Are SF's Navigation Centers a Magnet for Crime? Here's How Data Refutes Public Perception

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco's first navigation center opened in 2015. Since then, the city has built several others in an effort to move some of the homeless into permanent housing. They have always been controversial.

In August 2019, a surveillance camera caught a resident of a building near San Francisco's Embarcadero being attacked by a homeless man with mental health issues.

The timing could not have been worse as the city had announced just several months before that a navigation center for the unhoused would be built just a few paces from where the attack happened.

A battle ensued between residents of the South Beach and Rincon Hill neighborhoods and City Hall, arguing that the navigation center would bring in more homeless, attract crime, and more drug use.

It turns out, it never did any of those things.

Let's compare crime incident reports in that area before the navigation center opened with the most recent incident reports provided by SFPD. Turns out, the neighborhoods with a navigation center, like the rest of San Francisco, have seen a decrease in crime.

Some of the residents overlooking both the Bay and the courtyard of the navigation center have also argued they've been financially affected.

"The people that own here in this condominium probably lost about 15% of the value of their home," says resident Dirk Etienne.

According to the data, residents have lost 13-15% of their value, but they can't blame the navigation center because every neighborhood in San Francisco has seen a similar or higher decline.

Read the Full Article on ABC News

The Five Keys EAT! Program included in USDA’s $28M investment to Support Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

Press Release | Release No. 0236.23

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small today announced an investment of $27.9 million across 45 organizations that teach and train beginning farmers and ranchers, including programs for U.S. veterans who are entering into agricultural careers and starting new farming businesses.

“The next generation of farmers and ranchers hold the promise for future American agriculture and rural prosperity,” said USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small. “Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is providing our newest producers with the support they need to succeed and the educational resources to guide their operations on the path toward long-term sustainability and profitability.”

This investment is part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP), which supports a wide range of professional development activities and topics, such as managing capital, acquiring and managing land, and learning effective business and farming practices.

“This investment reflects USDA’s commitment to helping new farmers and ranchers realize their dreams,” said USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education an Economics Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young. “As the average age of our U.S. producers continues to increase, USDA is accelerating efforts to provide meaningful support to a rising cadre of farmers and ranchers—including military veterans interested in starting new careers after their service—so they can cultivate the skills needed to be productive, profitable and resilient.”

According to USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Ag Census data, one-third of the United States’ 3.4 million farmers are over the age of 65.

“Ensuring there will be a new generation of beginning farmers and ranchers – regardless of age or production choice – is essential to the continuation of agricultural production in the United States,” said USDA NIFA Director Dr. Manjit Misra. “Beginning farmers and ranchers have unique educational, training, technical assistance and outreach needs. Access to capital, land and knowledge that assists in ensuring profitability and sustainability are vital to farmers and ranchers in their first 10 years of operation.”

NIFA’s BFRDP funds three types of projects:

  • Standard Projects to new and established local and regional training, education outreach and technical assistance initiatives that address the unique local and regional needs of beginning farmers and ranchers.

  • Educational Team Projects to develop seamless beginning farmer and rancher education programs by conducting evaluation, coordination and enhancement activities for standard projects and other non-funded beginning farmer programs.

  • Curriculum and Training Clearinghouse to make educational curricula and training materials available to beginning farmers and ranchers and organizations who directly serve them.

Examples of the 45 newly funded projects for FY2023 include:

  • Calypso Farm and Ecology Center: This project, Growing Alaskan Farmers: An Agricultural Training Program for Alaska Native People and Their Communities, aims to train a growing population of beginning Indigenous farmers in rural Alaska. This supports the broader vision to foster food sovereignty across Alaska by providing the training and support necessary for Alaskan villages to grow their own food. The project is an Indigenous-led, hands-on, farmer training program.

  • Farm Boot Camp: This project will provide in-depth training, technical assistance, and hands-on internship opportunities to transitioning active duty and veteran beginning farmers obtaining the knowledge, skills and tools needed to make informed decisions for their farming operations. The training and materials will be based on the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework aimed at addressing the needs of service-related disabilities.

  • In Her Shoes, Inc.: This two-state project aims will provide education and support to 90 new and beginner women and Black farmers each year in West Georgia and the Mississippi Delta. The goal of the project is to increase women and Black operated farm businesses through farm business expansion and new market access. The project also will lead to increased fresh food in local communities.

