The Mission Beacon Community Center filled with residents from the Mission and Excelsior districts on Nov. 23 for a tenant convention, which focused on the rising housing crisis and what the community could do to hold onto their neighborhoods.
“You know you’re onto something when the mayor talks about the need to do something about the Ellis Act,” Supervisor David Campos said.
Causa Justa (Just Cause), an Oakland-based grassroots organization that aims to achieve justice for low-income residents, started the event by getting all of the attendees motivated with an open forum, giving the floor to those who wanted to share their stories regarding the housing crisis.
“I’ve lived in San Francisco for 36 years,” said Linda Post, who lives in a rent-controlled, six-unit apartment in the Mission. “I’ve been lucky.”
Others have not been so lucky. When asked by a member of Causa Justa what it felt like to lose their homes, hands shot up across the room.
Though many voiced that they would prefer a direct action approach to the crisis, attendees listened attentively when it was announced that the convention would focus on evaluating proposals.The goal of the meeting was for the group to vote on or come up with proposals that would be then narrowed down and would eventually be put on the November 2014 ballot.
“The way that policy is often developed is (when) our neighbors and our neighborhoods and our community members say ‘this is an issue,’ and then as policy advocates we’re like ‘ok, let’s see if anybody’s ever done anything about this,’” Maria Zamudio, San Francisco Housing Rights Organizer for CJJC, said.
Five other tenant conventions are being organized throughout the city in the neighborhoods hit the hardest by the housing crisis. These neighborhoods include the Castro, Mission, and Excelsior, Richmond, Western Edition and Haight, SoMa, Tenderloin and Downtown and Chinatown.
After several attendees gave testimonies, the moderators asked the group what they would like to see in their ideal neighborhood. The ideas ranged from simple requests like being able to walk around the neighborhood with pride, to more resonating responses such as children in the neighborhood growing up to see possibilities for a better life.
“Here in San Francisco we have a major crisis, a housing crisis and that’s what’s gathering us all here,” said Supervisor John Avalos, who also spoke at the event. “When we work together like this, we can move mountains and we can change things. I’m committed to work with you from the inside of City Hall.”
This grassroots approach was taken and used throughout the entire event, informing residents that if they want change, they would have to lead the fight, and that it was not going to be an easy one.
CJJC suggested a legislative approach and taking small steps to mend the housing crisis, first presenting an informative slideshow and lesson about housing affordability, rent control, the rise in evictions, vacancy control and tenant buyouts before breaking up into groups to discuss proposals to amend certain aspects of housing laws at a City level.
“Some of them are ideas that people in the neighborhood have put out over the years based on models from other cities,” Zamudio said when discussing where the proposals came from. “A lot of them are based on the need.”
At the end of the meeting, three proposals made the final list. One, created on the spot by the tenants at the convention, included capping rents at 30 percent of the neighborhood’s median income, a no-fault eviction moratorium and expropriating property of landlords that harass their tenants. The final choice of proposal for the districts will be made at the next meeting in early January.
The meeting adjourned with a closing chant, sung in both English and Spanish: “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. To both love each other and protect each other. We have nothing to lose but our shame.”
Though dates have not yet been decided for future meetings, Causa Justa plans to hold their citywide tenant convention at the end of January or early February.
“It’s natural to see the neighborhoods changing,” said Brenda Cruz, who grew up in the Excelsior and currently resides in Pleasanton. “But it’s sad to see the Mission change like any other neighborhood.”
For more information, contact Causa Justa (Just Cause) through their website, www.cjjc.org.