communications – Page 7 – GLIDE – San Francisco: serving the people of the Tenderloin and San Francisco since 1963

As published in the San Francisco Chronicle today, March 12, 2025 by GLIDE’s President & CEO, Dr. Gina Fromer.

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Each week, as president and CEO of the San Francisco social justice nonprofit Glide, I walk past the lines of people who wait for our free meal program. Those lines typically extend a city block.

They’re about to get longer.

Budget proposals by Republicans in Congress could reduce the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by 20%. These cuts threaten all the people who consider this city their sanctuary. If San Francisco wants to be a safe place for the marginalized populations who call this city their home and others who seek refuge here in increasingly uncertain times, food security must be a top priority.

And we have to start now, before any SNAP cuts hit. Planning will take time and it’s a crime to let any child go hungry.

Solving hunger is foundational to solving poverty. For everyone who has never gone hungry, I have an urgent, vital reminder: When you’re hungry, it’s harder to get a job, go to classes, take care of your kids — harder to do just about anything. How can you transform your life and reach for the American Dream on an empty stomach?

We must do better.

Long before I took my current position, I was a young mother who looked to Glide for help at a couple of down points in my life. Glide treated me with dignity and helped me see that providing food isn’t charity work — it’s justice work.

When we feed hungry families, those families become partners in the struggle to make a better city for us all. Food is the universal language in a city that’s rich with so many cultures.

It’s also a doorway.

People come for the food and stay for a community of life-transforming care. People who come for a meal can also find rental assistance to prevent their eviction, enroll in recovery programs or receive services to support well-being. Their journey to a new life begins with a few simple words: “We’re serving fried chicken today.”

The San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Biennial Food Security and Equity Report revealed that food insecurity rates among people in city programs are up 83%, and this public health crisis will only worsen with the expected cuts to SNAP.

San Francisco’s elected officials, nonprofit leaders and regular citizens must prioritize picking up the slack.

Demand for our meals at Glide dining room in the Tenderloin was up 7% this past year, and increasingly we are serving families, older adults, disabled people and hard-working ordinary people who just can’t afford that second or third meal of the day. Buying food often competes with fulfilling basic housing needs or paying sky-high rents.

The Tenderloin is home to 3,500 children (which makes it the neighborhood with the highest density of children in San Francisco), but it doesn’t have a single full-access grocery store. As of September 2024, over 106,000 people in San Francisco received CalFresh, the state food assistance program, but they still struggled to get all the nutrition they needed. Children and older people make up nearly 60% of CalFresh recipients in San Francisco. Uncertainty over the future of these benefits has never been higher.

The same innovative energy used by city officials to address the fentanyl emergency should be used to address the food access emergency that SNAP cuts will cause. Legislation that expedites city access to philanthropic dollars and improves cooperation between city departments and outside partners is something to pursue now. That way, we’ll be prepared before the shortfall hits.

Should San Francisco leaders pursue a food access emergency ordinance, the recommendations of the city’s Food Security Task Force will be invaluable: It already has studied ways to reduce silos and streamline referrals. It also recommends relying on the leadership of people with lived experience of food insecurity.

Those of us who understand what it feels like to be hungry see things a little differently.

Over the years, Glide has advocated for an emergency food system, immigrant food access and more CalFresh benefits. We have made progress by successfully advocating for free breakfast and lunch for all children in California’s public schools, greater access to fresh produce, farmers markets, summer meals programs and funding for San Francisco food programs.

Elected officials can start partnering now with nonprofit and community programs to create a centralized, long-term, citywide food plan so all our anti-hunger funding is targeted and coordinated. This food plan should focus on reaching high poverty areas with culturally appropriate foods.

Regular citizens can help by donating or volunteering at any organization that feeds low-income people.

You can also write or call your representatives asking them to oppose cuts to SNAP and support the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program, which reimburses childcare and adult daycare centers for food costs.

I hope all of us are up to the challenge of keeping San Francisco fed.

Dr. Gina Fromer, President & CEO of the Glide Foundation

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Take action today by writing your leaders!

Ask them to oppose cuts to SNAP and support the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program, which reimburses childcare and adult daycare centers for food costs.

I know that every day it feels like something new and alarming is happening on the news. I don’t want you to be overwhelmed, I don’t want you to give up. Always remember you’re part of a community that’s making a difference.

