNITY CENTER POTENTIAL LOCAL SERVING RETAIL & NEW HOUSING HERITAGE THE HOMES VILLAGE SVIP OUR LADY OF VISITACION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KELLOCH VELASCO PARK GROCERY OUTLET NT COU CO NCIS Y FRA UNT O N C A S EO MAT SAN FUTURE AUTO TOW YARD SUNRISE WAY PARK CONNECTION AVE. SCHLAGE LOCK ST. TOS LE AVE. DA BLYTHE BANK LELAND 1ST PLACE TO START BRITTON COURT SUNNYDALE AVE. VILLAGE MARKET SAWYER ST. GIRLS AFTER SCHOOL ACADEMY (GASA) SAMOAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CENTER POLLY’S FAMILY SUPPORT CENTER SCHWERIN ST. COFFMAN POOL HAHN ST. THE VILLAGE • FAMILY SERVICE AGENCY OF SF • SENECA FAMILY OF AGENCIES • SFDPH HAWKINS CLINIC • SFDPH RSSE • 5 KEYS CHARTER SCHOOL • SOJOURNER TRUTH FOSTER FAMILY • SURVIVOR’S NETWORK/ POLLY’S FAMILY SUPPORT CENTER • VISITACION VALLEY FAMILY HEALTH CENTER • NEIGHBORHOOD ACCESS POINT • WAY MENTORING PROGRAM US POST OFFICE VISITACION VALLEY VISITACION VISITACION VISITACION PLAYGROUND VALLEY VALLEY VALLEY LIBRARY GREENWAY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ALLIANCE ROCK GLENEAGLES INTERNATIONAL GOLF COURSE VISITACION VALLEY COMMUNITY CENTER Y MUNI T-LINE WILLIE BROWN CENTER • BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB (40 YOUTH) • TURF (40 YOUTH) BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBHOUSE (100 YOUTH) VISITACION VALLEY STRONG FAMILIES SEE’S CANDY GENEVA AVE. CARTER TERRACE APARTMENTS COW PALACE BRISBANE BAYLANDS POTENTIAL LOCAL SERVING RETAIL & NEW HOUSING SUNNYDALE CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER BAYSHORE BLVD. 1/2 MIL ER AD IUS VISITACION VALLEY COMMUNITY BEACON MCLAREN PARK SAN Neighborhood History & Context JOHN KING SELF HELP FOR SENIOR THE ELDERLY COMMUNITY AY NW VISITACION VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL EE 36 - EL DORADO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GR EXCELSIOR MIDDLE SCHOOL LK WA TE U N MI 15 10- Social Services The City’s Consolidated Plan for 2010–2014 highlights these “persistent needs” of Visitacion Valley residents: • Additional services providing counseling on immigration, legal, and housing rights • More youth programming, including programs for transitional age youth • Additional support for local organizations to increase organization capacity, collaboration and leadership within the community. • ESL services and develop Chinese language capacity at organizations • Crime prevention efforts • Family support services for CalWORKS families • More effective workforce development strategies Some of the local service providers that serve Sunnydale residents on many of these specific needs are part of the Visitacion Valley Community Based Organization (“CBO”) Collaborative. This group of community-based organizations is convened by MOHCD and Mercy/Related to better coordinate services to residents and to assist in engaging tenants and providing stakeholder input into the VisVision planning process. Some of the key groups engaged in the Collaborative and in the VisVision planning process are shown here, along with a description of their core services. Asian Pacific American (APA) Family Support Services/Visitacion Valley Strong Families engages families who are at risk of child abuse, truancy, neglect, mental health problems and domestic violence. Programs include but are not limited to parenting education support, access to resources and opportunities such as food pantries and family support days, school readiness and success promotion through drop-in childcare and parent information workshops, community building through cultural celebrations, parent leadership, case management, linkages with child welfare services, and counseling services. http://www.apafss.org Bayview YMCA is a community organization for children, youth, adults, and seniors. Their services include financial assistance for housing and daily needs, help with job placement and resume building, information about other services in the community, help applying for CalWorks, CalFresh, SSI, and other government assistance, advocacy on behalf of clients, and other supportive services. The Bayview YMCA and Mercy/Related established a partnership to assist residents in accessing supportive services to ensure that families are aware of community and citywide resources. http://www.ymca.net 37 Neighborhood History & Context The San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) has focused on financially supporting and coordinating providers of family support services, employment readiness, GED education, and senior services. These services are provided by community-based organizations, local churches, and City agencies at various locations throughout the neighborhood, with clusters of services at Sunnydale, at the multi- tenant center called “The Village” on Sunnydale Avenue, and along Leland Avenue and Raymond Avenue on the eastern side of the neighborhood. Visitacion Valley CBO Collaborative Mercy/Related staff and local community building organizations. Neighborhood History & Context 38 Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco operates two Clubhouses in Visitation Valley. Together, the two Clubhouses serve an average of 125 youth daily. The Visitacion Valley Clubhouse is approximately 2,500 square feet, with a spacious outdoor field — including a playground and large field. Sunnydale Clubhouse has a Learning Center, Technology Center, Kitchen, multi-purpose room, and a garden. The two Clubhouses focus on a Success Equation for kids with four pillars: Academic Success, Healthy Lifestyles, Good Character & Community Engagement, and Job Readiness. http://www.kidsclub.org Edgewood Center for Children and Their Families helps children and families overcome severe challenges like abuse, neglect, mental illness and crisis. Programs promote the behavioral health of children, youth, and families and support a positive transition to adulthood. The services include community and family services, intensive treatment and residential care, kinship caregiver and youth support, and school-based programs. http://www.edgewood.org Five Keys Charter School provides GED completion and support as well as high school classes and access to community-based programs that provide recovery, parenting, and work skills. Five Keys provides students with an opportunity to advance their educational level either by earning a high school diploma or GED. The school holds two graduation ceremonies per year. Girls After School Academy (GASA) empowers 5 to 18 year old young women of color to apply their innate talents to lead, healthy product lives. GASA offers a range of services to improve these young women and girls’ self esteem, educational prospects and overall quality of life. At Sunnydale, GASA provides academic support, mentoring, leadership training and life skills enhancement, with a primary focus on educational success through structured homework time and support. http://www.girlsafterschoolacademy.org Mercy Housing California Resident Services Coordinators (RSC) at John King Senior Community, Britton Courts, Heritage Homes and Carter Terrace Apartments help coordinate and link residents to resources in four program areas. Education: The focus is developing the academic and life skills of children and adults through parenting and life skill classes, connections to ESL, GED, college or technical school educational opportunities, access to computer technology and training, and after-school programs for children and youth. Health and Wellness: RSCs coordinate programs to support health and wellness, including education and food programs. Community: Empowers residents to work for positive change in their apartment community, their neighborhood, and the larger community through voter registration and education, leadership coaching and volunteer and leadership opportunities for both youth and adult residents. Economic development: This component helps residents take charge of their financial futures through financial education, realize the full extent of tax and benefit assistance for which they are eligible and, when possible, prepare for the responsibilities of homeownership. http://www.mercyhousing.org/Resident-Services Parks and Open Spaces Real Options for City Kids (R.O.C.K.) programs are designed to serve over 500 children ages 6–17 years in a youth development framework. Programs take place during the school day, after school, weekends and over the summer. R.O.C.K. provides sports/fitness, academic support, learning enrichment, community service, outdoor adventures, leadership training, and job opportunities to participants who live or attend school in Visitacion Valley. http://rocksf.org River of Life Church is open to the community as a place to reflect and organize. The staff work to connect residents to needed services and programs and collaborate with many of the neighborhood service providers. San Francisco Street Violence Intervention Project (SVIP) is a street outreach and crisis response effort with a network of public safety partners to reduce violence and homicides. SVIP collaborates with the SF Dept. of Public Health to provide behavioral health services to high at-risk individuals, and their families. TURF focuses on serving at-risk youth living in and around Sunnydale. Program areas include job readiness, homework program, girls support group, fitness programs, youth recreational and enrichment activities, and movie nights. TURF has partnered with Mercy/Related and other CBO’s over the years to provide Thanksgiving turkeys for families, back-to-school materials, and various community activities varying from basketball tournaments to a workforce readiness programs. Vis-Valley One Stop Career Link Center provides workforce services that promote sustainable prosperity. Services include, but are not limited to job search assistance, career planning and exploration, job preparation workshops, training opportunities, access to resource rooms, unemployment information, and supportive services. http:// www.workforcedevelopmentsf.drawon.me/jobseekerservices 39 Neighborhood History & Context Samoan Community Development Center offers a variety of youth services, senior services, and senior support. Services include but are not limited to violence prevention case management for youth on probation, empowering Polynesians in culture workshops, K–8 after school programs, anger management workshops, 7 week summer youth leadership program, strengthening families workshop for both youth and parents, congregate meals twice a week, bingo, exercise nutrition workshops, bi-monthly fieldtrips, assistance in housing, employment, immigration issues, parent education workshops, Visitacion Home visits, domestic violence workshops, a family crisis hotline, and assistance in obtaining birth certificates from American Samoa. http://www.sfkids.org/Content.aspx?id=8904 Sunnydale Health and Wellness Center is a partnership between Mercy/Related and DPH. Services include an in-person confidential nurse advice, assistance with minor medical issues, Flu shots, TB testing, blood pressure check, blood sugar screening, support for stress and grief, self-care coaching, and a variety of wellness programs. The center connects residents to programs and services through the Mercy/Related Peer Leaders and Community Liaison. The Peer Leader Manager, Peer Leaders and Community Liaison work tirelessly to connect the diverse groups of residents to the different events and programs throughout the year. Visitacion Valley Service Provider Collaborative Parks and Open Spaces TURF Bayview YMCA APA Family/ VVSF Samoan CDC VV One Stop Boys and Career Girls Club ROCK River of Life SVIP Mercy RSCs Youth Services Job readiness After school/homework support Girls’ support group Fitness/recreation Movie nights Back-to-school assistance P P P P P P P P P Youth mental health support School-based programs Case management Youth violence prevention Neighborhood History & Context 40 P P P P P P P P P Youth leadership P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P Adult and Family Services Financial assistance Job placement Resume building Service connection P P P Benefits and practical assistance Parenting education Food pantries School readiness Abuse and violence prevention P Community building P Mental health services P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P Family crisis hotline P P P P P P P P Treatment and residential care Polynesian culture workshops P P P P P P P P P Education Visitacion Valley’s educational resources are primarily public schools of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), childcare and out-of-school programs for K-12 students operated by nonprofit organizations in the neighborhood that provide structured academic support and youth development programs. The Boys and Girls Club, TURF, Samoan Community Development Center, Mercy Housing’s Resident Services at its four apartment communities, GASA, and ROCK provide these programs at various locations in the neighborhood, including at the local schools. The Five Keys Charter School, a high school/GED program initiated by the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, also has a satellite program at The Village on Sunnydale Avenue and at Turf in Sunnydale. Visitacion Valley has 1,267 children who are ages 0–4, but only 15 early childhood learning centers that are licensed programs. According to the San Francisco Child Care Planning and Advisory Council Early Care and Education Needs Assessment, Visitacion Valley has an unmet need of 726 subsidy eligible children between the ages of 0–5 years. Sunnydale has 276 children ages 0-4 on-lease, with only one licensed childcare center within the Sunnydale border. Residents regularly express the difficulty in acquiring childcare slots locally. Elementary and Middle Schools The neighborhood has three public schools: Visitacion Valley Elementary School, Eldorado Elementary School, and Visitacion Valley Middle School. Despite the high percentage of households that are families with children, these schools can sometimes be under-enrolled because parents are not selecting these schools as their top choices for their children within the Citywide enrollment system designed to provide school choice and racial diversity in the schools. With only 26% of Sunnydale students attending local schools, students are spread over 77 different schools. In an attempt for consistency, the San Francisco Unified School District is implementing a system in which the two local elementary schools feed its graduating students into Visitacion Valley Middle School. Eldorado Elementary and Visitacion Valley Middle School are Low Performing Schools with a statewide Annual Performance Index (API) score of 2 (well below average) and Visitacion Valley Elementary School is ranked 4 (below average) out of a possible high score of 10. The API score is calculated by measuring student performance in a variety of content areas based on statewide, standardized assessment tests. The rankings are then calculated by comparing a school with other schools with similar opportunities and challenges. 41 Neighborhood History & Context Early Learning Formerly operating as a preschool program, SFUSD’s John McClaren Early Education School is now a Transitional Kindergarten (“TK”) school for children who are not yet old enough for kindergarten. Located in between the Sunnydale housing community and McLaren Park, it also provides before and after school programs for students attending the local elementary schools listed below. Schools Statistics Parks andLocal Open Spaces Neighborhood History & Context 42 Eldorado Elementary Vis Valley Elementary Vis Valley Middle Grades K–5 K–5 6–8 # of Students 274 373 389 % proficient in English (grade 5 or 8) 34% 45% 33% % proficient in Math (grade 5 or 8) 37% 61% 22% % free lunch 50% 67% 61% English Learners 22% 50% 25% Sources: (El Dorado Elementary School Accountability Report 2012–2013”) (Visitacion Valley Elementary School Accountability Report 2012–2013) (Visitacion Valley Middle School Accountability Report 2012–2013) Sunnydale youth designing a new playground. High School and GED Innovative programs are being implemented to raise the performance of these schools and to address the academic and social needs of students, who are often English language learners and/or socio-economically disadvantaged. Some examples of innovative approaches include: • Visitacion Valley Elementary offers case management through their interagency Coordinated Care program for at-risk students. • El Dorado Elementary School aims to tap students’ different learning modalities by integrating literacy and arts into the curriculum, including music, ballet, drama and visual arts. • A Wellness Center at Visitacion Valley Middle School is now open daily during lunchtime, offering arts and crafts, music, games, computers, and movies. The largest concentration of Sunnydale high school students can be found in Balboa High School with 12 students and an API score of 5. 