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Author: Charlotte Ashlock

This Christmas Eve marks GLIDE’s first without Joe Betz, and our hearts are heavy as we honor his life and legacy.

As the owner of the iconic House of Prime Rib, Joe shared more than just meals with our community — he shared dignity, care, and joy. For more than 30 years, he and his family volunteered at GLIDE each Christmas Eve, serving hundreds of prime rib dinners to guests of our free meals program.

Because of Joe, thousands of people who could never afford a fine dining experience were treated to one — complete with warmth, respect, and generosity. When we think of Christmas at GLIDE, we think of Joe. He brought the same attention to detail, pride, and heart to our kitchen that he brought to his restaurant. When Joe walked down the stairs into the kitchen, you could feel it immediately: Joe was in charge and everything was going to be beautiful.

Joe was also a cherished friend of GLIDE co-founders, Reverend Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani. That friendship, nurtured over decades, reflected GLIDE’s deepest values of radical inclusion and unconditional love. In that spirit, we are honoring him by naming GLIDE’s free meals service line “Joe Betz Lane,” celebrating his lifelong generosity, hospitality, and compassion.

His legacy lives on. Today, our community will once again be feasting on prime rib, as his family continues this beloved tradition. Over the decades, we have served more than 75,000 prime rib dinners — and thanks to the Betz family, we’re just getting started.

This Christmas Eve, we send holiday peace and joy to our House of Prime Rib family. It’s never easy to lose a legend, but Joe will never be forgotten. His light continues to shine in our hearts — and now, forever, through every hot meal served at GLIDE, surrounded by love.

Del Seymour of Code Tenderloin shares his experiences as a veteran

The Sunday preceding Veteran’s Day, Glide Memorial Church held a special Celebration for veterans, and many local leaders turned out to honor them. “No one who defended our country should ever have to fight for a roof over their head! Caring for veterans is the responsibility of everyone,” Mayor Daniel Lurie proclaimed from the pulpit. Veteran homelessness in San Francisco has been decreasing recently– but there were still 587 homeless veterans in San Francisco as of the latest count.

 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood spoke about addressing the root causes of veteran homelessness. “San Francisco values mean that we provide jobs and economic development for those who have served us the most. On this Veterans Day, I can’t think of a better organization than GLIDE to represent our San Francisco values,” he said.

Then, the supervisor presented an award to a veteran who had worked in journalism to fight for better prison conditions. Tragically, veterans are twice as likely as non-veterans to be incarcerated. Not enough people realize that when we fight for the fair treatment of prisoners, we are also fighting for the rights of veterans.

Dr. Gina Fromer, GLIDE President and CEO acknowledged GLIDE’s daily commitment to supporting veterans. “Honoring veterans is not just something we do once a year. We see hundreds of veterans every day walk in through our doors,” she said. “They come through our doors for meals, for support. They get love, dignity, and respect.” She also opened up about her family’s experiences navigating the mental health of her veteran father.

Del Seymour, GLIDE board member and leader of Code Tenderloin, was one of our featured veteran speakers. He reflected on the lack of support for veterans after they leave the army. “We spend three months making civilians into soldiers: it’s called basic training. We don’t spend ONE MINUTE making our soldiers into citizens. That’s where we get it wrong. I remember, one day, someone asked me, ‘are you getting your veteran’s benefits?’ I said, ‘what benefits?’ I had no idea I was entitled to the veteran’s benefits that thankfully I receive now.”

Del Seymour’s jacket, bearing the insignia of the 82nd airborne division of the United States Army.

Thank you to everyone in our community who is a veteran and shows leadership in veteran’s issues. We appreciate you and you deserve all our support!

happy girl jumping

On Sunday, October 19, 2025,  the streets outside GLIDE came alive with music, color, and the unmistakable pulse of community. As part of San Francisco’s annual Sunday Streets celebration, GLIDE hosted its own Phoenix Day—a joyful gathering that welcomed neighbors from the Tenderloin and beyond to celebrate love, inclusion, and connection.  

