San Francisco HEALING ROOTS: reflections on the collaboration and our future together

This is the 4th episode of our six-part SF Healing Roots Collaborative Series. It features a discussion from Ivy Lee & Bobbi Lopez and their preliminary findings from a recent needs assessment, The focus of which was on violence intervention, prevention, and service strategies. Figuring out the ways that institutions and organizations that service the community, can be clear on the directs thoughts and opinions from the community.  Ivy Lee is an attorney whose practice has focused on defending and advancing the rights of survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assault. She currently serves as San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed’s Policy Advisor in the areas of public safety and victims’ rights – developing alternatives to a police response, strengthening the effectiveness and accessibility of victim services, and preventing stranger and community violence are priority issues. Prior, Ivy served as the legislative director for San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ President Norman Yee and as Supervisor Jane Kim’s chief of staff. During that tenure, she staffed legislation designed to expand opportunities for marginalized communities, such as the Fair Chance Act to remove unnecessary barriers to stable employment and housing for individuals with criminal convictions; Eviction Protections 2.0 to provide tenants with a chance to resolve petty nuisances with their landlords prior to any eviction action; the Free City College program which established San Francisco’s City College as the first free institution of higher learning in the U.S.; and legislation to fund affordable early care and education for all San Francisco families, including a wage increase for providers.  Barbara "Bobbi" Lopez is a Deputy Director of Violence Prevention in the City and County of San Francisco. She also served Chief of Staff for Oakland Vice-Mayor Rebecca Kaplan and was the former Policy Director for San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim. Throughout her tenure, Mrs. Lopez has spearheaded significant policy initiatives, including the creation of an Oakland charter amendment establishing the Office of Inspector General for police department oversight; the implementation of a civilian response system for non-violent, non-emergency 911 calls; and vigorous advocacy for substantial budgetary allocations towards violence prevention in Oakland. Additionally, she played a pioneering role in establishing the nation's first transgender cultural district and initiated one of the nation’s first governmental task forces aimed at alleviating the disproportionate impact of fees and fines on marginalized communities, particularly Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Prior to her governmental career, Mrs. Lopez dedicated herself to advocating for youth with disabilities and those facing suspensions and expulsions within the San Francisco public school system. She was also instrumental in community development efforts in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, where she founded La Voz Latina, a program fostering leadership and organizing skills among monolingual low-income Latinas. Moreover, she co-founded the Safe Passage program, dedicated to ensuring the safety of children and elders during their journeys to and from schools, after-school programs, and senior centers. Mrs. Lopez also represented unionized civilian employees within police departments in the cities of Emeryville, Fremont, and Oakland, with a focus on enhancing their working conditions. She has previously spoken on panels including a two-day workshop with the Working Families Party, providing policy overviews to newly elected California representatives as well as at a national conference in Washington D.C. on the impacts of homelessness. 

This is the 3rd episode of our six-part SF Healing Roots Collaborative Series. It features a discussion on economic justice and some of the major financial obstacles that stand in the way of ending domestic violence. This episode features Destini Davis of Young Community Developers and Rachel West of In Defense of Prostitute Women's Safety Project, and Kali Shebi of San Francisco Department on the Status of Women. Destini Davis Destini Davis, AMFT is the Clinical Coordinator at Young Community Developers. She has been engaged in mental health work in the community for almost 10 years. Destini currently works with groups and individuals engaged in job readiness training. In addition, Destini created and facilitates a healthy relationships group for YCD participants. Kalkidan (Kali) Shebi is the Economic Security Program Manager for the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women. Kali also has over 7 years of experience working in the international development space advocating for girls’ and women’s rights, particularly advancing women's economic empowerment. Kali currently serves on the YWCA's (Berkeley/Oakland chapter) Board of Directors supporting the Policy & Programs committee and the Y’s mission of empowering marginalized women and ending racism in the community. Kali's lifelong advocacy for gender equity and economic justice is rooted in her vision to one day have a world where all girls and women, especially those often left behind, can live a life of freedom and prosperity. 

This is the 2nd episode of our six-part SF Healing Roots Collaborative Series. It features a discussion on some of the major obstacles that stand in the way of ending domestic violence. This episode features Laura Jiménez of California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, Destini Davis of Young Community Developers, Rachel West of In Defense of Prostitute Women's Safety Project, and Cameron Lucas of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women. Laura Jiménez has served as the Executive Director at CLRJ since 2011 and brings to this work the passion and commitment of close to 30 years of activism in the Reproductive Justice movement. She was raised in Santa Barbara, California, and since then, has made her way across the country and back. Along the way, she worked with the National Latina Health Organization in Oakland, California where she led a girls' mentorship program and initiated a collaboration between the organization and UC Berkeley to offer a class entitled, “Redefining Latina Health: Body, Mind and Spirit”, as well as the serving as the Development Officer with the Dominican Women’s Development Center in Washington Heights, New York. Laura was a part of the birth and growth of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective from 1998 to 2011, becoming the Deputy Coordinator in 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia. During her time with SisterSong, she co-coordinated two national conferences and established the Latina Encuentro – a gathering of Latina leaders in the Southeastern Region which had as a goal relationship building and leadership development of Latinas across the South. The birth of her two daughters brought home the issue of reproductive justice, encouraged her interest in the area of birthing work, and recommitted her to the healing of women of color. Laura is an innate healer, mother, and seer. She is a daughter of the ocean and a holder of hands and hearts. Rachel West is the Program Director of the In Defense of Prostitute Women's Safety Project (IDPWS) in San Francisco, which raises awareness and educates the public about violence against sex workers. IDPWS campaigns for city and state policies, which prioritizes protection over criminalization of sex workers, and for all women’s safety. She is also with the US PROStitutes Collective (US PROS), one of the collaborating groups in IDPWS. US PROS advocates for decriminalization and resources so no one is forced into prostitution through poverty. Destini Davis Destini Davis, AMFT is the Clinical Coordinator at Young Community Developers. She has been engaged in mental health work in the community for almost 10 years. Destini currently works with groups and individuals engaged in job readiness training. In addition, Destini created and facilitates a healthy relationships group for YCD participants. Cameron Lucas is the Executive Management Assistant for the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women. Cameron is passionate about the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality in the provision of governmental services and ensuring that government truly works inclusively and equitably for everyone.