64% of the youth in Sunnydale ages 14–17 were in SFUSD dataset and 34% were found to be chronically truant. There may be a correlation between the chronic truancy and low test scores among Sunnydale high school students, as 36% score below basic levels in English and 55% score below basic math levels on standardized tests. Despite the high truancy rate and low standardized testing performance, 21 students participated in the new Sunnydale location of the Five Keys program. This represents a strong desire for educational help among students. In addition, 54 students from Visitacion Valley enrolled in the Village location of the Five Keys program. Employment Overall, 12% of Visitacion Valley residents are unemployed compared to 76% of Sunnydale residents who are unemployed. In contrast, the City’s unemployment rate is 5.3%. The extremely high unemployment rate amongst Sunnydale residents ages 16 years and older is a result of a number of factors, including: disabilities and trauma; low high school graduation rates; lack of work experience, including summer and after school jobs for youth; lack of affordable childcare, particularly for single headed households; and the physical, social and economic isolation of Sunnydale households from the resources and activity of the City. Unemployment Rate Visitacion Valley 12% 76% San Francisco 5.3% Number of Percent of Households Households Out of work & looking for work 55 22% Out of work but not currently looking for work 36 14% A homemaker 11 4% Full-time student, not working 11 4% Unable to work 47 19% Employed part-time 28 11% Employed full-time 33 13% Self-employed/I have my own business 0 0% Full-time student & working 1 1% Part-time student & working 1 1% Retired 22 9% Other 8 3% Source: (LFA Preliminary Sunnydale Needs Assessment Results) Source: (LFA Preliminary Sunnydale Needs Assessment Results) “Being part of the transformation team made me realize people do care, that change is possible, that it takes the community to change the community, that slowly we are building a strong family.” — Peer Leader at the Health & Wellness Center 43 Neighborhood History & Context Sunnydale Employment Statistics in Sunnydale Safety From 2010 through 2012, there were 1,284 violent crimes in Visitacion Valley, including homicides, physical assaults and rapes reported to the San Francisco Police Department. This is equal to 53.06 violent offenses per 1,000 residents, compared to the rates of other San Francisco neighborhood that range from a low of 0.7 to a high of 1,134 offenses per 1000 residents. Number of Part 1 Crimes in Sunnydale Year Homicide, Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Theft, Vehicle Theft, Arson 2012 169 2013 150 The Sunnydale development falls within San Francisco Police Department Plot Number 394, which has a population of approximately 2,395 and includes a portion of Visitacion Valley outside of Sunnydale. Neighborhood History & Context 44 Residents perceive public safety to be considerably worse in Visitacion Valley than the rest of San Francisco. During the day, 66% of the residents feel safe or very safe in Visitacion Valley, but at night this drops to only 23% of the residents feeling safe or very safe. This is in comparison to the overall City average of 84% of San Franciscans who feel safe or very safe during the day and 51% of San Franciscans who feel safe in their neighborhoods at night. The perceived lack of safety of a neighborhood inhibits social interactions and physical activity outdoors, and may be influenced by residents’ feeling of integration into the fabric of the neighborhood. Worrying about safety may also cause chronic stress, which can lead to hypertension and other physical ailments. Key safety partners participating to envision a safe neighborhood. Health & Well-Being Though San Francisco fares well in key health areas, there are major disparities in Visitacion Valley and Sunnydale. Households report lack of access to primary care, dental care, and report various ailments that hinder self-sufficiency. For a total population of 21,130 people in Visitacion Valley, there is only one primary care clinic and one family health center in the neighborhood. The San Francisco Community Health Assessment found that San Francisco rates better than state outcomes and national benchmarks in the area of prenatal care and birth outcomes at 13% of mothers who did not receive prenatal care in the first trimester, but in Visitacion Valley, 20% of mothers received no prenatal care in the first trimester. Percentage of Sunnydale Households Receiving Public Benefits Percentage of Households Public Benefits Percentage of Households No Benefits 4% General Assistance 5% Medi-Cal 72% SSI 24% CalWORKS/TANF 31% SSDI 7% Healthy SF 21% SSA 9% Food Stamps 50% Veteran 1% WIC 16% Other 8% PAES 1% Sunnydale residents are twice as likely as San Franciscans to be hospitalized for diabetes, heart failure, asthma, and other chronic diseases. Chronic illness is often a primary barrier for employment and a significant percentage of households indicate that a household member experiences one or more chronic conditions. According to SFDPH research, the leading causes for emergency room visits in Visitacion Valley are urinary tract infections and adult asthma. With Chronic Conditions Health Issues and Conditions Percentage of Sunnydale households indicating that at least one member has the following health conditions Difficulty standing, walking, or climbing 36% Difficulty seeing (blind or low vision) 30% Deaf or hard of hearing 16% Any long-term (chronic) illness (diabetes, asthma, heart disease, others) 48% Source: (LFA Preliminary Sunnydale Needs Assessment Results) Source: (LFA Preliminary Sunnydale Needs Assessment Results) 45 Neighborhood History & Context Public Benefits The isolation of Visitacion Valley has led to stark health disparities from San Francisco. Although 84% of Sunnydale households visit a regular doctor, it is a common misconception among residents that an emergency room visit is akin to primary care. Moreover, 21% of Sunnydale households have failed to receive needed prescriptions in the past 12 months due to affordability and have expressed difficulty accessing dental care. Although 72% of Sunnydale households are receiving Medi-Cal, most residents feel disconnected from the health care system. Parks and Open Spaces the proper primary care and health education, residents can prevent these emergency visits. However, the isolation and lack of primary health clinics is a perennial concern in Visitacion Valley. Neighborhood History & Context 46 Similar to many impoverished neighborhoods in America, Visitacion Valley exemplifies the characteristics of an urban food desert. For years, the corner Village Market on Sunnydale Avenue remained one of the only grocery options for residents. It was not until May 2014 that the alternative, Grocery Outlet, was opened. With 50% of Sunnydale households receiving Food Stamps, food insecurity is a severe issue that can negatively impact development and impair residents’ productivity and economic potential. In the absence of a farmers market, residents opt for McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken because of their value meal pricing. In response to the lack of healthy food options, the Sunnydale Health and Wellness Center instituted a weekly smoothie party and started a community garden to improve health education in the neighborhood. Conclusion Vis Valley and Sunnydale share key neighborhood assets—green space and ample sun, proximity to downtown and the South Bay, and a large percentage of families and immigrants, bringing vital diversity to a city that is increasingly less so. The two communities also share significant challenges—physical and social isolation from the broader city and each other, low-performing schools, insufficient services and amenities, and a disproportionately high crime rate. Any plan for transformation must begin by confronting Sunnydale’s challenges: the high percentage of unemployed adults, neighborhood isolation, and disparate crime rates, and must simultaneously remove the barriers dividing Sunnydale from Visitacion Valley and Visitacion Valley from San Francisco. Mental health and stress are also contributors to low health outcomes. Despite a high crime rate in Sunnydale, only 27% of households have sought professional help to deal with negative feelings. Improving the multifaceted issues contributing to poor health can help improve residents’ wellbeing. The high rate of chronic illness and inability to access proper health care affects the ability for self-sufficiency and upward mobility. Health and wellbeing remains a huge obstacle in transforming lives of Sunnydale residents. Smoothie party at the Health and Wellness Center, Neighborhood Plan Two Communities, One Cohesive Neighborhood VisVision One + One = One Neighborhood Plan 48 The VisVision Neighborhood Plan is designed to unite Visitacion Valley’s historically isolated communities into one thriving and cohesive neighborhood. Visitacion Valley has long been physically and economically isolated from many of the amenities and opportunities that make San Francisco such a sought-after place to live and work. Within the neighborhood, racial, cultural, and linguistic divides and turf-related violence between public housing developments inhibit the relationships and bonds that form the foundation of a healthy neighborhood. After decades of widening disparities and broken government promises, a monumental effort is required to replace the sense of abandonment with one of shared hope that this time, the neighborhood’s vision for a brighter future will finally become a reality. Fortunately, there is growing understanding that “business as usual” is not sufficient for uniting the neighborhood. The goal of VisVision is to transform this fractured community into a sustainable neighborhood. The cornerstone of VisVision’s Neighborhood Plan is a place-based, shared leadership theory of change that integrates HOPE SF’s efforts to bring together City departments with Mercy/Related’s residentcentered community engagement. This shared leadership approach will be implemented through three Community Initiatives that build tip·ping point noun 1. the point at which a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change. strength in the community, even before constructing new housing. The combination of innovative investments in and tangible results from these Community Initiatives will bring a “tipping point” in which the City ensures delivery and assessment of effective programs and services, and Mercy/Related spearheads construction of new housing and amenities. This transformed neighborhood will be sustained by residents who assume leadership with support from a cohesive community. The ultimate impact of these changes will be a VisVision in which all residents enjoy living in a thriving neighborhood with quality activities and amenities, responsive city services, and a beautiful and healthy environment. To achieve this vision for neighborhood transformation, residents, community partners, and investors will focus on the following priorities. Physical & Social Cohesion Residents in all corners of the neighborhood share a deep desire to connect across the current divides. The primary strategy for increasing cohesion is to facilitate a community-centered process that inspires hope, builds confidence, directs actions, and results in a sense of pride in Visitacion Valley. Connections between communities and across racial, cultural, linguistic, and geographic lines will allow residents to move freely within all areas of the neighborhood. A robust and inclusive local business sector will serve all residents fairly. Community hubs will offer a variety of programs and services that draw people from throughout the neighborhood. In the long-term, thriving schools, services, and a local economy will bring equity to economic status, health and wellbeing, and education. Metrics to show cohesion will include survey responses, voting rates, participation in neighborhood initiatives, and family and community stability. VisVision Roadmap WHY HERE? WHY NOW? • Hope SF — San Francisco’s major initiative to increase equity among SF families by creating new public housing in thriving, mixed income neighborhoods. • Neighborhood Need — Visitacion Valley’s diverse residents and families experience high crime and poverty rates in this neighborhood populated primarily by families with children.. VISVISION THEORY OF CHANGE • Shared Leadership — All stakeholder groups actively participate in planning and implementation. • Neighborhood Tipping Point — The point at which tangible changes add up to large-scale transformation. • Resident Leadership — Residents are empowered to sustain a transformed neighborhood. 1 A PH S E 2 A PH S E 3 A PH S E APPROACH Shared Leadership APPROACH Shared leadership with City alignment TOOLS Research assessments, community forums, and planning workshops TOOLS Research assessments, community forums, and planning workshops TOOLS Community Initiatives, Innovative Investments, Tangible Results STAKEHOLDERS Residents, community providers, city government STAKEHOLDERS Residents, community providers, city government STAKEHOLDERS Residents, Bay Area providers, government/funders MASTER PLANNING 2008–2012 COMMUNITY PLANNING 2013–2014 IMPLEMENTATION 2014–2030 + + = + + = + + = Neighborhood Plan APPROACH Shared Leadership 49 Health Care Neighborhood Plan 50 Systems Alignment & Accountability Vital to the success of the shared leadership approach is the City’s willingness to embrace change, explore new ways of partnering, and respond quickly to residents’ immediate needs. Residents and providers have emphasized the need to create access to streamlined, effective, and resident-friendly services and opportunities, especially for residents not currently engaged. Equally important is residents’ and providers’ desire to see responsive and transparent assessment of City services and their results. Strategies to achieve systems transformation start with identifying what is vital to make progress, then work to align VisVision with efforts underway at other HOPE SF sites. While building capacity among existing providers, it will be vital to establish new partnerships with high-impact organizations beyond the neighborhood. In addition to health, education, employment, and safety impacts described in the People Plan, increased systems alignment and accountability will result in safe and reliable public transportation, improved public works projects, and enhanced parks and recreation spaces and programs. Metrics will be created to measure systems impacts through direct resident feedback on programs and services as well as HOPE SF data. Resources The transformation plan’s ambitious scope and limited current funding require innovative investments to lay a strong foundation for implementation. Strategies to secure sufficient resources include leveraging adequate funding over a sufficient period of time to realize impacts, maximizing return on investment by creating a robust implementation infrastructure, and expanding initial city investments into increasingly diverse local and national funding streams. In light of historic shifts in investor priorities that often leave the community hanging, VisVision’s implementation will bring consistent, reliable resources with which to implement and sustain transformation. Metrics include savings from reduced expenditures on crisis response, matched by a stronger tax base from increased business, employment, and property taxes. The ultimate return on investment will be the increased ability of families to stay and thrive in San Francisco. Sustainability With HOPE SF, VisVision provides an opportunity to create and implement solutions to some of the country’s most pressing challenges in human, natural, and built environments. Strategies to sustain the success of VisVision include crafting policy solutions and reaching a tipping point beyond which the neighborhood is predominantly self-sufficient. At a human level, outputs include greater community capacity and local control as well as increased equity and justice for all resident groups. For the natural environment, sustainability is all about the green: green buildings, green energy, green spaces, green foods (and we’re not just talking broccoli!) and green transportation. Metrics include policies that support community-driven decision making, family and community stability, and local and national recognition of VisVision’s groundbreaking practices. Local service providers collectively plan for the future of Visitacion Valley. Health Care RESULTS Roadmaps: Drawing on results of this shared leadership approach, Mercy/Related’s Development Team (the Development Team) has spearheaded creation of six ‘Roadmaps’ that synthesize input from all of Visitacion Valley’s key stakeholder groups. These are described in detail in their respective sections of the Plan. UNDERWAY HUD-Choice Neighborhood Plan: The VisVision Transformation Plan is providing an opportunity to synthesize and refine the results of the community planning process. Sharing the plan with residents during the launch of the Implementation Phase through a series of community meetings will be a major boost to residents’ grasp of the overall direction and how they can become involved. 51 Neighborhood Plan UP NEXT Neighborhood Hub: As part of the first phase of construction, a new neighborhood Hub at the border of Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley will provide the whole neighborhood with new parks, community facilities, and retail locations. This Hub will engage residents of all ages in healthy activities and help build the trust and social cohesion necessary for uniting the neighborhood to support the VisVision transformation. Residents working together to envision a vibrant neighborhood. Neighborhood Transformation Roadmap • Systems Alignment & Accountability • Sufficient Resourcing Neighborhood Plan 52 • Sustainability STRATEGIES • Ensure ongoing community engagement in transformation • Organize community activities, connect residents to programs and services • Coordinate with HOPE SF to conduct ongoing assessments that measure impact • Hold City accountable for specific impacts • Secure dedicated, sustainable resources • Maximize return on investment thru collective impact of safety, health, education, employment, and housing strategies • Align with HOPE SF systems change to craft policies informed by community-driven innovations IMPACT Short-term, 3–5 yrs. Outputs: • Residents express HOPE about the neighborhood’s future • Residents, organizations, and businesses are connected in neighborhood • Coordination within and alignment across City departments including key domains plus parks and transportation • Partnerships with high-impact orgs. throughout SF/Bay Metrics: • # and % of positive survey responses • # and % of residents doing volunteer work • # of public/private partnerships • # of new partnerships and providers • % of residents voting • Amount of dedicated city resources PA C T V ST P • Physical & Social Cohesion 3 IM Mid-term, 5–10 yrs. Long-term, 10 yrs. + Outputs: Outputs: • Residents express CONFIDENCE in the transformation process • Robust and resident-friendly local business district and community Hub • Partnerships with high impact orgs. around U.S. • Responsive and effective City services • Diverse funders partner in long-term support • Residents express PRIDE of place in VV • Residents enjoy economic, health, and education equity and experience social justice • Thriving schools, services, and local economy • Expanded housing with ethnic and economic diversity • Healthy natural and built environment • Increased family and community stability Metrics: • # of positive survey responses • # of participants in community programs/events • # of new amenities • # of new businesses • # high-impact organizations serving neighborhood • # of statistical trends in positive direction • # of policy changes • Amount of total dedicated resources Metrics: • # and % of positive survey responses • Self-sufficiency indicators • Disparities in safety, health, education, employment, and housing • Ratio of affordable and market rate housing to public housing • Racial and ethnic mix • # of green-designed features and elements • # of places that adopt VisVision model • Tenure of residents, services, businesses 4 IS VIS IO N PRIORITIES 2 TEGI RA ES 1 OR I T I E S RI VISVISION VV residents enjoy living in a thriving neighborhood with quality activities and amenities, responsive city services, and a beautiful and healthy environment. Community Engagement One + One + One = 1,000 53 Neighborhood Plan The cumulative impact of the three-phase transformation process is designed to be far greater than the sum of its parts. As the cornerstone for achieving VisVision, community engagement is integral to every aspect of the plan. Mercy/Related launched the planning process in 2008, confident that the wisdom and insights of those most affected by current challenges would lead to a host of innovative and impactful strategies for how to overcome past challenges. Demonstrating immediate ‘wins’ throughout the engagement process has built momentum toward a VisVision in which residents are active leaders in the neighborhood and beyond, generating high-impact innovations and contributing to creative problem solving. Achieving this vision will require a dramatic shift in the images residents hold for themselves, their neighborhood, and the city. Significant barriers to community engagement include that residents must feel safe and be able to meet their basic needs before they have the capacity to prepare for what lies ahead; they must be convinced that a history of unfilled promises will be