What started off as overcast and grey, later turned into a radiant blue sky, with Ellis Street in front of GLIDE transformed into a festival of belonging. Families, friends, and community members wandered among the tents, enjoying live performances, food, games, and the unmistakable sense of togetherness that defines the Tenderloin spirit. Orange and red heart banners lined the street—a visual echo of GLIDE’s mission to embody unconditional love and radical inclusivity.   

The event brought together longtime GLIDE partners, local organizations, and volunteers who work year-round to create opportunities and support for San Franciscans experiencing poverty, homelessness, and isolation. 

Four elected officials came out to support; District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, San Francisco Fire Department Chief Dean Crispen, our District 5 Sup. Bilal Mahmood, and Assessor Joaquin Torres. Special shout out to Sup. Mahmood and Assessor Torres for taking the plunge in our dunk tank! 

Thanks for the SF Examiner for coming out and sharing the Tenderloin spirit!

GLIDE Volunteer Alexa holding some GLIDE balloons

Among the many helping hands that made Phoenix Day shine were friends and volunteers like Alexa and Hannah, whose joy and enthusiasm embodied the spirit of the celebration. Alexa, who first discovered GLIDE a few years ago while searching for ways to give back during the holidays, has since become a regular volunteer. When she learned about this year’s Phoenix Day, she invited her friend Hannah—new to GLIDE but eager to get involved to join her.  

Together, the pair spent the day helping with event setup and spreading cheer as the “balloon team,” making sure every child—and quite a few delighted adults—went home with a bright balloon and a smile.  

For Hannah, it was her first experience volunteering with GLIDE, and she called it “the best way to spend a Sunday in the Tenderloin.” Alexa agreed, saying she was proud to share the day with her friend and to be part of an organization that celebrates connection, compassion, and joy.  

For Derek Hollis, Civic Center resident and dedicated GLIDE volunteer, Phoenix Day was a joyful extension of what he already loves most about GLIDE—community, service, and the freedom to simply be himself.

Derek has been volunteering for about a year, often helping serve meals in GLIDE’s Daily Free Meals program. “My love language is feeding people,” he shared with a smile. “It’s great to come in, work with a bunch of people, and just serve some food. I find it very meditative.”

Though this was his first time attending Phoenix Day, Derek was immediately struck by the warmth and energy filling the streets. “Events like this show the street in a different light,” he said. “It highlights that this is one community—it’s not ‘those folks over there’ and ‘these folks over here.’ It’s everybody, right here.”

Derek said it a sense of unity is what keeps him coming back to GLIDE. “The thing that keeps me coming back is this message of freedom,” he reflected. “People have different ways of expressing themselves in the world, but I think liberation—and celebration—are both really important.”

For longtime San Franciscan JJ Dollarhide, Phoenix Day was more than a street festival—it was a homecoming. After moving back to the city four years ago and experiencing homelessness, JJ found community and hope through GLIDE. “I came to GLIDE when I needed help, and they were incredibly supportive,” JJ shared. “Not just with meals or services, but with the sense of community—the unconditional love you feel.”

JJ first connected with GLIDE through the Celebration choir, a space that offered both creative expression and belonging. “This event today is actually my first step back toward that,” JJ said, smiling. “I love the symbolism of the Phoenix—how it rises from the ashes. In a lot of ways, San Francisco is doing the same, and so are many of us.”

At Phoenix Day, JJ soaked in the joyful energy—friends dancing, kids in costumes, face painting, and laughter filling the streets. “GLIDE is out here celebrating itself,” JJ said. “It’s just an amazing place to be. It really fills my soul.”

From resource tables offering wellness and housing information to dance circles filled with laughter and music, every part of the day reminded attendees that community is not just a place—it’s a practice of care.

