SAN FRANCISCO – As San Francisco city leaders try to balance their budgets, some community organizations worry that housing aid could take a hit.
The current proposed cuts would impact many public and nonprofit service organizations, reducing their budgets by 10 percent.
So on Wednesday afternoon, the People’s Budget Coalition gathered 40 groups that provide housing, food and jobs to San Francisco residents for a rally outside City Hall.
They ask leaders to continue working on the budget and not make cuts to housing-related organizations. They want the city budget to increase crucial services for the city’s most vulnerable, such as Dexi Marina Baptista.
She is an immigrant who does not speak English and moved to the US for a better life for herself and her children.
“I’m here for resources because I live in a hotel with my children and they don’t have space to play,” Marina Baptista said, with the help of an interpreter. “We all share a bathroom.”
They also have no kitchen and the family of five only shares one room. They live near 9th and Market streets, and only her husband works.
“It’s very difficult because when they want to go outside, there is always violence on the streets,” Marina Baptista said of her children.
The Budget Coalition said parts of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program could see cuts of up to 50%. That would affect enforcement of building codes, housing subsidies and child care programs.
Maria Zamudio helped organize the rally. She is director of the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco. It is a community organization that helps tenants understand their rights and responsibilities.
They also help tenants with their landlords before involving the city. She said the organization saves the city money this way.
“The tenants we work with tell us that there is trash in their buildings, there are cockroaches, there are mice, there are mold, there are drafts, there are leaks. And without our programs, these problems would only but get bigger.” worse,” she said.
She said the city budget for her organization projects a 15% cut. This not only has consequences for the people who use their services, but also for its staff.
“It’s two people,” Zamundio said. “Two people working nonprofits here in San Francisco who care about tenants who don’t deserve to have their livelihoods threatened because the city decides to balance the budget because of our programs.”
After the meeting, many people entered City Hall to speak at the Board of Supervisors Budget and Appropriations Committee meeting, including Marina Baptista.
“Sometimes my children say to me, ‘Mom, one day we will have a bigger space so we can do homework, a bigger space so we can play,’” Marina Baptista said.
No action was taken at Wednesday’s meeting; more meetings will take place before the budget is finalized.
Mayor London Breed’s Office said they are still working on the budget.
“We are finalizing the mayor’s budget proposal, which is due by June 1,” the mayor’s office said. “No final decisions have been made yet, but the reality is that with a significant budget deficit we will have to make difficult decisions. This will not be an easy budget, but the mayor is committed to delivering basic city services and critical programs that move this city forward.”