replaced by responsive systems that function with integrity; and they must trust that they and their neighbors have the capacity to learn and lead at previously unimagined levels. Planning participants identified the following priorities for assessing the community engagement process to ensure it meets criteria for overcoming these barriers: Resident & Community Empowerment Mercy/Related Development Team selected a resident-centered community engagement process that builds capacity to move residents along the continuum from involvement to ownership to leadership. Residents will also participate in developing assessments of the process and its impacts. The long-term result will be residents who are active leaders in local and city governance, generating highimpact innovations and contributing to creative problem-solving at all levels. Metrics include the number of residents receiving leadership training and holding formal leadership roles in the transformation process and beyond. Resident planning workshops were held in various languages to capture the diversity of Visitacion Valley. This planning workshop was held in Spanish. Health Care Collective Action Residents, community partners, and City departments will work together on three community-designed initiatives. A Visitacion Valley Leadership Academy will be formed to help build capacity for residents to design and lead implementation of VisVision’s Community Initiatives. Robust partnerships with high-impact organizations within and outside the neighborhood will maximize residents’ investment while a neighborhood governance model will be designed to ensure long-term decision-making is heavily influenced by residents. Metrics include participation in the community initiatives, positive process assessments, and the number of highly effective organizations involved in the neighborhood. Neighborhood Plan 54 Tangible & Lasting Benefits The combination of resident empowerment and collective action will result in tangible and lasting benefits as measured by residents as well as external evaluation. VisVision will have an ever-expanding impact, reaching around the city and beyond. Long-term, the impact of multiple generations being engaged in transformation will inspire a culture of positive leadership that becomes self-sustaining. Metrics include visible evidence of collective action, improved data for community outcomes, and examples of the engagement process being used a model for replication. Community Engagement Process Approach The Community Engagement Process includes three phases: Master Planning, Community Planning, and Implementation. The Master Planning phase generated resident priorities for physical living spaces and vital amenities; the just-concluded Community Planning phase identified collective priorities for `collective action with tangible and lasting community benefits. The Process surfaced collective priorities for safety, education, employment, health, and housing as well as innovative, community-centered strategies for transforming the neighborhood. Given the neighborhood’s long history of isolation, the Planning Process placed primary emphasis on building trust among all stakeholders through a residentcentered approach to the planning phases and will implement a shared leadership approach during the Implementation Phase. Workshops used the ToP planning workshops to create a safe space for individuals to envision a vibrant neighborhood Health Care Surveys Workshops Research SAFETY FIRST HEALTH & WELLBEING LEARNING & EARNING Stakeholders The VisVision Planning Phases engaged residents, community partners, and government agencies. By convening people as naturally and conveniently as possible, the Community Planning process has been particularly effective at engaging populations that are often not reached including Samoan seniors, African American young men, and recent Chinese immigrants among others. The Community Planning phase also engaged stakeholders from city agencies across all the key domains including representatives from Violence Prevention Services, SF Unified School District, and the Housing Authority. A broader, even more diverse cohort of organizational partners and funders will be included in the implementation phase. 55 Neighborhood Plan Tools The primary tools used in the community engagement process are research assessments, community forums, and planning sessions and workshops. The assessments encompass research on neighborhood data from the Department of Public Health, Office of Economic Development, SF Unified Schools District, and the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice as well as Housing Authority and HOPE SF data on residents of Sunnydale. Knowing the importance of using engagement methods with proven efficacy in severely fractured and disempowered communities, the Development Team adopted the Technology of Participation’s (ToP) evidence-based techniques for the Community Planning Sessions and workshops. The ToP planning workshops created a safe space for individuals to write their top answers to a common question, post their answers on a ‘sticky’ wall, collectively group individual ideas into similar categories, and create a title for each category heading. Headings from different workshops were then combined into core priorities for the neighborhood at large. Community Initiative Projects Health Care RESULTS Neighborhood Blueprint: This first phase of planning succeeded in creating blueprints for how residents of varied income levels will inhabit family friendly housing close to services and amenities; laid a strong foundation for the Community Planning. The Sunnydale Master Plan reintegrates the site into the larger neighborhood with new housing and street grids, and a new neighborhood hub on the border of Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley. Mercy/Related staff explains the master planning process at an Advisory Team meeting. Neighborhood Plan 56 PHASE ONE: Master Planning The Master Planning Phase (2008–2012) focused on housing and amenities within the Sunnydale rebuild and how the new Sunnydale housing will blend with the surrounding Visitacion Valley neighborhood. Over the course of five years, the Mercy/ Related Development Team hosted a series of information sessions about HOPE SF and Sunnydale site goals; open houses to identify existing community assets and plan for neighborhood integration; design workshops to conceptualize buildings, open spaces, and an overall site plan; as well as community forums in response to urgent transportation & safety concerns. Over 500 neighbors participated in these gatherings which offered translation in Cantonese, Samoan, and Spanish. These events produced a visionary Master Plan that not only integrates Sunnydale residents into the broader Visitacion Valley community but also invites neighbors and newcomers into the Sunnydale community. A new mix of Sunnydale housing will attract diverse residents; a variety of high quality programs and services will enable youth and families to thrive; and new parks and greenscaping will provide healthy places for everyone to gather and play. Physical Improvements: A new bus stop has been created in the neighborhood, and the Herz Playground has been renovated with a new field and basketball courts. UNDERWAY Greening: The Boys and Girls Club and Urban Sprouts have revived two community gardens. Business Developments: A new Visitacion Valley grocery store and retail projects along Leland Avenue will revitalize business and improve nutrition options. Health Care UP NEXT Green Design: Developers have obtained LEED ND certification of the Sunnydale & Schlage master plans as green neighborhoods; education and efficient design will lead to increased water and energy conservation; and the creation of more bus lines, bike lanes, and pedestrian walkways will give residents much more independence from cars. Surrounding Developments: With 200,000 additional residents expected in the next 20 years, San Francisco is awash with new housing and retail developments. Along with VisVision, the following projects will bring new services and amenities to Visitacion Valley residents: • The Hunters Point Shipyard and Candlestick Park (former home of the San Francisco 49’ers football team) are currently under construction with 6,000 new homes, 930,000 square feet of retail and office space, and 100 acres of parks. • San Francisco recently approved the development of an ‘Executive Park’ about a mile east of the Schlage Lock site which will include 2,800 housing units. • San Francisco is planning a ‘Green Connection’ from Candlestick Recreation Area to Sunnydale and McLaren Park along Leland, Hahn, and Sunnydale Avenues. A Green Connection is a pedestrian- and bike-friendly street network that connects people to parks and open spaces, improving access to urban ecology and wildlife. Kids enjoy one of Sunnydale’s playgrounds. • Large housing and retail developments are under consideration across Geneva Avenue in Daly City at the Cow Palace, (currently a venue for major regional events like trade shows) and at Geneva and Bayshore Boulevard in the Brisbane Baylands, a 684-acre site bordering Visitacion Valley, with potential for 12 million feet of office, entertainment, hotel, convention, and retail space. 57 Neighborhood Plan • San Francisco and San Mateo Counties are pursuing a Complete Streets Plan for Geneva Avenue to transform it from an autofocused street to one that includes a Bus Rapid Transit line to Balboa BART station and bicycle and pedestrian pathways. Health Care PHASE TWO: Community Planning Neighborhood Plan 58 Launched in fall of 2013, Phase Two of Community Planning engaged over 250 residents and providers in a year-long series of planning workshops designed to build trust, honor individual voices, and inspire a collective vision for transformation. Based on the Technology of Participation (ToP) techniques from the Institute of Cultural Affairs, the Community Planning Workshops were designed as workshops that built collaborative capacity and identified shared priorities for community transformation. Residents, CBO providers, and community stakeholders came together to align Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley revitalization efforts in a comprehensive and cohesive Neighborhood Plan. Participants began each session with breathing and stretching exercises to release stress and create openings for new ideas and connections. A series of Sunnydalespecific planning workshops engaged residents and service providers around issues unique to Sunnydale. Sunnydale resident workshops (held in Samoan, Spanish, Cantonese, and in English) asked: What are the key elements of a plan to transform the Sunnydale community? Five additional planning workshops joined residents and CBO providers in addressing shared priorities for transforming health, education, economy, and safety in Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley. In addition, workshops were held with targeted groups including youth, women, Samoan seniors, and Asian residents. RESULTS CBO Collaborative: The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development began transferring facilitation of the Visitacion Valley Community Collaborative (the Collaborative) over to the Development Team in 2013. Visitacion Valley CBOs have historically suffered from fragmentation similar to the neighborhood at large: competition for funding and difficulty in crossing ‘boundaries’ to serve residents from different areas. A Collaborative retreat in fall 2013 allowed provider and resident participants to acknowledge the need to work together going forward, and to identify collective priorities for the Transformation Plan. Staff learned quickly that highlighting current neighborhood data as a prompt for discussion dampened spirits. As one participant said, “We don’t need data to tell us what’s not working. We need a plan and the funds to make things right.” This feedback was incorporated into the rest of the Planning Sessions. Health & Wellness Center: The new Sunnydale Health & Wellness Center provides health services, sponsors community events and exercise classes, and serves as visible evidence of the positive changes underway. Emergency personnel have already reported a decrease in emergency calls and ER visits since the opening. Community Calendar: A monthly calendar of activities includes game nights, Zumba classes, and a neighborhood walking tour. An Annual Family Day Celebration and Back-to-School Backpack Giveaway each engage over 1,000 residents. Weekly garden days have revived a community garden in Sunnydale that provides handson programs for youth and food and exercise for families and seniors. Health Care Resident Response: For meetings like the Safety Forums, flyers were distributed through CBOs, churches, and neighborhood associations. Ten Planning Sessions and two Safety Forums drew more than 400 participants, an indication that despite linguistic, physical, and cultural barriers, the people of Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley are eager to bring about long-awaited improvements to their community. Building on strength and momentum from the CBO Collaborative meetings and several community forums, the Development Team recruited participants for a series of 10 resident planning workshops. Attendance was increased when meetings were planned to coincide with regularly scheduled activities like Bingo for Samoan Seniors and a weekly support group for Chinese immigrants. Translation was provided by the group’s regular facilitators, increasing participants’ trust in the process. UNDERWAY Sunnydale Needs Assessment Report: The Development Team worked closely with consultants at Learning For Action (LFA) to incorporate VisVision questions into HOPE SF’s baseline surveys. The Sunnydale survey process included LFA staff and SF State Health Education interns who collectively reached out to every unit in Sunnydale. Surveys were conducted in English, Spanish, and Cantonese, and additional outreach to under-represented populations ensured that results will reflect the community’s diversity. Over 400 surveys were ultimately answered; final analysis of the surveys and writing of a needs assessment report will be completed by LFA this fall. Based on their interactions with residents, Spanish and Cantonese-speaking surveyors also made recommendations for how to address barriers to engaging those populations going forward. UP NEXT Phase Three: Implementation Results of the Community Planning phase were integrated into three Community Initiatives that will launch in early 2015. Planning participants and community members will be invited to an exhibit of the Master Planning and Community Planning Phases where they will have opportunities to get involved in implementing the Community Initiatives. 59 Neighborhood Plan Mercy/Related staff sharing information at local community event. Discussion of what had worked and what hadn’t work in previous community development efforts allowed people to give voice to past disappointment in preparation for embracing a new, shared future. Community Engagement Roadmap • Collective Action (HOPE SF + VisVision) Neighborhood Plan 60 • Tangible and Lasting Benefits STRATEGIES • Ensure residents are at the center of transformation process • Build capacity for resident leadership of community-designed initiatives • Strengthen relationships at all levels • Adopt curriculum-based and evidence-based practices • Create tangible and lasting community benefits • Engage residents in assessing impact of community engagement IMPACT PA C T V ST P • Resident & Community Empowerment 3 IM Mid-term, 5–10 yrs. Long-term, 10 yrs. + Outputs: Outputs: Outputs: • Active resident INVOLVEMENT in Community Initiatives • Resident OWNERSHIP of VV transformation • Resident LEADERSHIP of transformed neighborhood • Local governance structure • VV Leadership Academy graduates • Expanded number of Community Initiatives • Multiple generations of family engagement in VisVision • Metrics and evaluation tools for community engagement process • Lasting benefits from Community Initiatives Short-term, 3–5 yrs. • Tangible benefits of Community Initiatives Metrics: • # and % of residents participating in Community Initiatives • # and % residents with leadership training • # and % of positive responses to process and impact assessments • # of completed community projects Metrics: • # resident leaders of Community Initiatives • # and scale of community projects • # of examples of community engagement approach being applied elsewhere in SF • Active community engagement in citywide initiatives Metrics: • # and % of resident instructors of Leadership Academy • # residents in city leadership roles • # and % of residents involved in neighborhood decision making • # of places that adopt community engagement approach 4 IS VIS IO N PRIORITIES 2 TEGI RA ES 1 OR I T I E S RI VISVISION VV residents are active leaders in the neighborhood and city, generating highimpact innovations and contributing to creative problem solving at all levels. People Plan People Make it Possible People Make it Possible People Plan 62 Visitacion Valley’s future will unite disparate communities within a cohesive neighborhood. Residents of both will live in attractive, affordable housing conveniently located near quality jobs, schools, retail, services, and amenities. The Development Team has partnered with Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley residents, service providers, and merchants to create this VisVision for People to ensure current residents are in the strongest position possible to reap the benefits of the Sunnydale rebuild and the Visitacion Valley transformation. Building trust and focusing on areas of common interest have been key themes throughout the transformation planning process. Community assessments identified clear reasons for the historic lack of neighborhood cohesion: street designs isolate Sunnydale from Visitacion Valley; language barriers inhibit dialogue with more than 70% of Visitacion Valley residents speaking a primary language other than English; cultural gaps further complicate communication with more than 50% of Visitacion Valley residents born outside the US while over 40% of Sunnydale residents are African Americans born in the US; and Visitacion Valley has a home ownership rate nearly twice the city average compared to no homeowners in Sunnydale. “You may believe people who live there are miserable, but the truth is the residents are happy and full of life. A few of them feel there’s no hope for Sunnydale, but the majority believe the community can be made into a prosperous and thriving one where people are proud to say they live there.” — College intern who conducted surveys in Spanish and English In tandem with these real and significant differences are important shared experiences: Visitacion Valley overall has twice as many residents with high school or less education and only one third as many with college or graduate degrees than San Francisco’s average; per capita income is less than half the city, while unemployment is nearly double; and both Visitacion Valley and Sunnydale have nearly 50% more family households than the city average. By building on commonalities and convening around shared priorities, residents will be more likely to establish the solid, stable footing required to engage as equal partners in implementing community-wide transformation initiatives. Planning session feedback indicated many Sunnydale residents initially prefer leadership roles in Sunnydale-centered activities both because they feel its needs are more urgent and because they feel less welcome and safe outside the confines of their immediate community. Likewise, Visitacion Valley community members are often reluctant to venture into Sunnydale. An example of the deep-seeded distrust is that Visitacion Valley merchants often refuse to accept Sunnydale residents’ credit cards or to provide pickups or deliveries within the confines of Sunnydale. Powerful community organizing is required to heal this fractured neighborhood. The VisVision Development Team’s original approach to Community Planning was built around a traditional committee structure for Health, Education, Safety, Economic Empowerment, and Housing. Safety First Initiative Universally identified as the most urgent of the three community initiatives, Safety First supports a VisVision of residents as members of a safe and socially cohesive community. Achieving this vision is paramount to building the trust needed to implement other areas of the Plan. With many residents consumed by meeting their basic needs and struggling with language, cultural, and economic barriers, safety offers a unifying focus that inspires them to become involved in a group effort. The Community Planning phase has already shown a strong commitment among Visitacion Valley activists to address disparities and injustices among public housing residents—a focus that is vital to making headway on historical tensions and violence. City departments have already made great strides in involving the whole criminal justice system in planning changes that address root causes of violence. To achieve the VisVision for safety, residents, community partners, and City departments will focus on the following four priorities: Recognizing the need for immediate action, the Development Team has adopted a “Doing while Planning” approach that is delivering tangible community benefits whenever possible. A Samoan senior resident with her goal for a vibrant community. 