Moments like these reflect the beating heart of the Tenderloin—its creativity, courage, and compassion. They remind us that even in challenging times, love continues to rise, just like the mythical phoenix this event honors. As the music faded and the tents came down, one thing was clear:

Phoenix Day would not have been possible without the generous support of the Svane Family Foundation and Zellerbach Family Foundation. Last but not least, Phoenix Day was a fantastic time for the GLIDE staff to come together to engage and serve the Tenderloin community. Every one of GLIDE’s 17 departments had a hand in making Phoenix Day possible.

GLIDE partnered with ten organizations including Healing Well, YWAM, Tenderloin Blackness, Dollhouse Project, Exploratorium, 40+ Double Dutch, and 3 performance groups. Bringing together longtime GLIDE partners, local organizations, and volunteers who work year-round to create opportunities and support for San Franciscans experiencing poverty, homelessness, and isolation. 

GLIDE’s Phoenix Day is more than a block party—it’s a living example of what happens when we come together with open hearts and shared purpose. The Tenderloin shined brightly, showing once again that love truly is the most powerful force in the universe.

fire dept phoenix day 2025
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins (C) with GLIDE President & CEO Dr, Gina Fromer (L) and Senior Director of Public Affairs & Communications (R) Francesca Delgado-Jones

Above: Dr. Gina Fromer Speaking at International Peace Day Celebration last year

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By Dr. Gina Fromer, President & CEO of GLIDE

44 years ago, the United Nations chose September 21st to be the International Day of Peace. Every year our country celebrates this day, but our world isn’t getting any more peaceful. Why is peace so challenging to create?

GLIDE fights for peace and safety every day on the streets of San Francisco. Our approach considers all forms of violence that cause death, including economic violence. Where economic violence exists, physical violence often follows.

That’s why true peace is grounded in economic factors like housing, health care, food, safety, and opportunity. It’s also grounded in spiritual values like justice, dignity, and respect. Above all, peace is built on love! Without love, you have no foundation.

That’s why we build GLIDE around a love agenda. Most people know us for serving meals to unhoused people in the Tenderloin– but we also have dozens of other programs that alleviate poverty and suffering and bring peace to people’s lives. And our justice work includes a history of activism in international peace issues. The reach of GLIDE’s love is global!

Peace Activism in GLIDE’s History

During the Vietnam War, an anti-war activist spoke at Glide Memorial Church 12 days before he was imprisoned for resisting the draft. Our co-founder, Reverend Cecil Williams spoke at anti-Vietnam war protests as well. In 1983, our co-founders Janice Mirikitani and Reverend Cecil Williams protested the Livermore Nuclear Lab together.

When the War on Iraq started, Reverend Cecil was just as outspoken: he led nearly 11,000 people in an anti-war march and rally in SF on January 20th, 2003. In his speech he said, “Give us the facts before you bomb Iraq… we want the facts, George,” addressing the then-president of the United States.

This anti-war activism was a natural extension of GLIDE’s peacekeeping efforts on the streets– like the historic Citizens Alert project in the 60’s which operated a hotline, provided support for victims of police brutality, and advocated for police reform.

Today, I stand up and speak for immigrant rights, prison reform, and for world peace. Whether it’s a rally about ending slavery in prisons, or a celebration of International Peace Day, I step up to the podium and make sure GLIDE’s values are heard by this country.

Local and International Conflict Have Patterns in Common

There are so many similarities between what we see happening internationally and what we see happening on the streets of the Tenderloin. The global stage repeats what we see on the local stage.

Solving hunger and other basic needs also keeps peace on the streets. People who are hungry, tired, or otherwise suffering have a harder time using nonviolence to resolve conflicts.

The connection between hunger and conflict is playing out on the world stage as well. Let’s be real: hunger is often used as a weapon of war. We’ve seen many headlines recently about children in war zones starving. This is unacceptable. Children should not have to pay the price for adults’ mistakes. No child should ever go to bed hungry. I’ve been fighting for that cause all my life!