  • La Semilla Food Center: This project will advance a regional practice of climate smart agriculture solutions while removing individual and systemic obstacles for socially disadvantaged and colonia farmers of the Chihuahuan Desert Ecoregion and providing them with opportunities to prosper.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean-energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

READ THE ORIGINAL RELEASE ON THE USDA WEBSITE

Dignity Village Six Month Update

Kelsey Goeres | Alameda Post | November 16, 2023

City officials and police officers shared updates and answered questions at a community meeting about the Dignity Village supportive housing complex on Monday, November 13, at Bayport Park on the West End. Dignity Village, which provides interim housing for individuals experiencing homelessness, is located at 2350 Fifth St., adjacent to the College of Alameda.

The common areas of Dignity Village will be available for guests to socialize and access support services. Photo Adam Gillitt.

Assistant City Manager Amy Woolridge, Housing and Human Services Manager Lisa Fitts, and Five Keys President and CEO Steve Good ran the meeting. Five Keys is a nonprofit that manages onsite operations at Dignity Village as well as case management and resident services. Two officers from the Alameda Police Department (APD) were also present to speak on current crime initiatives as they related—or, more accurately, didn’t relate—to Dignity Village. Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft also stopped by for 30 minutes prior to heading out to a Boy Scouts event.

The agenda included introductions, Housing and Human Services report, APD update, Dignity Village/Five Keys Schools & Program overview, and questions. While all of these areas were touched on during the meeting, several vocal community members interrupted the flow of the agenda to ask questions that, as Woolridge said, may have been better suited for an APD Community Beat Meeting. As such, the meeting took on more of a question-and-answer format.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST ON ALAMEDA POST HERE

San Francisco Receives $18.2 Million Project Homekey Grant to Support Adding New Permanent Supportive Housing

Homekey funds, which have allowed the City to expand permanent supportive housing by nearly 900 units in the last three years, will cover the purchase and operating costs of 685 Ellis Street

San Francisco, CA - This week, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) announced that San Francisco was awarded $18.2 million in capital and operating funds from the state’s Project Homekey to purchase the 74-room property at 685 Ellis Street to operate as Interim Housing, and eventually convert to Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) for adults exiting homelessness.  

Governor Gavin Newsom launched Project Homekey in 2020 as an innovative strategy for addressing homelessness by providing local public jurisdictions with critical federal and state funding to develop a broad range of housing types, including hotels, motels, and hostels into permanent housing for those experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.

This most recent Project Homekey award is the seventh given to San Francisco since the program started three years ago. In total, San Francisco has been awarded $230 million in Homekey Grants to expand permanent supportive housing by 873 units for adults, families, and young adults across seven properties.

San Francisco provides shelter and housing to nearly 16,000 homeless and formerly homeless individuals every night; 13,000 of these people are in City-supported housing programs. The new homes at 685 Ellis Street will add to the City’s permanent supportive housing portfolio, which is larger than any county in the Bay Area, and the second highest per capita among any city in the country.  

Read The Full Story on SF.GOV Here

San Francisco to spend $19 million to operate 74-unit building for homeless

By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square

The Center Square) – San Francisco is spending $19 million on expanding an agreement with a non-profit to run a homeless hotel for four years through 2026.

The total cost of the operation is $27.3 million.

The city and county of San Francisco had a resolution on Tuesday approving the first amendment to the contract between Five Keys Schools and Programs and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.

The city purchased 685 Ellis Street, which is a 74-unit building, in May 2022 so it can be used as housing for homeless people. The units would come with supportive services, and tenants would have their own units and leases.

The building has a lobby, community lounge, a commercial kitchen, office space, and a laundry room. Each unit has a private bathroom and kitchenette.

The 2022 point-in-time survey conducted on Feb. 23, 2022, shows the number of people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco was 7,754.

Read The Original Article on The Center Square Here

From Drugs and Jail to a Second Act Changing Lives

“I’m here to do whatever I can to help these women get back on their feet.”

Chalia Broudes is a big believer in second chances.

Growing up in Oakland, she was the eldest of six, and the go-to sibling helping her single mom and brothers and sisters navigate “difficult” circumstances.

Not one to dwell on her past, she briefly fills in her background with words like abuse, crystal meth, homelessness and living in squalor, burglary and jail. She says she is still healing from the blurry nine years she moved to Atlanta, then Texas and back to northern California.