63 People Plan In the process of recruiting for these committees, it became clear that negative experiences and poor outcomes from previous collaborative efforts left people uninspired by the prospect of participating in another planning process. Furthermore, mistrust between various groups (residents and providers, Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley residents, different ethnic and linguistic communities) meant convening them around singular issues right out of the gate had the potential to heighten tensions rather than inspiring cohesion. Adopting the ToP techniques described in the Community Engagement section placed people rather than issues at the center of planning. ToP planning workshops were convened by language and ethnicity as well as by subject area. Fortunately, the resulting priorities showed common ground in what to do and how to do it. Adding together the groups’ priorities and information from the neighborhood assessments led directly to the design of three community initiatives. These initiatives incorporate core issues within a plan residents can relate to, easily participate in, and see the obvious results. Results are particularly important for harnessing energy and gathering momentum for implementation after so much stalling over the years. By seeing the influence people have had on the Community Planning process, residents and community partners are beginning to replace skepticism with hope, anger with trust, and apathy with determination. People from within and beyond the neighborhood are now poised to make the following three Community Initiatives a success. Prevention Strategies to prevent accidents and violence include promoting child abuse prevention and anti-bullying, reducing partner and domestic violence, and offering curriculum-based programs for high-risk youth and young adults. Establishing links to job training and employment in careers relevant to the neighborhood will increase resident investment in improved safety. With one of the city’s highest rates of pedestrian accidents, the Safety Initiative will sponsor a variety of pedestrian safety projects designed for all ages. People Plan 64 Prevention work will include partnerships with school-based family and student safety efforts, and other city-sponsored and communitybased prevention programs. For example, The Safety Team will work closely with the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council, adopting its “Circle of Care” model, which offers a continuum of services to help youth and young adults avoid and/or permanently exit the criminal justice system. These safety partnerships follow a community health approach to prevention. In the long-term, Visitacion Valley will be a neighborhood that is safe for residents and visitors alike. To measure the results of these strategies, VisVision will look at the number and types of crimes per capita, the number of high-risk youth and young adults participating in prevention programs, the number of arrests and probation cases per capita, and pedestrian safety rates. Local law enforcement helping pass out Turkeys for Thanksgiving. Enforcement The primary strategy to improve enforcement will be creation of the neighborhood Safety Plan in partnership with residents, CBOs, City departments, and law enforcement. This plan will detail specific actions to be implemented during the next two years. Initial work will focus on interventions like more effective safety devices such as shot-spotters and security cameras and more timely responses to local calls. Over the next several years, the focus will be on improving relations between residents and law enforcement, and between residents of divided communities. Combined, these changes will result in a sense of safety that encourages residents to move freely throughout the neighborhood. Effective enforcement will be measured in reductions in rates of shootings, homicides, drug sales, and property crimes; an increase in resident trust of law enforcement; and an increased rate of students and residents who express a sense of safety in the neighborhood. Circle of Care for Youth The “Circle of Care” model aims to address the individual in a holistic way, treating a young person’s family and community as integral to prevention and intervention. How the “Circle of Care” places youth and young adults in the center of a continuum of prevention, intervention, enforcement and re-entry services: Aftercare Prevention MORE INTENSE LESS INTENSE State incarceration Early risk identification and intervention County residential facilities Structured, shortterm residential programs Most restrictive Out-of-home County detention Pre-adjudication and post-adjudication emergency shelter programs From the Department of Children, Youth and Families: Youth Violence Prevention Initiative Report, 2011. Least restrictive In-home Pre-adjudication community-based supervision and intervention Post-adjudication communitybased supervision and intervention Intensive post-adjudication community-based supervision and intervention 65 People Plan Intensive, highlystructured, long-term residential Pre-adjudication community-based intervention People Plan 66 Restorative Justice Strategies for restorative justice, (repairing the harm caused by crime), include supporting the significant number of residents who suffer from the impacts of violence and trauma. Early outputs include a rapid and relevant crisis response plan, residents with formal training in supporting victims of trauma, established re-entry programs, community policing, and increased local employment in community development programs and projects. In the long run, residents could become members of law enforcement and hold other leadership positions in public safety. Successful community empowerment through restorative justice will be seen in an increase in the number of residents holding jobs that serve the community and an increase in the number of formal, resident-led safety projects. These will lead to a medium-term decrease in the rate of resident arrests and incarceration, especially among African American, Latino, and Samoan males, and a long-term decrease in the rate of violence and incarceration compared with other San Francisco neighborhoods. Service providers and residents enjoy the sunny weather during the backpack giveaway. Community Wellbeing Strategies to increase wellbeing in the community include a breaking of down of barriers between different housing developments and between residents of housing developments and the broader Visitacion Valley community. This will lead to safe transitions into new housing and increased trust among new neighbors. In the long-term, residents will experience equitable outcomes through the justice system increasing belief there is equity in the justice system. Community wellbeing metrics include decreased rates of personal and interpersonal violence, the number of residents working in Visitacion Valley development jobs, safety indicators on par with thriving neighborhoods in other parts of SF, and rates of home purchases that indicate the desirability of living in Visitacion Valley. Increased community wellbeing will break entrenched cycles of violence and involvement with the criminal justice system and thus contribute back to prevention. Safety First Initiative Roadmap • Enforcement • Restorative Justice • Community Wellbeing STRATEGIES • Promote child abuse prevention and antibullying in schools • Prevent and heal from partner and domestic violence • Adopt ‘Circle of Care’ approach for high-risk youth and young adults • Link with job training and careers in areas relevant to the neighborhood • Sponsor community and pedestrian safety projects • Partner with law enforcement and criminal justice system to create a Safety Plan Short-term, 3–5 yrs. Outputs: • Partner with school-based family and student safety efforts Mid-term, 5–10 yrs. Long-term, 10 yrs. + Outputs: Outputs: • Robust restorative justice practices aligned in local model • Residents in law enforcement and other public safety positions • Positive relations between • Menu of prevention residents of Sunnydale & programs aligned with ‘The Towers’ other Community Initiatives • Safe transitions into • Collaborative framework new housing with new aligning community and neighbors criminal justice system • Culture/’brand’ of a safe neighborhood • Rapid and relevant trauma prevention and crisis response plan • Model for other neighborhoods Metrics: • # of resident arrests and adult probation cases • Effective community courts and detention alternative programs • # and % of students and residents who express a sense of safety • VV police station with effective devices and timely response • # and % of residents who express trust in law enforcement Metrics: • # and % of shootings, homicides, drug sales, and property crimes • # of participants and % of representative neighborhood demographics • # of resident-led safety projects • # cases of personal/ interpersonal violence • # of residents working in VV development jobs • Increase housing demand • Equitable justice system outcomes • Residents trust there’s equity in the justice system Metrics: • # and % incarcerated compared with neighborhood demographics • Rates of violence and incarceration relative to other SF neighborhoods • # and % of residents who express trust in justice system • # of other neighborhoods that adopt Safety First plan • # market rate homes purchased 4 IS VIS IO VISVISION SVV residents are members of a safe and socially cohesive community. 67 People Plan • Offer curriculum-based youth and restorative justice programs (e.g. IPO) IMPACT PA C T V ST P • Prevention 3 IM N PRIORITIES 2 TEGI RA ES 1 OR I T I E S RI Doing While Planning RESULTS Community Safety Forums — The Development Team hosted two forums with over 200 resident participants from Sunnydale and the greater Visitacion Valley. Police participated in workshops and community meetings. Just bringing all the key stakeholders together — from on-the-ground residents and law enforcement officers to representatives from the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, the Youth & Adult Probation Departments, and the Mayor’s new Office of Violence Prevention Services — was a major accomplishment and generated much-needed goodwill among diverse participants. People Plan 68 Reduced Violence Rate in Sunnydale — A 37.5% reduction in homicide rates between summer 2012 and summer 2013 was likely due in part to an increase in service-oriented summer jobs, teambuilding field trips, and intensive programming for high-risk youth like the City’s Interrupt, Predict, and Organize (IPO) Initiative. IPO was launched in 2012 to reduce Street Violence and Family Violence among high risk families, youth and young adults residing in SFPDidentified “hot zones” including Visitacion Valley. A group of 30 of the neighborhood’s youth at highest risk for violence now attend a program at TURF in Sunnydale with academic, employment, and health/wellbeing activities. “I wish that I’d told them they’re the reason I do what I do.” — Master Plan architect after watching Seedfolks youth present their playground plans UNDERWAY Neighborhood Police Sub-Station: A plan has been proposed to open a Visitacion Valley police sub-station at Herz playground, and potentially an entirely new station for Visitacion Valley. The consensus is that having a home-base in the neighborhood will improve relationships between residents and law enforcement officers, provide officers with a better understanding of neighborhood challenges from residents’ perspectives, and lead to a higher level of responsiveness and faster response times. Expanded Youth Programming: Launched in July 2014, the Seedfolks pilot program recruited youth from Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley for a five-week, curriculum-based summer internship project. Youth interns identified priorities for a healthy neighborhood, then worked with a landscape architect to redesign the dilapidated playground behind the new Health & Wellness Center, and worked with an artist to create an inspiring mural design for the front of the new Center. Their presentation was attended by parents, CBOs and city officials, and resulted in commitments from the Housing Authority and the Department of Public Works to help them implement both projects during the coming school year. UP NEXT Safety Plan: The first order of business for the Safety Implementation Team will be to create a community-wide Safety Plan based on specific details and data from the Community Planning phase. Immediate needs include infrastructure improvements like lighting and cameras; increased interactions among residents to add more eyes on the streets and build confidence in collective safety efforts; and youth leadership programs to transform the neighborhood’s youth culture from dangerous to safe. Block Captain Program: With an initial focus on playground safety and improvements, the Safety Implementation team will recruit resident leaders to help implement the larger Safety Plan. After helping organize community work days to repair, revitalize, and maintain Sunnydale’s five playgrounds, the Block Captains will participate in leadership training to build their capacity to encourage residents of every block to take responsibility for their homes and yards; sponsor common area improvement projects like street cleaning and beautification; and lay the foundation for launching a formal community policing program. 69 People Plan Youth gathering input on creating a vibrant neighborhood. Learning & Earning Initiative People Plan 70 The Learning & Earning (L&E) Initiative combines the education and employment priorities from the Community Planning phase. Community Planning participants emphasized that lifelong learning is critical to economic empowerment and felt the two would be mutually reinforced through an integrated approach. The first order of business for L&E Initiative participants will be to launch the Visitacion Valley Leadership Academy modeled after Leadership San Francisco and the HOPE SF Leadership Program. The Academy will develop cohorts of community advocates and equip them to contribute to the VisVision transformation. These neighborhood advocates will work closely with community partners, schools, and city departments to create a continuum of high quality, linguistically and culturally relevant, curriculum-based learning opportunities for all ages. Likewise, identifying a pipeline of meaningful local employment options will motivate residents to pursue jobs that meet immediate and long-term community needs. With economic security as a driver of so many other disparities, it is critical to create a roadmap right now for future jobs. The few years of lead-time before implementation of the housing plan will be sufficient to identify jobs, know the training requirements, and address many of the barriers to employment. City departments are currently being mobilized through HOPE SF and their staffs will be partners in all the areas required to make this pipeline a reality for current residents. The Learning & Earning Initiative will support a VisVision in which residents excel academically, have stable and rewarding jobs, and enjoy creative pursuits. With academic and professional preparation, residents will be positioned to do the work, not just be targets or recipients of services. To achieve this vision, residents and community partners will focus on the following four priorities: Schools Strategies to improve school outcomes include developing local, quality, affordable childcare and pre-K slots for children ages 0-4, fostering strong community elementary and middle schools, and accessing high school and college degree options that prepare residents for meaningful careers after graduation. Early results will show residents attending quality neighborhood childcare and pre-K programs, increasing school readiness as they enter elementary school. With strong parent and community involvement in elementary and middle schools, students will achieve academic success in high-performing neighborhood schools. High-achieving middle school students will then be prepared for a range of High School and college options. The L&E Initiative Team will work closely with childcare programs and schools to ensure all resident groups have the family and community supports to be successful learners. Academic measures of success will include increased resident enrollment in early childhood learning and Visitacion Valley schools for young children; lower truancy, chronic absenteeism, and suspension rates in elementary and middle school; increased parent and community involvement in schools; improved API scores for all local schools; and increased high school graduation and college attendance among all resident groups. These advances will help to reduce the achievement gap between Visitacion Valley students and students in other SF neighborhoods, while increasing demand for neighborhood schools. Residents express their thoughts on a vibrant neighborhood through arts. Arts & Environment The primary strategy for supporting the arts and environmental learning is to partner with high-impact organizations to offer curriculum-based programs for residents of all ages that fulfill personal passions and add to social cohesion. First steps will be to offer engaging classes and activities discussed during the Community Planning process and drawn from San Francisco’s rich array of arts and cultural offerings. The projects that participants create through these classes will provide lasting, visible benefits to the community in the form of exhibits, murals, greenways, and garden and park improvements. In the long-term, Visitacion Valley will be known as a neighborhood in which residents are active artists and environmentalists. Measure of success will include participation in community-based programs, leading over time to more residentled learning opportunities and more local businesses focused on the arts and environment. Technology & Finances VisVision will sponsor classes on technology and financial literacy to increase resident strength in these areas. With shockingly low access to technology, an immediate step will be to ensure universal local access to computers and the internet. Success in this area will be measured by the number and percentage of residents who use financial and technology tools in the pursuit of education, employment, and personal health. 