At GLIDE, we are taking concrete steps to make sure the future is one where everyone receives the love and support they need. You can help us make it happen!

So I’m asking you: please sign up to join our Justice Warriors team. You can join this amazing group of GLIDE community members who have been working tirelessly for years to advocate for racial justice, housing and homelessness justice, community health, and intergenerational support for women and families. We write letters, advocate to government officials, send emails, and hold rallies– let us know your preferences for getting involved. Big or small, every action matters and is needed now.

GLIDE stands in solidarity with our clients, staff, and community– with special attention and care for groups that are being targeted right now: immigrants, refugees, LGBT+ people, and BIPOC of all kinds. We will NEVER stop being a sanctuary for all. Our meals and services are for everyone, regardless of documentation or identity!

Currently, our Center for Social Justice is fighting against budget cuts for sanctuary cities and against scapegoating Black, Brown and LGBT+ people for the overdose crisis. We are offering a monthly unconditional legal clinic, in partnership with the SF Bar Association, for clients who need legal help.

We have immigration resources on our website, and of course no ICE officer will ever get past our lobby without a warrant. We also have some projects in the works to better support homeless youth– nearly half the homeless youth in SF are LGBT+. Please stay tuned for updates on how you can help.

It’s outrageous that churches have been removed as “sensitive” zones: people of every identity should have the right to be themselves– the right to worship in safety, peace and freedom. That’s why we must fight back in the war against diversity, equity, and inclusion. I’ve seen DEI attacked so many times. My husband even wrote a book called Race Track about the dynamics of institutional racism and fighting for equality. This is not a new battle for me.

As we all know, one of the great heroes of this battle was the Reverend Cecil Williams. As a child, his most cherished dream was to desegregate the church. Those who choose to engage in a “War on DEI,” are working against Cecil’s dream for all humans to live, pray, and work together in love and togetherness. But I have faith that hatred won’t win. Our love is stronger.

Join us in the fight. Uphold Cecil’s legacy. I’m counting on you!

Yours,

Dr. Gina Fromer

What better way to celebrate Black History and Black Futures than to have three brilliant Black women on Glide Memorial Church’s stage representing nonprofit, local and state level leadership!

It was a night of humor, inspiration and a call to action last Thursday when Dr. Gina Fromer moderated a discussion with Controller Malia Cohen and Congresswoman Lateefah Simon.

Before diving into current affairs, we all were so happy to learn of the deep personal connections shared between Cohen and Simon as they reminisced about Simon’s grandmother, Betty Simon, attending Cohen’s father’s church.

Also, how Cohen and Dr. Gina were connected decades ago from their work in Bayview. It was so much fun to witness the wit, charm and connection among all three women on stage.

The discussion covered topics that are on everyone’s minds – from the attacks on Bishop Budde when she stood up for the rights of immigrants and LGBT youth, to the attacks on organizations that center marginalized groups or have DEI training programs.

Collectively, we processed the disruption of the world we know. Federal employee layoffs, delays in processing tax returns, the lack of guard rails to protect our data from DOGE– it’s a lot for all of us to process!

And our speakers warned the community to brace themselves for yet more chaos down the line. They also said, “We’ve seen this before: it’s time to lean into community, and dust off the Black Panther Party policies.” They pointed out there is opportunity in chaos: perhaps people will now finally understand the urgency of building a new system.

It was clear that Cohen and Simon had differing, but complementary approaches to change. Lateefah Simon told a story of working for Kamala Harris only after she was assured she could get people out of prison and live her revolutionary values.

Malia Cohen’s approach to liberation focuses a great deal on financial literacy as a path to personal freedom. Although they approached liberation from different perspectives, they had a strong rapport from supporting each other throughout their unique challenges. GLIDE loves helping bridge diverse perspectives at our events.

The event closed with this advice: “We don’t have power over the government but we have people power.”

We must learn to leverage our people power in the days and weeks to come. One great way to do that is by signing up to join GLIDE’s Justice Warriors. We hope to see you in the future writing, phone banking, and marching with us!

It was MLK Day, January 20 and GLIDE was open only for breakfast. We were serving prime rib and eggs. I was downstairs in the kitchen. I didn’t notice this guy come in, at first. But I noticed he was eating rapidly; I mean, he was scarfing down his food like there was no tomorrow. It was shortly after that I left the kitchen, that GLIDE Meals Navigator Diane Truong came running to me, telling me there is a man choking.