Peacekeepers Must Set an Example

Minimizing the force used by peacekeepers helps keep everyone safer. Whether it’s in global conflicts or on the streets, all too often, people intervening in conflict use more force than necessary. That’s why at GLIDE, our unarmed Community Safety Team keeps people safe not with force but with trust, respect, and compassion.

Without ever laying hands on a client, our Community Safety Team is able to use emotional intelligence and cultural understanding to resolve conflicts. The love our Safety Team feels for our community is foundational to GLIDE’s values.

Those Most Harmed Must Be Part of the Discussion

We recently convened a public safety forum at GLIDE, and we’re about to have more. The mission of that safety forum was to ensure the people most affected by violence in our city had input into city policies. I wish our world leaders also convened forums where they asked policy advice from those most affected by war! They certainly would learn a thing or two.

This International Day of Peace, we carry forward GLIDE’s legacy of peacemaking, from the Vietnam era to today, and we recommit ourselves to a vision of peace rooted in love. We must work together towards a world where every child is safe, every family is fed, and every person has a chance to live joyfully, without fear.

GLIDE’s President & CEO, Dr. Gina Fromer, gave the closing keynote at the Second Annual Food Action Summit on April 28th. The Food Action Summit was organized by the Food and Agriculture Action Coalition Toward Sovereignty (FAACTS), a group of community organizations that fight for food security, quality, and justice.  A spacious ballroom packed with advocates fighting for consistent and equitable access to food and nutrition services (in San Francisco and beyond!) applauded her remarks. 

Food justice begins with listening to those who have experienced hunger

Dr. Gina came from a place not only of expertise but lived experience.  “I was one of the founding members of the Food Security Taskforce for San Francisco – where we fought for school lunches to be healthier and salad bars to be in every school.  I ran a food pantry in Bayview Hunters Point – where I was born and raised – for 16 years until COVID shut us down. As President & CEO for GLIDE, we serve more than 600,000 meals a year – 364 days a year.  As a child I stood in food lines with my mother. And as a mother myself, I needed to go to GLIDE for food to feed my family.” Her experience battling hunger was not only professional, but personal.

People of color will be more likely to lose their food security

Her speech dwelt particularly on the threat to communities of color when food security is being slashed. “The data doesn’t lie,” she said. “Look at the food lines across the city and you will know who is impacted the most.  We can’t have that. We need leadership – and we need it now!”

At the end of two days of intense meetings and workshops, you could see the tired audience filling with energy as Dr. Gina inspired them. “We are on this journey with you – toward food justice and security for ALL!” she told them.  

Institutional food needs to uphold human dignity

Our President & CEO also talked about defending food access in our public institutions: hospital, prisons, and schools. One topic near & dear to her heart was the provision of quality meals for school children. Children need meals they won’t throw away, because they taste like “cardboard.” We don’t want our kids eating junk food from vending machines because it’s the best they can find.  Food justice means putting the well-being, choice and dignity of our communities first.

The organizers of the Food Action Summit pose together for the camera.

Upcoming opportunities in food justice & sovereignty at GLIDE

GLIDE’s next Social Justice Academy will focus on food justice and health, particularly for members of the Black community. We encourage any applicants who have been harmed by food injustice to apply to this short-term paid opportunity to learn advocacy skills and advocate for their communities; the opportunity will be posted here when applications open.

Stay loving and hopeful

Hope and love are part of GLIDE’s core values. It’s important to hold fast to hope during a time when, across our country, food banks are losing one billion dollars of food. Programs that go all the way back to the New Deal are being rolled back.  We won’t sugarcoat that harsh reality, but we do believe that community advocates and organizations like GLIDE can ensure a love agenda prevails over a hate agenda– and that people get fed. 

Yes on Prop 6: Let’s End Slavery in California

“Involuntary servitude is prohibited except to punish crime,” reads our California constitution, legalizing the enslavement of people convicted of crimes. As President & CEO of GLIDE Foundation, I call for voting yes on Proposition 6, “The End Slavery in California Act,” and removing this language of enslavement. Especially because Prop 6 will be more than a symbolic gesture; it will make a practical difference to the lives of people in prison.