71 People Plan Jobs & Workforce Development Strategies to increase employment centered on creating a pipeline of training, entry-level jobs, and full-time employment with particular emphasis on jobs related to the neighborhood’s transformation. An example of this continuum in the healthcare field could include Health Outreach or CAN training programs, then a range of employment options from entry level health outreach workers to Community College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University nursing and mental health professionals.. Short-term results will have residents engaging in workforce development in fields that address local needs for increased access to quality healthcare, healthy retail, affordable childcare, youth and after-school programming, landscaping, property development and property management, and construction. Short-term results will also include establishing strong links among pipeline partners so residents go through nearly seamless transitions as they advance in their training and careers. Results in the medium-term will have residents employed in local enterprises with opportunities for advancement, resulting in long-term economic mobility and financial security among all resident groups. These changes also impact the neighborhood’s transformation and sustainability. Employment metrics include completion rates for job training programs; employment in social enterprises, local businesses, and development projects; the number of Visitacion Valley jobs and the number of residents employed in them; the amount of capital available for local small businesses and social enterprises; and income levels among all resident groups. Learning & Earning Initiative Roadmap • Jobs and workforce development • Arts and environment People Plan 72 • Technology and finances STRATEGIES • Develop local, quality, affordable childcare and pre-K slots (0–4) • Foster strong community elementary and middle schools (5–14) • Provide menu of effective High School and Community College degree options (15–21) • Link to quality workforce development programs (16–60) • Engage healthy retail and social and micro enterprises • Create a pipeline of training, entry-level, and full employment options • Offer environment and arts programs for all ages • Offer financial and tech literacy classes IMPACT PA C T V ST P • Schools 3 IM Short-term, 3–5 yrs. Mid-term, 5–10 yrs. Long-term, 10 yrs. + Outputs: Outputs: Outputs: • Residents in local childcare and schools with active parents and strong community partnerships • Menu of curriculum-based youth dev. programs and internships • Residents active in workforce development and hiring • Strong links among job pipeline partners • Menu of popular community classes in arts, environment, finances, and tech Metrics: • % residents from all groups in school choice • # and % enrolled in early childhood learning, local schools, and youth dev. • # of residents in PTA and school activities • Rates of chronic absenteeism and truancy • Completion rate for job training and internships • # and % employed in social ventures in VV • # and % participating in community classes • High-performing local schools and students • High academic achievement among all resident groups • Residents employed in local and nearby jobs with advancement • High demand for neighborhood schools • Tangible and lasting arts and environmental projects • Universal local access to technology Metrics: • API scores for neighborhood schools • Rates of HS grads & college enrollment • Rate of HS dropouts • # of Vis Valley jobs • # residents working in neighborhood jobs • Employment rate among all resident groups • # and % of residents using financial & tech tools • Amount of capital for small business and social ventures • Economic mobility among all resident groups • Culture and ‘brand’ of lifelong learning community Metrics: • Achievement gap between VV & SF schools • Rates of college graduation among all residents groups • Income level among all resident groups • # and % of home ownership among all groups • # of local businesses focused on arts, environment, and social ventures • # of resident-led structured learning programs 4 IS VIS IO N PRIORITIES 2 TEGI RA ES 1 OR I T I E S RI VISVISION SVV residents excel academically, have stable and rewarding jobs, and enjoy creative personal pursuits. Doing While Planning RESULTS Financial Planning: Mercy/Related partnered with nonprofit Financial IQ Consulting to provide Sunnydale residents with a three-week series of financial literacy classes. These workshops delivered financial education through culturally relevant materials covering 1) savings, 2) credit, and 3) home buying. Over 50 participating residents were empowered through a better understanding the financial jargon and the basics of financial wellness. UNDERWAY UP NEXT Childcare Project: VisVision will develop a continuum of training and employment opportunities while creating more affordable, high quality childcare slots in the neighborhood. The plan is to encourage parent participation in early childhood learning by offering relevant, curriculum-based child development classes. The planning team will also look at the possibility of launching a childcare co-op that offers cost-free childcare in exchange for work and provides experience to residents interested in starting their own businesses. Youth Programming: VisVision will recruit high-impact organizations to bring high-quality, culturally relevant academic and employment opportunities for Visitacion Valley youth. The VisVision team will support local youth-serving organizations in developing curriculum-based programming and establishing stronger ties to post-secondary opportunities. Building on successful outcomes of summer internships, the team will support the developing culture of academic and professional achievement among high school youth and young adults. Neighborhood Employment Plan: VisVision will help to reduce barriers to stable employment through better access to social services like mental health and addiction supports and conflict resolution. The plan will work to build able-bodied residents’ job skills by increasing access to job navigation, job training, and job placements. A continuum of work opportunities through volunteer projects, community co-ops, local businesses, and development partners will be offered. Residents list employment needs. 73 People Plan School Partnerships: The principals, social workers, and teachers at El Dorado Elementary and Visitacion Valley Middle Schools are working with the Development Team to engage families of children with chronic absenteeism and truancy. School staff participated in the annual back-to-school backpack giveaways in August. Schoolyear efforts will focus on removing the social, economic, and safety barriers preventing children from regularly attending and succeeding in school, and engaging families in the school selection process in the spring. In addition, Five Keys Charter School has begun offering high school diploma and GED classes in the Village in Visitacion Valley, and at the TURF facility in Sunnydale. The Development Team is beginning to work with Wu Yee Children’s Services to plan for a childcare center in the Community HUB that will be built during Phase One of construction. Health & Wellbeing Initiative People Plan 74 The Health & Wellbeing Initiative supports a VisVision of an active and empowered community where residents live and promote healthy lives. The VisVision community planning process expanded standard definitions of care to create a resident-centered model for how individual health outcomes are impacted by individual behavior, interpersonal relationships, community dynamics, institutions, and policy. As with San Francisco’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic (known nationally as the San Francisco Model of Care), a coordinated emphasis on culturally relevant, evidence-based practices at all points on the continuum can position the city to be a national leader in the current epidemic of disparities in health outcomes. The San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) has engaged all its branches in a shared commitment to supporting populations most affected by health disparities. The combined effect of systems, community, and individual actions will result in improved healthy habits among residents, a reduction in health disparities, and a community emphasis on healthy lifestyles. To achieve the VisVision for health and wellbeing, residents, community partners, healthcare providers and researchers, and City departments will focus on four community-identified priorities: H Physical Health VisVision will improve the physical health of residents by increasing access to high quality, convenient, and culturally and linguistically responsive healthcare. Peer Leaders, in conjunction with medical navigators, will enroll residents in coverage, ensure they are connected to a primary medical home, and advocate for an increase in the number of culturally and linguistically competent neighborhood-based service providers. Staff will engage and coordinate no-cost dental and vision care and form partnerships to provide maternal and child health programs including a continuum of family planning, prenatal and infant care. Improved physical health measures will include increased rates of medical coverage, increased numbers of individuals accessing a primary medical home, decreased rates of chronic disease and hospitalizations, and improved maternal and child health outcomes. Sunnydale Health and Wellness Center nurse and resident. Health Care Mental Health VisVision seeks to respond to resident mental health needs by increasing access to quality, culturally and linguistically relevant mental health and addiction services. VisVision will strengthen social cohesion through group programs for all ages and referrals to easily accessible services. These services will support residents healing from trauma and reduce related barriers to employment. Progress on mental health strategies will be measured by looking at the decrease in the number of residents impacted by untreated mental illness and the effects of trauma, and decreased rates of smoking and substance use/ abuse. Community Health VisVision will create a community-wide Healing Plan with accompanying annual health campaigns. The VisVision team seeks to build social cohesion around health-promoting activities that reduce the sense of isolation and increase the sense of being part of a caring community. The plan will recognize the impact of individual, neighborhood, and systems barriers and strengths on community health. Residents will advance from participation to leadership roles. Eventually, work like this will bring a culture and brand for the neighborhood that inspires healthy individual behavior and collective action to promote community health. Measures for this priority include resident participation and an increase in resident-led health and wellness activities. 75 People Plan Self-Care Self-care can be greatly increased through access to affordable fresh foods and cooking classes. VisVision will bring individual and group exercise options as well as healing arts classes to reduce stress and elevate morale. The introduction of technology tools like apps for insulin reminders will also improve health outcomes. Other self-care offerings will be based on residents’ needs and interests. Improved self-care measures include rates of resident participation in community health programs and reduced stress levels among residents. Heritage Homes health fair. Health & Wellbeing Initiative Roadmap • Mental health • Self-care • Community health People Plan 76 STRATEGIES • Develop a residentcentered model of health and wellbeing with aligned metrics • Ensure health benefits acquisition • Offer and link to preventive, primary health care • Offer and link to behavioral health • Promote health education and risk reduction • Increase fresh food access and knowhow • Create a continuum of maternal and child health supports • Reduce health and mental health barriers to employment • Create Community Hub as a center for wellbeing programs and services IMPACT PA C T V ST P • Physical health 3 IM Short-term, 3–5 yrs. Mid-term, 5–10 yrs. Long-term, 10 yrs. + Outputs: Outputs: Outputs: • Annual health campaigns • High quality, culturally and linguistically relevant health and mental health services • Successful disease management • Reduced stress and peace of mind • Health equity • Access to a variety of individual and group wellness programs and activities • A continuum of local maternal and child health programs • Effective addiction support services Metrics: • Rates of medical coverage among all resident groups • % of residents accessing a medical home • Trends in maternal and child health outcomes • # and % of residents participating in community health programs • # and % or residents reporting depression • Access to healthy, affordable foods • Healthy diet and regular exercise • Use of technology to support self-care Metrics: • # and % of residents affected by untreated mental illness and trauma • # of resident-led wellbeing activities • # and % of residents reporting good health • # and % of residents unable to work due to health conditions • Healthy families • Active and ongoing selfcare among all groups • Culture and ‘brand’ of healthy community Metrics: • Rates of chronic disease among all resident groups • Rates of stress among all resident groups • Rates of smoking and substance abuse among all resident groups • Health outcomes relative to other SF neighborhoods 4 IS VIS IO N PRIORITIES 2 TEGI RA ES 1 OR I T I E S RI VISVISION SVV is an active and empowered community where residents live and promote healthy lives. Doing While Planning RESULTS An exciting outgrowth of the Community Planning process, the new Sunnydale Health and Wellness Center was launched in March of 2014. The Center provides vital community services and is evidence of resident-centered change in action. Created through the collaboration between SFDPH and Mercy/Related, it is located in space provided by the SF Housing Authority (SFHA). The Center’s registered nurse provides free basic medical services including blood pressure checks, flu shots, immunizations, assistive devices, mental health referrals, health concern consults, TB testing, patient education, and navigation to primary care providers. The Center also offers services from mental health counselors who provide individual consultation, mental health assessment, linkage with clinical mental health services, and crisis response services. received a variety of services including eye exams, dental procedures, DMV identification cards, addiction recovery referrals, and food stamps enrollment. UNDERWAY Community Garden Project: In a partnership between Mercy/ Related and Urban Sprouts, the Sunnydale Community Garden Project builds social cohesion between Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley residents while providing them with a local source of fresh, affordable produce. It also provides opportunities for health and nutrition education and promotes physical activity through garden maintenance for youth and seniors. The garden aligns naturally with Health & Wellness Center objectives and the Visitacion Valley Greenway project, strengthening relationships across communities in the pursuit of a common cause. 