I ran back. Four co-workers attempted to pad him on his back. But the man was not responding. His face started turning purple. That’s when I knew it was time to spring into action. His body was getting weaker. And he collapsed to the ground. I looked into his face and knew he was about to die.

I picked him up. He bent over. This is the first time I performed the Heimlich maneuver. Now I’m certified in CPR. And I have saved lives using Narcan. But I put my all into it. This guy was only about 5’2, 120 pounds, maybe. I’m 6’2, and 270 pounds.

He seemed very light to me. But it hit me afterwards. I started realizing that this was not the first time this man had put his life in jeopardy. But I knew that if I was unsuccessful in getting that giant piece of meat stuck in his upper airway, he would have died.

If I had not been there at GLIDE on that day, this man would not be alive right now. And you have no idea how good it feels to have saved this man’s life.

Four people tried to save him. And now it was up to me. And I succeeded. I had never seen this guy before. Ever since, he makes the effort to come by and see me every day for lunch and thank me. I feel like I’m an angel to him. It feels good; I won’t deny it. But I’m happier that he seems to be more thankful for his life.

I found out he’s a Vietnam vet. His name is Kendall Davis. He’s been kicked out of his housing or transitioning into other housing for years. Without a steady place to live, he’s been juggling so many things, and that’s why coming to GLIDE for his meals has helped him so much.

I look forward to coming to work every day at GLIDE. What I’m doing now is what I was born to do. You get such an adrenaline rush when you save a human being’s life. It makes coming to GLIDE even more exciting. You want more out of life yourself!

I thank God for giving me the wisdom to be alert to my surroundings and being able to act fast enough and respond to situations like these, all the while staying calm. Prior to coming to GLIDE, I was busy saving lives using Narcan at SF Public Works. So I’m no stranger to it.

Christopher’s Story of Recovery and Employment at GLIDE

My day starts at 4:30 am here at GLIDE. I’ve been working here since September 2024. Since I was 17, I was an alcohol and crystal meth addict.

When I came to SF, I knew I had to check myself into rehabilitation and visited St. Anthony’s. I did some training at the San Francisco Pit Stop. But whenever I was hungry, I went to GLIDE.

Once afternoon for lunch, while I was there, I saw Donna LaSala (GLIDE’s COO/CIO) pass by. And not knowing who she was, I asked her about employment. I told her I had de-escalation training. She told me to fill out an application. I had a phone interview and before I knew it, GLIDE offered me a job.

I’ve been sober for three years now. Put your pride to the side, is what I say. I’m 43. I’m not ashamed of my past. I don’t have a foggy mind anymore and no longer do I have the urge to vomit or feel nauseous. I feel blessed.

Christopher Medina
GLIDE Community Safety Monitor

Food Insecurity and Second Chances

Editor’s Note: Eating fast can be a psychological symptom of experiencing food insecurity, and it’s something we see in many of our clients. By building supportive bonds between staff and clients, we can create a safe space where folks can slow down.

Christopher’s story of recovery and fulfillment at GLIDE is far from unique: we specifically hire people to work with clients who can relate to their experiences. Providing employment opportunities to people the system overlooks is very important to us. Everyone deserves a second chance at a good life.

I made pilgrimage to Rwanda this past summer. As part of my racial justice and healing work at GLIDE, I was among 15 American religious leaders invited to an Aegis Trust conference commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi.

Their neighbors killed close to one million people in 100 days in Rwanda in 1994. We visited genocide memorials and mass graves; we sat in reconciliation villages where perpetrators and victims live side by side; we heard testimonies and learned about concrete paths of healing and hope-building that this tiny little country has claimed.

I have a million stories I could tell you from my time on the ground there. Here’s one for now.

I landed in Rwanda at 1am on a Wednesday. At 8am that morning, I took a 90 minute taxi ride outside of Kigali to the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village.

The village was founded in response to the unspeakably sad and brutal orphan crisis caused by the Genocide Against the Tutsis. The word ‘Agahozo’ is a Kinyarwanda word that means ‘a place where tears are dried” and of course the word ‘shalom’ means ‘peace’ or ‘wholeness’. “Through healing, education, and love, this light-unto-the-Nations Youth Village empowers orphaned and vulnerable Rwandan youth to build lives of dignity and contribute to a better world.