It is a past Chalia, 34, wants to lock in a closet behind her. Today she is dedicated to focusing her energy and 24/7 work life on reaching out to help other women struggling with addiction, and who also are experiencing their second chances. She is committed to raising the voices of women who may have unwittingly gotten themselves mired in crime and other horrible situations, but who now are re-starting their lives.  

In September Chalia will be two years sober.

Today, she is an ambassador for Home Free, San Francisco-based trauma-informed reentry program for criminalized survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. She’s also enrolled in Five Keys charter schools program, studying for her GED. College is next on her bucket list. Prior to Home Free, Chalia worked for Five Keys’ Navigation Centers for the unhoused.

At Home Free, Chalia helps women recently released from prison. For some, she will be helping them apply for social security IDs. For others, she’s the tech advisor for setting up an iPhone or new laptop. For others, she is the companion for women who have been imprisoned for decades on their first trek to a happy place they’ve only dreamed about for years: the grocery store.

Driven by her mission

Chalia is passionate about her mission: “I’m here to do whatever I can to help these women get back on their feet.”

She can empathize with their suffering and knows firsthand what it feels like to be trapped. She calls it “being free from our narrow place.”

“My narrow place was when I was on drugs,” says Chalia. “I did not ever think I was going to stop until I went to jail for five months then God had something different planned. He gave me a second chance then, and the narrow place started to open wide doors to a new life. Then the doors started to open like a domino effect.”

Bring hope and faith to the women of Home Free

For the women of Home Free, she is a godsend.

Karen Souder, a resident, says: “Chalia has been my rock here! The one I can totally trust and talk to no matter what the situation is. Her moral values and beliefs bring a feeling of home and love to me. She inspires me and lifts me up when I am feeling alone and discouraged. She enlightens Home Free with hope and faith and empowers us to keep going and improving ourselves. She is fair and honest and truly has a
good heart.”

These days, the simple things are what give her great pleasure.

“I love cooking, even cleaning and going to movies is my favorite,” Chalia says. “I’m very tapped into my spiritual side and know God has plans for me to help others. I love helping others and know that no matter what anyone has been through, they always deserve a second chance.”

Sometimes, she admits: I still struggle with believing in myself, having the courage to start something that is not finished and being good enough. Working with Five Keys helped and still helps me a lot. I have a great support team so I take it day by day.”

About Five Keys

Five Keys was founded in 2003 by the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department as the first
accredited charter high school in the nation to provide diploma programs for adults in county jails. Today Five Keys serves 30,000-plus Californians annually, spanning 14 counties in 25 county jails and over 120 teaching sites. In addition to schools,
Five Keys operates multiple homeless shelters, permanent supportive housing programs, transitional employment programs, reentry programs and housing for women suffering from immense injustice. Five Keys is a second chance employer. Our goal is to restore communities through education and other programs that respond to the students’ and community needs — which in turn creates safer communities. To visit or donate: www.fivekeyshomefree.org.

Steve Good: From County Jail to the Classroom - Breaking Chains Through Education

Steve Good, the President and CEO of Five Keys Schools and Programs. From its start as a charter high school within a county jail, Steve has elevated Five Keys to a groundbreaking nonprofit, supporting over 25,000 at-risk and in-risk individuals across California. We delve into his journey of transforming Five Keys into a beacon of hope for those impacted by racism, poverty, trauma, and incarceration.

With Steve at the helm, Five Keys' growth has been unprecedented, culminating in numerous accolades, including the Hart Vision Charter School of the Year and the Innovations in American Government Award from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Governance.

Today, we explore the secrets behind this growth and Steve's unique approach to leadership. We also address a pressing issue - the lack of funding for correctional education programs, despite the astronomical amounts spent on incarceration. Steve shares his insights on this topic, as well as how Five Keys creates a successful learning environment for those who have struggled in traditional settings.

Watch the Interview on The Avenue of the Strongest by ArgoPrep Channel here

Home Free’s Tammy Johnson: The personification of hope, possibility and triumph against all odds.

It was a busy morning for Tammy Johnson (formerly Cooper Garvin). Since 5:30 a.m., she was hunkered down at her computer, racing the clock to schedule clinic appointments, navigate government websites to secure I.D.’s for several residents and wading through blocks of email requests from women seeking her support from behind bars. That afternoon, Tammy promised to drive Deborah, a 73-year-old woman and new Five Keys Home Free resident to Target and the DMV.