77 People Plan Based at the Health & Wellness Center, Mercy Housing’s Peer Leadership Program increases resident connections to the Center and offers health education and preventative health programs on physical activity, nutrition and cooking, and maintaining healthy homes. Currently, programs include weekly smoothie parties, Zumba classes, and neighborhood walking tours. The four Peer Leaders are community residents hired by Mercy. They participate in professional development programs, including leadership and health education training. From March 2014–June 2014, the Health and Wellness Center provided more than 2,000 units of service to community members including 48 counseling sessions, 160 clinic patient visits, and 1,984 Peer Leadership Program interactions and services. The first ever “Family Connect” day in Sunnydale/Visitacion Valley in June was co-hosted by the new Health and Wellness Center, local CBOs, and San Francisco’s Project Homeless Connect Initiative. Participants Sunnydale resident accessing dental care at the Project Family Connect fair. Health Care UP NEXT People Plan 78 Participants practice self care during the Health and Wellness Planning Session. Healthy Homes Toolkits: Distributed by the Health & Wellness Center’s Peer Leaders, these free toolkits provided by the SF Department of the Environment (DOE) have supplies that are clinically proven to reduce asthma triggers and prevent illnesses caused by pests, harsh cleansers, and insecticides. The Peer Leaders also educate residents in Pest Management techniques using less toxic methods. The menu of programs and services offered through the Health & Wellness Center continues to expand in response to neighborhood priorities brought up in the Community Planning process. The Implementation Phase of the Health & Wellness Center will begin with developing a community-wide Healing Plan that addresses resident needs and interests, including: recruiting on-site healthcare enrollment counselors for Covered CA, Medi-Cal, Medicare, and Healthy San Francisco; certifying the clinic nurse to offer STD and HIV testing; launching addiction recovery, elder, and grief support groups that reduce isolation; offering classes with innovative technologies that assist residents with self-management of chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease; introducing prenatal and parent/child programs like infant massage, prenatal yoga, and infant/parent play groups. Self-care programs will include cooking and nutrition classes for foods distributed at community gardens and the local food pantry, meditation, yoga, stress management, and healing arts. The Development Team is also examining the feasibility of opening a fullscale medical clinic in the Hub during Phase One of construction. Housing Plan Foundation for the Future Sunnydale Today Surrounded by a neighborhood of well kept single family homes and apartments, the Sunnydale-Velasco (Sunnydale) public housing complex stands out as a poorly managed landscape of dilapidated housing. With 785 apartments spread over 92 two-story, long barrack buildings, Sunnydale has suffered from decades of neglected maintenance. Empty units are boarded up. Occupied units are infested by pests. They have, toilets, sinks and appliances that don’t work. Plumbing, electrical, and heating systems all need replacement. They have security bars on doors and windows that residents buy and install themselves, out of fear for their safety. Housing Plan 80 The community areas are similarly blighted. Garbage is strewn all over the site, the grass is dead and the sewer system overflows when it storms. There are no laundry facilities on the property. On the 50 acres of the site, only half an acre is play space with recreational equipment. The storm water and sanitary sewer system, landscaping, irrigation, site asphalt, and crumbling sidewalks all need to be replaced. A 2012 Physical Needs Assessment projected $94 million of investment was needed just to address these housing needs. The housing is so severely dilapidated that the City and Housing Authority concluded that it was beyond repair and should be replaced. Sunnydale residents, approximately half of whom are children and seniors, suffer in these poor physical conditions. Asthma, diabetes, hypertension, anxiety, and depression are common among residents. Approximately 25% of residents are disabled (enrolled in SSI) but 90% of the units are townhomes that are not accessible, nor are they located on an accessible path of travel, with some units located on streets with a 20% slope. An apartment building at Sunnydale. Sunnydale has few opportunities for physical exercise and recreation. Residents do not have common or private open spaces or a fitness center, and there is only half an acre of formal recreation space. Sunnydale residents live near the Coffman Pool and Herz Playground, but this 6-acre park is inadequate for the 1,700 residents. Access to McLaren Park, which is located on the west and north borders of Sunnydale, is blocked by steep grades and a golf course. Within walking distance of the housing site are corner stores primarily selling liquor and convenience foods, a handful of neighborhood restaurants, and fast food chains. Pedestrians must walk through dead grass between barrack buildings in order to cross the site, as there are only four streets within Sunnydale and only four sidewalk and street connections to the rest of the Visitacion Valley neighborhood. Strategies, Goals and Impact Because of its sheer scale at 785 units on 50 acres, and the impact that this site has on the health of the surrounding Visitacion Valley neighborhood, the Housing Plan focuses on the development of Sunnydale into a new mixed income community. Rebuilding the site with new housing provides an opportunity for Sunnydale families and seniors to live in a safe, affordable housing community. This alone will vastly improve quality of life and residents’ health. It will also end the physical isolation of this barracks-style campus, which is isolated from the single and small multifamily housing in the surrounding neighborhood, contributing to an “us” versus “them” dynamic in the neighborhood. 81 • Provide a safe, secure environment for all residents • Support youth, elders and families through quality programs, facilities, parks, and neighborhood retail • Strengthen the community and end the social and physical isolation of the site from the rest of the neighborhood and from the City overall • Make Sunnydale a sustainable, healthy community with green streets, open spaces, and edible landscaping • Bring Sunnydale up to its potential as a great place to live and visit The physical development of Sunnydale should change from its current form into a place where Sunnydale looks and feels like a San Francisco neighborhood with appealing architecture. It should Residents engaged in master planning. Housing Plan Mercy Housing and Related CA facilitated an 18-month community planning process with Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley residents to develop a Master Plan to transform Sunnydale’s housing units to a new mixed-income housing community. Residents said that they wanted the Master Plan for the new development to achieve these goals in a lasting and impactful way: be built at a housing density and height that is comparable to the neighborhood to eliminate the “us” versus “them” feeling caused by the starkly different landscapes. Sunnydale should be constructed with new, beautiful streets that encourage healthy activities like walking and biking and encourage environmental care and healthy living. Sunnydale under VisVision should be constructed with an urban design that improves security and activity through housing units that face the street, and new indoor and outdoor activity spaces for social interaction and community building. It should have new parks and neighborhood amenities that are for everyone in the Sunnydale and broader Visitacion Valley community. People from other neighborhoods should come and visit, play, eat and enjoy. Housing Initiative Roadmap • Housing stability for Sunnydale residents Housing Plan 82 • Amenities for entire neighborhood STRATEGIES • Relocate Sunnydale residents by construction phase • Develop new programenriched replacement housing for current residents and new affordable and market rate housing for new residents • Partner with residents, property management, and service providers on housing retention and clean slate program for lease compliance • Develop new neighborhood Hub with parks, retail, recreation/ fitness, youth and family programs IMPACT Short-term, 3–5 yrs. Outputs: • Create 138 new affordable units • Establish clean slate/ housing retention program for Sunnydale residents moving into new housing • New “Hub” of community center with early childhood education center, youth activities and recreation/ fitness facility and new health and wellness center, neighborhood retail, parks Metrics: • # of original Sunnydale households in new units • % of housing retention and lease violations • Occupancy and utilization of Hub PA C T V ST P • New quality housing for a range of incomes at Sunnydale site 3 IM Mid-term, 5–10 yrs. Long-term, 10 yrs. + Outputs: Outputs: • 373 total new affordable units and 56 new market rate units • Up to 1700 new housing units for range of household incomes and sizes • 2.65 acres of new parks • Continue clean slate/ housing retention program for Sunnydale residents moving into new housing Metrics: • # and mix of affordable and market rate units constructed and occupied • 6.5 acres of parks + approximately 60,000 sq. ft. for early childhood learning, youth programs, fitness and recreation, retail, and a health/ wellness center Metrics: • # of original Sunnydale households in new units • # and mix of affordable and market rate units constructed and occupied • % of housing retention and lease violations • # of original Sunnydale households in new units • Utilization of neighborhood Hub and parks by neighborhood residents • % of housing retention and lease violations • Utilization of neighborhood Hub by neighborhood residents 4 IS VIS IO N PRIORITIES 2 TEGI RA ES 1 OR I T I E S RI VISVISION SVV has up to 1700 new quality housing units at a mix of affordable rents and market rate prices and new, quality neighborhood amenities that serve the whole Vis Valley neighborhood. Sunnydale’s Master Plan The Master Plan replaces all 785 of Sunnydale’s run down units with a new, mixed-income neighborhood of 1,700 high-quality, energy-efficient homes. Starting with a “one-for-one” replacement of public housing, the development will also include new affordable tax credit rental housing for working families earning 40% to 60% of Area Median Income (AMI), new affordable senior housing for seniors at or below 50% AMI, and new housing available for purchase by entry-level buyers. In addition, the site will include a completely new utility infrastructure, street grid, 6 acres of new parks and urban agriculture space, and up to 72,000 square feet of new neighborhood-serving space for retail activities and for health, wellness, recreation and education programs that appeal to the broader neighborhood as well as existing Sunnydale residents. This “master plan” is not only for current Sunnydale residents but is a key component of the VisVision plan for the broader neighborhood. Sunnydale today. 83 New Neighborhood Hub Adjacent to these open spaces within this Hub are two new neighborhood facilities. A new 30,000 to 40,000 square foot community center is planned at the corner of Hahn Street and Sunnydale Avenue, next to Herz Playground. This center will provide a central location for neighborhood youth with early childhood education and out-of-school programming. Assuming negotiations are successful, it will be co-anchored by the YMCA of San Francisco and the Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco. It will also contain indoor recreation space such as a gym, basketball courts, and a fitness room. Across the street on the other side of Sunnydale Avenue, two new affordable senior and family housing developments will be constructed adjacent to each other. These developments Housing Plan At the development’s gateway of Sunnydale Avenue and Hahn Street, a neighborhood “Hub” will provide the broader neighborhood with new parks, community facilities and retail locations. The “Hub” builds off the 6-acre Herz Playground and Coffman Pool and adds 4 more acres of open space within a two-block radius for community gardening, neighborhood events, farmer’s markets, and children’s play areas. Planning diagram of Sunnydale’s new streets, housing, and parks. “If we attack the physical issues and address the human needs of the Sunnydale neighborhood simultaneously, we can catalyze permanent, positive change in the community.” — Bill Witte, President of Related California How Green is Sunnydale Going to Be? Housing Plan 84 The Sunnydale HOPE SF master plan was the first plan in the U.S. to be certified LEED ND by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2011. This means that buildings will be constructed with the best materials, be energy and water efficient, and the development will be walkable and bikeable with plenty of parks and neighborhood services. Sunnydale is also going to have an innovative system to use landscaping and porous paving in the public sidewalks to absorb stormwater naturally rather than letting the rainwater run into the storm system and into the ocean. These “green streets” are not only better for our environment, but will also beautify every street in Sunnydale. An energy master plan for Sunnydale HOPE SF has been created to guide the construction of the new housing units so that energy consumption can be reduced by 50% and utility costs can be reduced by 40% compared to business as usual. A rendering of the hub at Sunnydale Avenue and Hahn Street. will include approximately 30,000 square feet on their ground floors for a neighborhood corner grocery store, eateries, neighborhood retail, an early learning center, and a health center. The Hub will be served by #8X and #9 MUNI bus routes. It will also be on one end of a new 30 foot wide linear park that will be constructed on the north side of Sunnydale Avenue to provide a beautiful green path to McLaren Park for walkers, runners and children riding their bikes. New Streets, Circulation and Transit Sunnydale will be developed with a new grid of streets that are walkable, bike friendly and landscaped to beautify, but also to provide an innovative system to absorb stormwater and minimize runoff into the San Francisco Bay. Existing streets will be straightened to improve safety and new streets will be added to improve connectivity within the site. This will also better connect Sunnydale to the surrounding neighborhood. Sunnydale Avenue and Santos Avenue will continue to be the main streets and improved with wide sidewalks, new “bulb” bus stops for the #8X and #9Muni buses with NextBus technology, and bike lanes. Car-share pods and electric charging stations for plug-in cars will be located at various areas of the site, including the “Hub.” Housing: Creating a New Mixed Income Community The housing plan will demolish all 785 public housing units, and add their one for one replacement, the construction of new affordable rental units for working families and low-income seniors, and sites for new market rate housing units. The master plan has 31 housing sites that, on any given block, may contain market rate housing or affordable housing. The inclusion of replacement public housing, new affordable housing and new market rate housing within the development creates a “housing ladder” with apartments and homes available at a range of rents and prices within the same neighborhood. This housing ladder is not only adding to the City’s severely impacted housing stock, but will create a healthier, more economically diverse neighborhood. Within the Housing Plan: There is a 175 feet height difference between the top of Sunnydale Avenue near McLaren Park, and bottom of Sunnydale Avenue at Hahn Street. This 10% slope does present a challenge for people with disabilities. The Sunnydale HOPE SF master plan has been designed to provide accessible “paths of travel” from one end of the site to the other with many streets to be reconstructed so they are flatter and walkable. Many of the apartments are located on these paths of travel and because they are in elevator buildings, these apartments are accessible or adaptable. Over 30% of the housing units will be accessible or adaptable units, making life easier for people with disabilities. 85 Housing Plan • Up to 1,006 affordable apartments will be constructed using the low-income housing tax credit program. Of these units, 80 units are planned as senior housing in the first phase of construction and the remaining 926 units will be one, two and three bedroom apartments for families. Rents will be affordable to households at or below 60% of San Francisco’s Area Median Income. All existing households in good standing (lease compliant) at the time of their relocation will be given the opportunity to move into a newly constructed apartment. These households will retain a preference over other eligible households even if they have received permanent relocation benefits. All affordable apartments will be affirmatively marketed to be consistent with federal, state, and local fair housing requirements. As described in the People and Community Engagement sections of VisVision, all units will be managed as program-enriched housing, in which on-site resident service coordinators organize community building activities, connect residents to the services they need, and track resident achievement toward program outcomes in health and wellness, education, and economic development. Making Sunnydale Accessible Master Plan Housing Plan Affordable Rental Units Number of Units 80 senior units + 926 family units = 1006 total 694 family units Rents or Pricing Replacement of public housing units to be affordable at 30% of household income. Projected to be affordable to households between 80% AMI to 130% AMI depending on unit and product type Architectural rendering of an outdoor courtyard at a new apartment building. Housing Plan 86 • Up to 694 units are planned as market rate units in townhouses, stacked flats and podium buildings. In a recent market study, Polaris Pacific concluded that there would be high demand for these units by first time homebuyers who are largely living and working within the City or Peninsula and are interested in two and three bedroom homes for their families. This group of buyers is between 80% and 130% of San Francisco AMI and represents the San Francisco “workforce” or middle class who are not finding many homeownership options in their price range. (Market rate rentals are not proposed, but that may change in the future if market conditions support rental housing in this location.) The new housing, indistinguishable between affordable and market rate, will be 3 and 4 story residential buildings of a variety of types: attached townhomes, walk up flats, and elevator buildings lined with units that enter off the street. Buildings will include individual unit entries so that many homes have their own front doors on the street or from private interior courtyards. Living spaces, kitchens, and balconies will overlook the streets and open spaces for security, and to create the identity and sense of ownership that are crucial to defining a neighborhood. These homes will have a variety of semi- Market Rate Units New tax credit units affordable to households at or below 60% AMI. Projected Unit Mix (Subject to change depending on existing household occupancy, market conditions, financing) 239 one bedroom 327 one bedroom 492 two bedroom 256 two bedroom 263 three bedroom 62 three bedroom Building Types Mixed use, podium wrapped with townhomes, flats 12 four bedroom Townhouse/rowhouse, walk up flats, podium private interior landscaped and hardscaped courtyards providing secure play areas for children with some private patios and decks, depending on the individual building. The affordable apartment buildings will include laundry facilities and community rooms for resident events. Auto and bicycle parking for residents will be provided in tuck under garages for townhomes or in secure parking garages in elevator buildings that are hidden from the street. Ample on-street parallel parking will be available for large households and for visitors to the neighborhood. Master Plan Conceptual Diagram 87 Housing Plan The Housing Market Master Plan The City’s population is projected to grow by another 195,000 people, from 805,000 residents to 1 million in just 18 years. Given this growth, demand for rental and homeownership units at market rate and affordable levels will remain strong. Housing Plan 88 A 2013 study provided a profile of prospective homebuyers for Sunnydale: Residents of the City and of northern San Mateo County who are interested in buying housing to trade up into larger homes for their expanding families, or for new homebuyers who are interested in purchasing in the City but cannot afford the high home prices in neighborhoods closer to the City center. This profile of buyers is likely to be households earning between 100% and 130% of Area Median Income (AMI), a band of San Francisco’s middle class that is not able to find homeownership opportunities that they can afford. Households at 80% AMI will be able to afford these units if they use the $200,000 per unit Downpayment Assistance Loan Program recently announced by Mayor Lee to assist middle income homebuyers. Homeownership units at the Sunnydale development would sell for $400,000–$675,000 depending on the unit type and size, compared to San Francisco’s current median home price of $1,000,000. According to the market analysis, demand for new homeownership units at the Sunnydale development site would be positively impacted by the large developments planned for the Schlage Lock site, Executive Park and Candlestick/Hunters Point Shipyard because they would create more housing density and destination retail, services and amenities in the area. The new housing units in these large developments would add over 17,000 market rate and below-market rate units in the next 15 years, not enough to meet the high demand in San Francisco for homeownership and compete with the Sunnydale homeownership units. Above: Examples of Bay Area housing. Constructing in Phases One of the key goals of the HOPE SF Initiative is to improve social and economic outcomes for existing public housing residents. HOPE SF focuses on phasing the developments so current residents can be temporarily relocated in their neighborhood during construction and then move into new affordable housing on site and benefit from the new infrastructure and amenities. Relocation will be planned and implemented in accordance with the Uniform Relocation Act. All existing households in good standing (lease compliant) at the time of their relocation will be given the opportunity to move into a newly constructed apartment. These households will retain a preference over other eligible households All housing developed at Sunnydale under VisVision’s Master Plan will be an Equal Housing Opportunity. Governing laws shall be Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. The newly constructed housing will be marketed consistent with federal, state, and local fair housing requirements. Each phase includes a mix of replacement housing for Sunnydale residents, new affordable apartments and market rate homeownership units. In Phase 1, the number of market rate homeownership units is significantly lower than the number of affordable units produced. However, Phase 1 includes the construction of the neighborhood “Hub” containing the new community center, neighborhood retail, and four acres of park space. The development of these neighborhood amenities in Phase 1 will not only help provide much needed neighborhood services, but also provide amenities to attract new residents to the development. 