This village helps to fill the gaping holes left behind after the genocide.

Agahozo Shalom is located on a pristine, 144 acre pristine hilltop site in Rwanda’s Eastern Province. On my tour, I not only saw the camp-cabin like residence buildings where 25 students and one house-mama live together, I saw the classrooms and the technology labs and the outdoor amphitheater and the massive dining hall that can seat 700 people.

I watched as students from deeply troubled-backgrounds greeted their teachers with a sense of gratitude and respect. Richard Niyibira, the lead educator, told me humbly, that after several years of learning and relationship building, many of his students ask if they can call him ‘father.’

Agahozo Shalom is modeled after a kibbutz-like Youth Village in Northern Israel called Yemin Orde. Situated on top of Mount Carmel, 20 minutes south of Haifa, Yemin Orde was founded in the winter of 1953, eight short years after the end of World War II and the systematic annihilation of European Jewry.

Yemen Orde’s founding mission was to create a safe haven for children orphaned by the Holocaust, after the darkest years in all of Jewish history. In the years that followed, thousands of these orphaned children were welcomed and housed and taught and loved at this 77 acre-hilltop oasis. In the 1970’s,

Yemin Orde became a village for at-risk youth from all over the Jewish world and Israel: vulnerable Jewish, Christian and Muslim youth are housed together, learn together, build community together and work together on building visions for a shared future.

How did the hilltop miracle that is Yemin Orde come into existence? Reading about and seeing the shockwaves of trauma after the Holocaust, leaders in the British Friends of the Youth Aliyah movement raised funds, secured land and hired educators and trauma-oriented therapists who could welcome and love and begin to heal these Jewish children whose parents had been murdered in Nazi Europe.

Soon after the 1994 genocide, Anne Heyman, a South African born Jewish philanthropist who knew about Yemin Orde envisioned that there should be a Yemin Orde like sanctuary in Rwanda for the tens of thousands of now-orphaned children after the genocide. Thanks to Anne’s fierce determination along with thousands of partners and co-creators on the ground in Rwanda and around the world, Agahozo Shalom opened its gates in 2008.

Tragically, Anne died six years later at the age of 52. When I arrived at Agahozo Shalom this past summer, I met with one of Anne’s friends named James Smith, who along with his brother Richard, founded the Aegis Trust. At the same time that Anne and her team were building Agahozo Shalom, the Aegis Trust was helping, at the request of Rwandan authorities, to help build the Kigali Genocide Memorial.

Here’s what James told me about Anne:

‘In all honesty when I first heard about what she planned I wasn’t sure that it was possible or sustainable. Yet she made the village operational within three years of the idea. There’s a mango tree at the village, planted to mark the time when the negotiations with all the landowners was complete. I will never forget when she told me about those negotiations and when she showed me the tree. It represented significant work undertaken before there could be detailed plans, work that was about building trust with the communities and local authorities. Securing the hill upon which the village would be built meant that Anne’s vision could begin.’

The 13th Psalm pulses with questions, pleas and screams:

How long, O God; will You ignore me forever?

How long will You hide Your face from me?

עַד־אָ֨נָה אָשִׁ֪ית עֵצ֡וֹת בְּנַפְשִׁ֗י יָג֣וֹן בִּלְבָבִ֣י יוֹמָ֑ם עַד־אָ֓נָה ׀ יָר֖וּם אֹיְבִ֣י עָלָֽי׃

How long will I have cares on my mind,

grief in my heart all day?

How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

הַבִּ֣יטָֽה עֲ֭נֵנִי יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֑י הָאִ֥ירָה עֵ֝ינַ֗י פֶּן־אִישַׁ֥ן הַמָּֽוֶת׃

Look at me, answer me, Adonai, my God!

Restore the luster to my eyes,

lest I sleep the sleep of death

The Psalm turns a corner at the end. After all of the pain, after all of the anguish, after all of the grief, the Psalmist reclaims agency, reclaims faith and reclaims hope and a redemptive vision for the path of healing ahead:

וַאֲנִ֤י ׀ בְּחַסְדְּךָ֣ בָטַחְתִּי֮ יָ֤גֵ֥ל לִבִּ֗י בִּֽישׁוּעָ֫תֶ֥ךָ אָשִׁ֥ירָה לַֽיהֹוָ֑ה כִּ֖י גָמַ֣ל עָלָֽי׃ {פ}

But, you God, I trust in Your chesed, in your lovingkindness,

my heart will exult in Your redemption, in your deliverance.