This is the 1st episode of our six-part SF Healing Roots Collaborative Series. It features a discussion with Nicole Santamaria, El/La’s first intersex Executive Director of trans experience, and Pablo Espinoza, Co-Executive Director at Community United Against Violence (CUAV.) Nicole Santamaria, El/La’s first intersex Executive Director of trans experience, has led the shift in our organizational culture toward a trauma-informed, holistic approach. Her leadership is rooted in 28 years of experience working with survivors of violence (including HIV+ cis and trans women, LGBT women, indigenous communities and people with disabilities in the U.S., Latin America & the Caribbean) as well as her training as an art therapist. She has worked successfully to provide more visibility for El/La and the TransLatina community through her involvement in various partnerships, as well as her position as a city advisory commissioner in the LGBTQI+ Advisory Committee of the City and County of San Francisco. She has also worked with staff and consultants to create a strategic plan to increase El/La’s capacity and set the organization on a track for sustainable growth.   Learn more about CUAV and El/La Para TransLatinas by visiting their websites  https://www.cuav.org/  https://ellaparatranslatinas.org/ Our SF Healing Roots collaborative includes representatives from YCD, SF Department On the Status of Women and W.O.M.A.N., Inc.

We are excited to be presenting a 6 episode podcast series with local nonprofits and city partners. The series is slated to start in June 2023. Together, we will explore the topic of domestic violence and discuss its true costs across our city's communities. We'll also lift up what is being done to intervene and prevent domestic violence here in SF. Please listen to our introduction episode & learn a little more about what's to come! This series is due in part to funding from the Blue Shield of California Foundation.

You probably remember Pamela Tate, Co-Executive Director at Black Women Revolt Against Domestic Violence and Destini Davis, AMFT, Clinical Coordinator at Youth Community Developers from past podcast episodes. In THIS episode, they are joined by Cameron Lucas, Grants and Policy Associate at the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women and Jill Zawisza, Co-Director at W.O.M.A.N., Inc. to discuss the Healing Roots collaborative. Though this particular project is sunsetting, the group takes a moment to reflect on the past few years, and what the future holds for DV prevention, intervention and the group.  Learn more about DOSW and our organizations via the links below: San Francisco Department on the Status of Women Black Women Revolt Against Domestic Violence Youth Community Developers W.O.M.A.N., Inc. (Women Organized to Make Abuse Nonexistent)

Wondering how NOT to lean into criminal legal systems as a response to DV?…listen to this episode as staff flesh out what that means at WOMAN Inc, where we are at in that process and some overarching reflections on TJ!

Guest Bio: Destini Davis, AMFT is the Clinical Coordinator at Young Community Developers for the past 3 years but has been doing mental health work for over 8 years now. Currently, working with groups and individuals a long side there job readiness training to helping them maintain their employment. Destini Davis, Clinical Coordinator and Healthy Relationship group facilitator at Youth Community Developers and Jill Zawisza, Co-Director and support group facilitator at WOMAN Inc discuss their work with the Healing Roots Collaborative, specifically, Healthy Relationship groups.  Additional links: San Francisco Department on the Status of Women, Black Women Revolt Against DV, WOMAN Inc.

This is the end of this volunteer spotlight series where Jill, the Co-Director, is joined by Alicia - the Educational Development Manager, Sabrina - the Support Line Program Manager, and Mary - the Co-Director, to offer up some reflections on the WOMAN, Inc. Volunteer Program and to share our gratitude and appreciation to all those that volunteer with the organization. 

This is part three of the series where we've spoken with volunteers and advocates at various levels. Listen in as Mary, WOMAN, Inc.'s Co-Director, has a conversation with Tania Parks, a long time WOMAN, Inc. community member. In this episode Tania reflects on her time working with survivors of domestic violence at the organization, including what brought her to the work and what keeps her here at WOMAN, Inc.  Tania Parks has been part of the WOMAN, Inc. community for over a decade. With ten years of experience in the non-profit  and NGO sector, Tania has had the opportunity to participate in and  spearhead various research, training, development, and advocacy roles at organizations working to end gender based violence. She is especially interested in the relationship between gender and refugee rights and in policy implementation that will enact positive change for those impacted by displacement. Tania is an adjunct professor of American Government at a community college in Northern California where she places particular focus on the intersection of race and American politics and place student equity at the core of her teaching philosophy. Mary Martinez (she/her) comes from the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the Co-Director of WOMAN, Inc., who started at the organization as a support line volunteer back in February 2008. For most of her time at the organization Mary has been involved in the 24 hour Support Line program, and has expanded her work in the general programs and operations of WOMAN, Inc. She also represents WOMAN, Inc. in the community, works one-on-one with survivors, and continues to do the work alongside the WOMAN, Inc. team of upholding their value of centering Black, Indigenous, and other people of color while also holding the organization and one another accountable in divesting from white supremacy and anti-Blackness. During her free time you can find Mary hanging out in nature and taking her little fluffy dog, Nemo, on walks and car rides.