89 Housing Plan The demolition and construction of Sunnydale will occur in three main phases over a 15-20 year period. Within these phases, individual buildings will be developed incrementally in sub-phases depending on the funding for infrastructure and affordable housing development. The current residents would be temporarily moved to vacant housing on the site as each phase is constructed, or they would be given housing vouchers by the Housing Authority for relocation outside of Sunnydale during the construction period. This off-site relocation could be temporary and households would move back to Sunnydale when the new affordable units are constructed, or the relocation could be permanent if the household chooses to stay in their off site location. Off-site units would include existing housing on the market and new units that have been developed and set aside for occupancy by Sunnydale households. even if they have received permanent relocation benefits. The new dwellings will be populated as each phase is completed. Households that are out of compliance may be assisted beforehand to comply with the lease and maintain their housing options. 2 1 A PH S E Phase One Phase Two Phase Three Phase One starts at Sunnydale Avenue and Hahn Street, the gateway to the new development. It also includes the new Hub with neighborhood services, parks and community center, and the senior and family housing. Market rate housing will be developed as well. Sunnydale Avenue and Santos Street will be reconfigured in this first phase. Phase Two will continue the reconfiguration of Sunnydale Avenue, beyond Santos as well as introducing the first half of the new northsouth streets. Market rate and affordable housing will be developed on either side of Sunnydale Avenue. The Sunnydale Linear Park will also be developed in this phase. Phase Three connects the new north-south streets to Blythedale Avenue. Brookdale is connected south through the development to Geneva Avenue. A variety of market rate and affordable housing complete the development. DEMO: 316 Units DEMO: 279 Units DEMO: 191 Units BUILD: 385 Affordable Units BUILD: 307 Affordable Units BUILD: 341 Affordable Units Housing Plan 90 3 A PH S E A PH S E 136 Market Rate Units 318 Market Rate Units 240 Market Rate Units Housing Success for Sunnydale Residents RESULTS Significant efforts will be made to ensure that, in the long run, Sunnydale residents will remain stably housed in safe, quality homes. Sunnydale residents will need to be prepared for the changes that will result when they move into the new units owned and managed by Mercy Housing and Related CA. Their current landlord and property manager, the San Francisco Housing Authority, has not been able to provide the level of housing services required, such as lease enforcement, rent collection, and timely maintenance. Sunnydale residents will need to be aware of the new property management services that will exist and how lease compliance and enforcement will work in their new buildings. Prior to relocation a “clean slate” program will need to be implemented to allow residents to 91 Scenes from Family Day. acknowledge and address past due rents owed to the Housing Authority, and prepare to move forward with on-time rent payments and lease compliance in the Mercy/Related managed housing. In addition to providing training on the new property management procedures, it will be important to use a supportive housing model in which households in danger of lease violations are referred to service providers who will work with residents to address the root causes of their lease violations so they may experience long term tenure in their new housing. Housing Plan All Sunnydale households will be relocated according to the federal Uniform Relocation Act and dedicated staff will be assigned to provide them with the technical, logistical and financial assistance they will need for their relocation. This assistance and support will be provided for residents who relocate to vacant units in Sunnydale or to vacant units in the neighborhood or other parts of the City if needed. For households moving to off site units, the relocation assistance will include help to look for housing and executing the lease, identifying transportation routes to school and/or work, and setting up their new home. Staff will interact with households on an ongoing basis throughout the relocation period, with periodic updates to ensure that current addresses, household composition and other necessary data are maintained. Case managers will engage periodically with the relocated family to assist them in accessing community services they may need, and to track their well-being. This engagement will be maintained for a minimum of three years. UP NEXT The San Francisco Planning Department and the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development is conducting an Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Study (EIR/EIS) of the Master Plan. The full written evaluation will be published in Fall 2014 and members of the public will be able to submit their comments. This EIR/EIS will be submitted to the San Francisco Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors for their approval in 2015. Housing Plan 92 To ensure the development of quality housing, and beautiful streets and parks, the San Francisco Planning Department with Mercy Housing and Related CA are creating a Sunnydale Special Use District “SUD” zoning and a “Design for Development” document that describes the design requirements for all construction. A Development Agreement between Mercy Housing with Related CA and the City and County of San Francisco will be executed to describe the role that these parties will take to ensure the development of the Sunnydale HOPE SF Master Plan. The Design for Development document, the Special Use District zoning and the Development must be approved by the San Francisco Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. Additionally, a Master Development Agreement (MDA) between the developers and the San Francisco Housing Authority will be executed to describe each organization’s role in developing the Master Plan. The MDA will be required before any Development and Disposition Agreements can be signed. The developers and SFHA will also convene a working group of residents to develop a Sunnydale Relocation Plan that will describe the federal, state and City legal requirements that the developers must follow, as well as the relocation assistance to be provided to households who are moving. Architectural Rendering of Mid Terrace Park and Housing. These agreements and the land use entitlements will be developed for approval and execution in Fall 2015. After this approval, Mercy and Related CA will work with the City and the Housing Authority to obtain the funding necessary to design and start building the first phase. Funding for the new streets, utilities, parks, neighborhood hub, and housing and to pay for relocation of current households all need to be obtained in sufficient amounts for successful completion. Mercy and Related will engage residents and neighbors in the design of the first phase, the construction timeline, and relocation needs. Implementation Plan One Shared Direction Making the Journey Implementation Plan 94 VisVision offers a unique opportunity to build on the resident-led, award-winning community development underway now in Vis Valley. The combined work of the Mercy/Related Team and its partners will give all neighborhood residents the best chance possible to benefit from the Sunnydale rebuild and the broader transformation. Strategies shared in previous sections are all keys to removing barriers to VisVision’s implementation—barriers like the longstanding, deep divisions between communities, historic distrust of City departments, and residents’ personal barriers to success. With a long trail of broken dreams and unfulfilled promises, Sunnydale residents in particular have ample cause for skepticism about what lies ahead. One resident put it this way: “No more studies. We know what we need. We’re ready NOW.” This third phase in the transformation process will be the real test of whether VisVision is sufficiently robust to transform the neighborhood. The Mercy/Related Team has heeded community input about implementation, replacing traditional standing committees with dynamic teams that collaborate on key initiatives created through the Community Planning process. This shift integrates priorities in the Neighborhood, People, and Housing Plans into a framework that delivers tangible and measurable results along the way and eventually adds up to a tipping point in neighborhood transformation. Residents are adamant about wanting a clear and honest understanding of what will happen and when. They rightly insist on participating only in projects that are worth their time and energy, and they want to see frequent, positive benefits for the neighborhood along the way. Our Keys: Several things will need to be in place prior to implementation, including a central location and contact person for VisVision, new partnerships with high-impact organizations, preparations with the CBO Collaborative, incorporation of the LFA Sunnydale/HOPE SF learning on evidence-based practices for the Community Initiatives, and adequate resources to make all of this viable. The official grand opening of the new Health & Wellness Center with its youth-designed mural and continually expanding programs and services will give credence to the commitments made in this Plan. An exhibit of the Master and Community Planning results will inspire new interest and attract new members to the Community Initiative Teams. Gaining Momentum: Continuing with the ‘Doing While Planning’ approach, the first two years of implementation of VisVision will provide the tangible “wins” described in the planning phases that build momentum in preparation for the start of the Sunnydale rebuild. With the Health & Wellness Center as an early success and cornerstone of the planned Neighborhood Hub, community members will gain confidence in their ability to meet the community’s most pressing needs. At the same time, residents, partners, and funders will see hard evidence that things really are different this time: more coordination within and alignment across City departments; an inclusive and authentic collaborative process; committed and high quality core partners; an infusion of new resources; and, most important, visible results that show the achievements of VisVision. The Visitacion Valley Greenway Project (VVGP) There are now six Greenway sites, beginning with the southern Hans Schiller Plaza located on Leland Avenue, and progressing to the northern Tioga Avenue site. The Greenway is a direct result of the commitment of neighborhood residents and volunteers. • Hans Schiller Plaza. Visitors enter the Greenway from the Leland Avenue commercial area at this eye-catching and welcoming entry point with 3 tall columns decorated with multi-colored tiles. Complete with benches and beautiful landscaping, this mini-park site serves as the gateway to the larger Greenway and functions as a gathering place for community events. Different service providers connected with residents in Sunnydale during the Family Connect Fair. The following leadership structure, core partners, assessments, and timeline will support VisVision’s success and sustainability. • The Herb Garden includes a beautiful terraced herb garden, pathways, outdoor nutrition education center with seating and picnic areas, two patios with decorative elements, storage, landscaping and fencing. • The Children’s Play Garden includes an Enchanted Forest, children’s garden, playground equipment, Valley Viewing Pavilion and Magic Meadow. It is much used by local daycare groups and neighborhood children. • The Agriculture Garden. Children from nearby schools, volunteers, the Conservation Corps, and the Recreation and Park Department Volunteer Program have worked to maintain this site and enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of their labors. • The Native Plant Garden, the last mini-park in the Greenway, is devoted to native plants and environmental education. The California Academy of Science was instrumental in the design and selection of plant materials for this site on Tioga Avenue. VVGP has received two San Francisco Beautiful Awards for Beautification, and the Trust for Public Land has given its prestigious Lachman Soulage Award to the Greenway Project’s leadership. 95 Implementation Plan Our Driving Force: Sunnydale residents prefer taking action on Sunnydale-centered activities first, both because they feel those needs are more urgent, and because they feel less welcome and safe outside the confines of their immediate community. Likewise, Visitacion Valley neighbors are often reluctant to venture into Sunnydale. Connecting residents through projects like the Greenway and the Sunnydale Garden Project will begin to build bridges to connect the whole of Visitacion Valley to the transformation efforts underway within Sunnydale. Completion of the new Neighborhood Hub in Phase One of construction will provide a vital venue for residents from all over Visitacion Valley to connect through programs and amenities of interest to everyone. The Neighborhood, People, and Housing Roadmaps pick up in years 3-5, when the transformation process begins to show impacts at a measurable level. • The Community Garden is located on the lot directly north of the Plaza and was funded by the Trust for Public Land. Improvements include 2 greenhouses, making this not only a community garden, but also a Plant Propagation Center for the entire community where there will be future horticultural classes and, hopefully, job training. Community Initiatives: VisVision in Motion Launch of the three Community Initiatives in early 2015 will include a retreat with each of the three Implementation Teams in which members will review results of the community planning phase, brainstorm priorities for years one and two, and create one-year Action Plans for each initiative. These will form the basis for funding proposals to be completed in early spring. Some examples of the type of rollouts possible based on the many ideas gathered and the great relationships established through community planning are described here. Each description captures the connectedness, coordination, intersection, and alignment that will be required to truly transform the neighborhood: Implementation Plan 96 Safety First Initiative Youth in the Sunnydale Seedfolks summer internship selected “fixing up playgrounds” as their top priority for making the community safer. Their plans took shape in the aftermath of a tragic shooting in which a large group of children and youth witnessed the death of their mentor on a local playground in June. With five sites throughout the Sunnydale development, playgrounds offer an ideal focus for organizing community safety efforts. Each playground could have a Block Captain who supports a team of nearby residents to make and maintain improvements from cleaning to repairs to overseeing structured play activities. This arrangement could lead to a more formal community watch program. Aligned with the City’s model program goals, youth intern recommendations included having young adults learn construction skills while building planters, benches, and picnic tables with plaques honoring loved ones that could even be sold to residents as part of a fundraising plan. Interviews with Sunnydale residents surfaced universal support for playground renewal, and Housing Authority representatives who attended the Seedfolks culminating presentation have voiced enthusiastic support for launching more formal planning. Playground renewal offers a natural opportunity to build ties between Sunnydale and the Vis Valley Greenway Project. The Greenway Project has sponsored the beautification of the Vis Valley Playground and Clubhouse, which has received multiple awards from SF Beautiful; and the Children’s Play Garden, a much-loved, heavily used park. Playgrounds are also an enticing way to connect beyond the neighborhood, partnering with national organizations like Playworks or Kaboom that recruit Twitter, SalesForce, and others to sponsor and volunteer on playground building days. These efforts increase residents’ trust that the greater city is invested in their wellbeing. They also increase awareness and commitment to Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley among influential individuals and the city’s leading companies. Ideas from the Seedfolks youth interns for a safer neighborhood. Community Initiatives: VisVision in Motion In tandem with playground planning, Seedfolks interns invited Urban Riders to present their proposal to turn a vacant site on the western edge of Vis Valley into a state-of-the art bike park for enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels. More information is available at http:// sfurbanriders.org/wordpress/mclaren-bike-park/). The park provides a terrific venue for engaging law enforcement representatives to work side-by-side with residents on immediate improvements like creating a dirt bike track for younger kids. There is also space to add a bike repair business with training courses for neighborhood residents and income potential from servicing bikes for people from all over the Bay Area who come to use the new park. Over $500,000 has already been raised for the bike park, and construction for the first phase is scheduled to begin in early 2015. Bringing Proven Practices to Sunnydale: The opening of the new Health & Wellness Center in Sunnydale has been an opportunity for residents, providers, and City departments to come together to support shared priorities. With a large population of child-bearingage women in both Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley, the Health & Wellbeing Initiative offers an exciting opportunity to create a community-centered program for improving maternal and child health. Key partners include the Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP), SFDPH, and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). HPP is a nationally recognized nonprofit providing housing services, prenatal and parenting support, child development, family finances and stability, technology access, domestic violence and substance abuse prevention, family unification, and emergency support. HPP has expressed interest in offering yoga, mindfulness, and infant massage classes in Sunnydale, home to many HPP clients past and present. HPP works closely with the SFDPH-sponsored Centering Pregnancy Program based at SF General Hospital (SFGH). The Centering Pregnancy program has a group model that has been proven effective with health assessment, education, and support for pregnant and post-partum women. Centering is considering expansion into a community setting like Sunnydale. 