I will sing a new song to you O God,

for You have been so good to me.

Here’s how James closed his note to me about Anne Heyman:

“I can’t believe it was only seven years later that I attended the memorial held for her by the students, who spoke about her as their mother. When I reached the mango tree I could not stop weeping. Not because of the loss of such a dear visionary friend, though I did, and still do, mourn her. It was because Anne created something transformative. It wasn’t the bricks and mortar on the hill that was her achievement, though that is of course impressive.

It was something more beautiful than that. I’m not sure what to call it. Perhaps the closest word we have is love, a love that touched a myriad of hearts.

As the name of the village describes, Anne did dry the tears of a thousand crushed souls, restoring peace and affirming life. From the dark days of genocide she and the Heyman/Merrin family turned a hillside in Rwanda into a small piece of heaven.’

Rabbi Michael Lezak
GLIDE Social Justice Director

Time to Flip the Tables:

Michael D. Tubbs Speaks at Glide Memorial Church on the Final Sunday of
Black Futures Month

This past Sunday, Michael Tubbs, the former Mayor of Stockon, strode onto the stage at Glide Memorial Church in a light purple suit and gleaming white shirt. He came to Glide to deliver the final sermon in a month packed with speakers, music, and events to commemorate Black History and Black Futures.

His words brought home the urgency of the political moment we are living through. And for the hundreds of people listening to him at the 9am and 11am Celebrations, he issued a clear mandate to fight off complacency in a world that feels like it’s falling apart.

“When the status quo isn’t working, it is the peoples’ responsibility to flip the table. For people of faith, we have the model in Jesus who flipped the table on a corrupt governor and system. Today, we are called to flip the table. If it’s poverty, flip it. If it’s racism, flip it. If it’s homophobia, flip it. More is required when the stakes are higher!”

He echoed the words of Dr. Gina Fromer, our President & CEO, who said, “There is no history without Black history. We must keep the freedoms we have earned and demand even more.”

And he demonstrated in real time why State Assemblymember Matt Haney described him as a fighter for the ages. “When Michael faced the biggest challenges of his life, he never ran away. He ran towards big problems to solve them. We need him and his tenacity now more than ever.”

Watch and listen to Michael’s sermon on GLIDE’s Facebook channel and join all of us at GLIDE in flipping the tables on structures and systems that stand in the way of a more just and equal world.

Dear San Francisco,

I love you! So much so that I have committed my life to making you a better place to live, play, and shine. I raised my kids here. I was married here. I go to church here. I adore this community, and nothing is more important to me than making the lives of families better. I give my heart and soul to this city every day, through the work I do at GLIDE.

And I’m not the only one. We all love San Francisco, don’t we? The question is: how much does San Francisco love us back?

We want everyone to feel welcome here and a part of the fiber of this city. Families from all over the world come here for a better life – we must protect them. Our Black heritage must not be under attack! And LGBTQ+ people fearing for their rights, are all hoping San Francisco will continue to fight for them. All of us are asking the question, “Does this city love me back? How much? Is it going to be enough?”

There’s so much to love in San Francisco: parks everywhere you go, every few blocks walking through a different amazing culture, world-famous tourist attractions like the Golden Gate Bridge. But it’s the people of San Francisco I love most of all. San Francisco is beautiful because of its people.

I have memories of my early years visiting my grandmother who lived in the Baker Street projects in Fillmore and playing all day with the neighbors’ kids. Growing up in Bayview Hunters Point, where the community supported each other, and no kid went hungry. You saw REAL community there. Even though everyone was poor, it didn’t feel like it, because we were a village. GLIDE’s work is all about rebuilding those community bonds.

San Francisco, I’m writing to you on Valentine’s Day this year because I love you– and I want you to love me back– love all of us back. Love must go beyond words. I want to see love in action.

Volunteering in GLIDE’s kitchen and dining room is one of the best ways you can show up for people in San Francisco who desperately need some warmth and kindness during this rainy winter. You can also host a group for people seeking recovery; there are so many ways you can help.