Should this be done?

The question on Prop 6 is not “Should this be done?” But, “Why hasn’t this been done already?” GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice has been working on this for years alongside our coalition partners, co-sponsoring bills ACA 3 and ACA 8, fighting to qualify for the ballot. Now that it’s finally on the ballot, our community is phone banking for Prop 6 every week leading up to the election, an effort you can join here.

Why do we have to push so hard for something as basic as ending slavery in the 21st century?  In 2022, voters in Alabama, Tennessee, Oregon, and Vermont voted to remove slavery and involuntary servitude from their states’ constitutions. Why are we behind? Why isn’t California leading the nation? How can the language of slavery still linger in the same year that a Black woman is running for President?

We all know that our justice system targets people of color. California imprisons Black men at ten times the rate of white men. This injustice is not by accident, but by design. Michelle Alexander’s bestselling book The New Jim Crow tells us, “African Americans are not significantly more likely to use or sell prohibited drugs than whites, but they are made criminals at drastically higher rates for precisely the same conduct.” Through a biased justice system, mass incarceration continues slavery under another name. Drop the euphemisms: “involuntary servitude,” “forced labor.” Call it what it is. Call it slavery.

Incarcerated are exploited

The exploitation of people in California prisons is absolutely unacceptable. We should be focusing on rehabilitating incarcerated people, not enslaving them. Incarcerated people are paid less than $1 per hour in California, and they are punished if they do not show up for work because they are sick or injured. Basic food and hygiene items purchased through the prison canteen can be up to double their retail cost. Minimum wage and labor protection laws do not apply to incarcerated workers. In the prison system, labor is forced through punishment, and there is no requirement to reward people fairly. Prop 6 will not guarantee minimum wage, but it may assist separate efforts to get incarcerated people fairer wages. 

Currently, people in prison who decline work assignments can be punished with limitations on visits, phone calls, canteen purchases, yard time, entertainment,  recreation access, and even delayed or denied parole. Once Prop 6 passes, California’s prisons will no longer be able to punish individuals for declining to work (though they will still be able to reward working).

Slavery is a business

Slavery is still big business in the United States, which is a disgrace. Nationally, forcing incarcerated workers to labor for next to nothing generates over $2 billion  each year in goods and over $9 billion in services. In California, we earn and save at least hundreds of millions each year from prison slavery. However, this comes at the expense of time spent on rehabilitative activities. While corporations may profit from prison labor, it is the taxpayer who loses money when the person re-offends and incurs all the costs associated with the justice system.

The key to avoiding recidivism is giving incarcerated people time to pursue education, instead of filling all their time with slave labor. Education is absolutely key to rehabilitation. If people can get a diploma, take emotional intelligence courses, spend time in mental health and substance use treatment, we are investing in crime prevention. We are giving them the tools they need to turn their backs on crime and start a new life. Currently incarcerated people can be punished for choosing those activities over a work assignment. 

Did you know incarcerated people make up about 30% of California’s firefighters? Despite risking life and limb fighting California’s wildfires, formerly incarcerated people face significant barriers getting hired as firefighters after they are released. The same is true for other types of jobs. We aren’t just sending people to prison: we’re limiting their economic opportunities, which ensures many will re-offend. There are all too few workplaces like GLIDE, where employees can safely and freely admit to their incarcerated past without fear of discrimination.

Help us pass Prop 6!

You can help Prop 6 pass in November with your vote, with your phone banking, with your conversations with your neighbors. When Prop 6 passes, we will all celebrate.  

Slavery needs to end in every state, not just California. Racial bias in the justice system needs to end. Incarcerated people should get minimum wage. It will be a long road, but those who profit from modern-day versions of slavery will never triumph over the will of the people.