97 Implementation Plan This paints a picture of how a community-centered approach to transformation can improve social connections, generate training and employment opportunities, create healthy environments for child and youth development, encourage healing from violence and trauma, and bring previously untapped attention and resources to the neighborhood. Coupled with stronger City investment in traditional law enforcement efforts, this type of innovative initiative holds potential to inspire a culture of safety throughout Sunnydale and Vis Valley while setting the stage for resident ownership of the new play and outdoor areas that will be part of the Sunnydale rebuild. Health & Wellbeing Initiative Implementation Plan 98 The Peer Leadership Manager reading to a Sunnydale resident during a workshop. Early Childhood: Also based at SFGH, the UCSF Endowed Chair in Infant Mental Health/Director of the Child Trauma Research Program suggests implementing use of the Learning Basket (www. learningbasket.org) at Sunnydale. Learning Basket is a practical tool to enable parents and caregivers to nurture learning through play with infants and toddlers. The basket contains mostly handmade objects that can be used in developmentally appropriate play activities with children ages 0 to 3 years. The basket and accompanying manual provide a simple, practical way to promote literacy in the parents’ native language while teaching essential information about child development and early learning. A woman who teaches crochet to residents of SF public housing developments (and donates baby items to HPP) is thrilled at the prospect of teaching adults and seniors in Sunnydale how to make the learning basket toys. Presenting new mothers with a Learning Basket and hosting group classes for new moms and dads are natural next steps to their participation in HPP and Centering Pregnancy classes. Childcare: Creating free and affordable childcare was a major priority that emerged from VisVision’s community planning process. Planning participants sought not only more neighborhood slots but also resident training in child development and small business management. One idea that garnered a lot of excitement was the idea of creating a childcare co-op, which could be modeled after successful co-ops in other parts of the city. Training could be offered through an extension of HPP’s Community Health Worker Training Program, an intensive, 12-month paid job training program that prepares small groups of women for meaningful employment through internships, weekly workshops, and continuing education classes at City College of San Francisco. This continuum of empowerment opportunities would cover the full spectrum of maternal and child health, from training doulas and childcare providers, to bringing in community health educators and Head Start workers, to engaging pre-school teachers and facilitating private startups. The innovative proposal to train playground ‘coaches’, described in Safety First, would also bring interactive support for healthy play and child development. Inspiring Innovation: San Francisco was recently selected as one of four US counties to receive the Kellogg Foundation-sponsored CityMatch grant. HPP, SFDPH, and Centering Pregnancy are part of the CityMatch network of 25 local organizations collaborating to reduce maternal health disparities among African American mothers. Mark and Lynne Benioff and Gates Foundation-funded effort to reduce pre-term births around the world. Local teams from both networks recognize the importance of creating place-based interventions with rigorous research on participation. Sunnydale and the other HOPE SF sites present ideal settings for these innovative efforts because women are already part of natural peer groups, their class attendance isn’t hampered by transportation, and health outcomes and other social determinants data is easily accessed through SFDPH and other City departments. court. Academic links are available through Education Outdoors, the SF Unified School District’s environmental education program, and Five Keys Charter School’s Seedfolks curriculum. Leadership: One of the new Health & Wellness Center’s Peer Leaders has a daughter who was born prematurely at SFGH. She is passionate about organizing other young mothers, both before and after delivery, to participate in maternal and child health programs. Sunnydale residents have proposed initially locating these programs and activities in a residential unit destroyed by a fire that took the life of a mother and her young son last spring. Honoring them in this way would bring healing to their family and the community at large, which continue to be greatly affected by the tragedy. Implementing these impactful programs at such a critical time in parents’ and children’s development maximizes return on investment as children enter school ready to learn, parents experience reduced stress levels, and residents build a sense of collective power by linking local resources to urgent community needs. Establishing a continuum of maternal and child health opportunities will improve individual and community health outcomes while preparing residents for leadership roles in the new community Hub, with its dedicated space for childcare and early childhood learning. Restorative Justice: A new partnership with the East Bay organization Planting Justice could work with tenants who have exited jails and prisons to help reduce repeat offenses. Planting Justice provides culturally relevant teaching, meaningful entrepreneurial work, and wrap-around services for healing and restoring participants’ connections to their community and the environment. Gardens: Gardening is another natural connector with the Vis Valley Greenway project, which coordinates programs for children, youth, and adults to be active in the neighborhood’s natural environments. Implementation Plan Learning & Earning Initiative The first seeds for this initiative were planted in the Sunnydale Garden Project in fall of 2013. As resident involvement in the garden grows, the Health & Wellness Center is preparing to offer cooking classes with produce available from the garden and in Sunnydale and Vis Valley food pantries. Garden partner Urban Sprouts hosts curriculum-based internships for local youth and ideas for future earning projects include opening a healthy food truck and a popup café in an abandoned building beside the Sunnydale basketball 99 Sunnydale community garden. Lifelong Learning Its Green Stewards program engages high school students in environmental education and career opportunities through afterschool programming with Kids in Parks, ROCK, and BuildOn. The Green Rangers program engages children from pre-school through elementary with program partners Daycare, El Dorado School, ROCK, and Kids in Parks. The Greenway project recruited the California Academy of Sciences to offer programming at Vis Valley playgrounds. Implementation Plan 100 Arts: Community planning sessions underlined the importance of learning and the arts. The Bigger Picture is a collaboration between spoken word organization Youth Speaks and the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations based at SFGH. In complement with the neighborhood’s healthy food efforts, the Bigger Picture is designed to combat the rising epidemic of Type 2 Diabetes by empowering youth to change social and environmental factors that have led to its spread through writing workshops, public service announcement (PSA) videos, school assemblies, and educator toolkits. Other community ideas for incorporating learning and the arts include a food-film series with movies like Hungry for Change, Ingredients, The Harvest, and Pressure Cooker; and local artist Amara Tabor Smith’s performance piece, Our Daily Bread, which tells stories through dance, text and video, delving into the folklore surrounding food traditions and examining the impact of industrialized agriculture, fast food culture, and the global food crisis. An infusion of academic, artistic, and hands-on work experience can influence residents to draw connections among food, health, and employment, and establish links with food pioneers throughout San Francisco, the Bay Area, and California. The CBO Collaborative vision of the community from a planning workshop. Shared Vision, Shared Leadership Participants in the Community Planning Process highlighted their collective desire to build trust and inspire hope, to increase cultural awareness and understanding, to strengthen self-reliance and social cohesion, and to ensure that every voice continues to be heard during Implementation. The shared leadership structure described here is designed to ensure that Phase III continues on the path established during planning, with emerging neighborhood leadership, new high-impact partners, and HOPE SF’s strong commitment to coordination within and alignment across City departments. Strategic Advisory Team: The VisVision Development Team launched the Strategic Advisory Team in summer 2014. Members were recruited from among the most active and committed participants in the Community Planning process, and from a pool of experts in the Initiative areas of safety, health, education, jobs, and housing. By waiting to launch the Advisory Team until after the Community Planning priorities were identified, the Development Team ensured the Advisory Team would focus on issues of top concern to neighborhood residents. Advisory Team responsibilities include aligning the Community Initiatives with City and funder priorities; making resource and policy recommendations; advising on research and evaluation outcomes; and being far-reaching ambassadors for the VisVision. Following a fall application process, the Development Team will select 12–15 members for each Implementation Team from a pool of residents, planning participants, city department representatives, and community and program partners. Once established, the VisVision Leadership Academy will work with members of all three Implementation Teams to lead a highly innovative, robust, and collaborative implementation process. The Development Team will launch the Initiatives using the ToP facilitation techniques that worked well during Community Planning. This approach successfully brought in diverse stakeholders’ input and has increased trust in how conclusions are reached. Applying the same methods throughout Planning and Implementation responds to community concerns that an Advisory Team of outside ‘experts’ will wield more influence than people ‘on the ground’. A community-centered approach will avoid stifling grassroots innovations.. With guidance from those within and outside the community, the Implementation Teams will be positioned to strike a difficult balance between what’s realistic and what’s required to truly transform the neighborhood. By seeing the influence their input has had on the planning process thus far, residents are beginning to replace skepticism with hope, anger with trust, and apathy with determination. By strengthening their capacity for shared leadership, all Visitacion Valley stakeholders are beginning to recognize the powerful potential of moving forward with a clear roadmap to achieve a common vision. 101 Implementation Plan Development Team: The VisVision Development Team includes Mercy and Related’s Sunnydale staff from Real Estate, Transformation, Health, Education, and Resident Coordination. As with the Master Plan and Community Planning phases, the Development Team will continue to be the coordinating body during the VisVision Implementation phase. In this role, the Development Team will rely heavily on input from the Community Initiative Implementation and the Strategic Advisory Teams. Implementation Teams: The Safety First, Health & Wellbeing, and Learning & Earning Initiatives will each commence an Implementation Team in January 2015, engaging residents and focus area experts in the creation and implementation of Action Plans for 2015-2016. Evaluation: Reviewing Our Progress Implementation Plan 102 The Development and Advisory Teams share a commitment to ensuring residents and community partners are active in the evaluation process. Feedback during the planning phases made clear that two things will be key to making these partnerships work: 1) An ability to share data that is clear and easily understood, honest in showing the needs of the community, in a way that relieves rather than reinforces feelings of despair and hopelessness. Excitement from the HOPE SF youth report provides a powerful example of how residents can engage with institutional partners to gather critical data, analyze it, and present it to the community in a fun and friendly format. 2) Residents want results they can see, not read about in reports. If their brother or uncle or neighbor was just shot or they just lost their job, statistics on decreased violence or increased employment will fall flat. Evaluation of the Implementation phase itself will make use of the tools used in the Community Planning phases to ensure the process as well as the results meet stakeholders’ needs and expectations. In addition to the metrics outlined in the Roadmaps and described in the Community Initiatives, additional metrics will be developed to measure individual trust, social cohesion, and overall family and community stability. These elements are especially important during the housing transitions in Sunnydale. HOPE SF is currently developing a common set of goals and metrics for HOPE SF sites, including Sunnydale. HOPE SF’s data and evaluation consultant, Learning for Action (LFA), generated a 2011 study of the HOPE SF sites. That study is currently being updated for release this fall. That baseline data will enable VisVision leaders to track progress toward transformation. LFA will also use this data to compare outcomes between HOPE SF households and residents in other public housing developments around the city. Advisory Team members work on priorities for the neighborhood. The combined learning from VisVision and HOPE SF evaluations will provide thorough and balanced assessments that address city and funder priorities while ensuring that residents’ perspectives remain central to measuring success. The Road Ahead All VisVision stakeholder groups will be engaged in the Implementation phase. They will analyze results of the Community Planning phases, create formal action plans and funding proposals for the Community Initiatives, and launch Implementation Teams with resident, provider, and City department representatives. By embracing VisVision’s resident- and community-centered approach to transformation, it is the shared hope and expectation of the transformation planning participants that over the next two decades, Vis Valley’s isolated communities will unite into a thriving, cohesive neighborhood, and all its residents will reap the benefits of San Francisco’s abundant and expanding resources and opportunities. 103 Implementation Plan Brainstorming vision of Visitacion Valley. Implementation Timeline 2008-2012 2013 WINTER • Master planning 2013 SPRING • CNI Planning Grant Award • Safety Forum #1 • Transportation Focus Group Implementation Plan 104 2013 SUMMER • Mercy/Related launches Community Planning phase 2013 FALL • 30 Youth Jobs • CBO Collaborative Retreat • Youth Field Trips and Activities • 10 Community Planning Sessions and Workshops • Safety Forum # 2 • 4 Sunnydale Peer Leaders Hired • Back to School Event • Backpack Giveaway 2014 WINTER 2014 SPRING 2014 SUMMER 2014 FALL 2015 & BEYOND • Sunnydale Health and Wellness Center Opening • Transformation Plan Draft Submission • Initiative Implementation Team Selected • Transformation Plan to HUD • Launch Implementation Team • Vis Valley Family Day Celebration • Complete Sunnydale Surveys • Convened Advisory Team • Transformation Plan Community Showcase • Community Implementation Initiatives Selected • Advisory Team Selection • Launch Community Implementation Initiatives Projects • Summary Pilot Projects Selected • Project Evaluation • VisVision Transformation Endnotes and References HOPE SF Baseline Evaluation Report. 1 June 2012. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. http://www.sf-moh.org/modules/showdocument. aspx?documentid=7645 San Francisco Market Trends. Trulia. 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 1 Jan. 2014. http://www.trulia.com/real_estate/san_franciscocalifornia/market-trends Most Income Inequalities. Bloomberg. 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 1 Jan. 2014. http://www.bloomberg.com/visual-data/best-andworst/most-income-inequality-us-cities Preliminary Sunnydale Needs Assessment Results. San Francisco: LFA, 2014. 10. Print. 2010 U.S. Visitacion Valley Census Data. 1 Jan. 2010. Web. San Francisco 2010 Census Data. 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 1 Jan. 2014. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06075.html San Francisco Neighborhoods Socio-Economic Profile. SF-Planning, 1 May 2011. Web. 1 Jan. 2014. http://www.sf-planning.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8501 Visitacion Valley Middle School Accountability Report 2012-2013. SFUSD. 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 1 Jan. 2014. http://www. sfusd.edu/assets/sfusd-staff/rpa/sarcs2/sarc-868.pdf El Dorado Elementary School Accountability Report 2012-2013. SFUSD. Web. 2014. http://www.sfusd.edu/assets/sfusdstaff/rpa/sarcs2/sarc-521.pdf Visitacion Valley Elementary School Accountability Report 2012-2013. SFUSD. Web. 2014. http://www.sfusd.edu/assets/ sfusd-staff/rpa/sarcs2/sarc-867.pdf References Asian Pacific Islander Council Report: A San Francisco Neighborhood Analysis. Asian Pacific Islander, 2014. 6. Print. 105 For more information, please contact: David Fernandez, Project Director dfernandez@mercyhousing.org Mercy Housing California 1360 Mission St. San Francisco, CA 94103 Related California 333 Pine Street, Suite 300 San Francisco, CA 94104 © 2014 Mercy Housing California. All rights reserved. (10-14)