For Deborah, the trip to Target was a thrilling possibility, one of her first outings after being released from 43 years behind bars. Tammy was determined Deborah would fulfill a decades-delayed dream to push a shopping cart down the aisles of the mega store and buy Jean Nate’ perfume and plastic ice cube trays.

As the residential Program Director of Five Keys Home Free, a Treasure Island-based trauma-informed reentry program for criminalized survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, Tammy is on a mission every day. She says she’s determined “to let the women let themselves be free in the world.”

Nothing was going to stop her from fulfilling Deborah’s Target trek.

“I told her ‘hey girl, I don’t even know if they still sell Jean Nate’ and plastic ice cube trays are pretty old school,” said Tammy. “It’s all about bringing a little happiness to bring these women up. It can be a trip to the grocery store or for some it’s eating a favorite food. But at a deeper level it’s all about coaching them through re-entry.”

Tammy is more than just a shot in the arm for the women of Home Free. She has walked in their shoes.

Survivors and Friends: Susan Bustamante (31 years inside), now Home Free Re-entry Coach, Tammy Johnson, and Brandi Taliano, (28 years inside), now Five Keys Housing Services Site Director

Like Deborah and the other women, Tammy spent decades (28 years) in prison unjustly sentenced as an LWOP (Life Without the Possibility of Parole). Tammy was sex trafficked at age 14 and was imprisoned for 28 years for being in the car while her pimp murdered a client. Her sentence was commuted in 2018 and she was hired by Home Free as its reentry coach in February of 2021.

Her embodied experience and fierce determination to move forward with her life is combined with a commitment to reach backward to accompany other women on their journey. Her dedication speaks volumes about the second chance mission of Home Free. The six two-bedroom unit apartment complex is California’s first transitional residential facility for criminalized survivors of domestic violence, and human trafficking.  

“As soon as I met Tammy, I was blown away by her quiet strength and self-determination, her prideful spirit, her hopefulness and how she owned her humanity, which is such a paradox to the horrific injustice she has experienced,” says Sunny Schwartz, founder of Five Keys. She met Tammy for the first time during a visit to the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, CA. “Her leadership is instrumental to Home Free. She can talk about not giving up and her determination to keep growing as a person and leader are amazing.”

Steve Good, Five Keys President and CEO, Susan Bustamante, Tammy Johnson, and Sunny Schwartz, Five Keys Founder and Home Free Co-Founder

“She is the personification of hope, possibility, and triumph against all odds. Her personal struggle and determination to thrive every day comes to life through her commitment to the women of Home Free,” said Sunny.

In her role, Tammy helps Deborah and the other women residents of Home Free transition back into their new lives. She also counsels other women as they prepare for their upcoming release from the prison system after years or even decades of incarceration.

When they get out, Tammy is there to wipe away their tears. Her heart swells when she expresses gratitude for Home Free and the opportunity to help guide and walk alongside women whose lives have been locked up.

“The greatest gift I can give them is telling them to just let themselves be free, to let their freedom soak in,” said Tammy. She’s at Home Free daily from 5:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and on call 24/7. At Home Free, we really strive to make the women feel like they are at home.”

“Tammy was a person who did everything she could to educate herself and prepare for her release from prison,” said Sara Malone, who is mentoring Tammy in her role at Home Free. Sara is the former Chief of the Office of the Ombudsman, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation who worked with Tammy when she was incarcerated. “But more significantly she was committed to helping other women. She was and still is always there for others, never putting herself first. It would have been so easy to give up, but she never did, and she inspires others to always have hope. She is committed to helping others make their lives better.”

These days, Tammy also is enjoying life as a new wife to her husband, Demian, who she met working at one of Five Keys SAFE Navigation centers for unhoused persons (prior to joining Home Free). Her goal is to “laugh, to always laugh.”

Mrs. and Mr. Demien Johnson at their wedding at Home Free

“We go to a lot of comedy clubs because we both just love laughing together,” says Tammy. “Our dream is to go to Paris. And my dream for Five Keys Home Free is that we keep getting bigger so we can offer the promise of freedom to other women who are in prison and longing to be in the world.”

Tammy Johnson