In a loving San Francisco, everyone will have a chance to access health care. Everybody will have a chance to send their kids to a good school. Everyone will have the chance to get a job and take care of their family!

If San Francisco loves us back, there will be no cuts to social programs, to food programs, and more shelter beds and affordable housing made available. If San Francisco loves us back, our leaders won’t let technology platforms have more power than the people posting on them. San Francisco needs to love the person sleeping on the street just as much as it loves the wealthiest CEO.

If San Francisco loves us back, it will invest in communities like Bayview, Mission, Excelsior, Potrero Hill, and of course, the Tenderloin: one of San Francisco’s most misunderstood communities.

Many families who were gentrified out of Fillmore and Bayview moved to the Tenderloin. We have individuals living on the streets, and their families have been in SF for generations. San Francisco needs to start loving those families back, because a healthy Tenderloin is a healthy San Francisco.

Reverend Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani founded GLIDE on an agenda of unconditional love. Every day at GLIDE I do my best to put love into action. Our leadership team is thinking night and day about how GLIDE can continue to fight for our communities that are under threat right now: immigrants, BIPOC, trans people, homeless families, survivors, and more.

Because we love San Francisco, GLIDE will show up for San Francisco. San Francisco, will you show up for us?

With heart,

Dr. Gina

We are delighted to announce Howard Chi as our new Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Howard brings an impressive background in financial leadership, with more than 20 years of experience managing financial operations of multi-million dollar brands, including start-ups, and driving growth across various industries.

His expertise in implementing sound fiscal policy and understanding the key drivers behind an organization’s long-term success will be pivotal as GLIDE continues its expansion of program services and initiatives.

His leadership and strategic approach have helped numerous nonprofit organizations thrive in turnaround situations by defining key performance metrics and driving ongoing performance improvement.

Howard received a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics Administration from the University of California Riverside and a Master of Business Administration from Golden Gate University.

Howard is an auto enthusiast, enjoys live music and spends his free time with his wife and two children.

Howard serves on the Board of Directors for the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital Foundation.

Black community leaders, nonprofit and service workers, and workers for San Francisco’s Department of Public Health all came together last week for “Unity in Community: Overdose Prevention Summit 2025.”

This summit was the culmination of monthly meetings between the Coordinated Overdose Response and Engagement (CORE) arm of DPH and Black leaders in the recovery field across San Francisco. Black leaders recommended the summit to DPH to elevate visibility for the issue of disproportionate Black overdose deaths. The Black community felt a keen sense of urgency about these racial disparities, and we’re proud of GLIDE’s Policy Associate Shiba Bandeeba for all she did to move plans for the summit forward.

Newly elected Mayor Daniel Lurie, who has made a “Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance,” a signature piece of legislation for his new administration, briefly stopped by to kick off the summit. His speech emphasized the importance of listening to Black leaders and to those who are closest to the problem. Public Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax gave an enthusiastic speech about community’s role in inspiring the government, pointing out that the successful HIV prevention efforts began as a result of community demands.

How a Loving Approach, That Puts Services and Housing First, Can Reduce the Racial Overdose Disparity

Then GLIDE’s President and CEO Dr. Gina Fromer took the stage, opening with a powerful story about how community ambassadors save people from dying from overdoses. “Fifteen lives have been saved by GLIDE alone,” she said, before praising and shouting out other ambassador groups in the audience. “To support a person, we have to support their community. No one is going through this alone, okay? No one!” she told the audience.

And you can be a part of that community of support! There is an amazing group of GLIDE community members constantly advocating for the needs of our low-income communities with marches, phone banks, letters and more. You can sign up to join those social justice warriors here, or you can sign up for an opportunity to serve those in need here at glide.org/volunteer.

Dr. Fromer also shared a heartfelt story about the painfulness of waiting for loved ones who struggle with substance use to make a choice to turn around their lives. “But when they’re ready, we have to be ready,” she added, emphasizing the importance of making services available and accessible. “But we join them on the journey, we don’t chastise them for not getting to their final destination on the day they start!”

The audience cheered hard when Dr. Fromer made her point about how housing prevents substance abuse. “We need more permanent supportive housing and affordable housing! We need to all work together to prevent overdoses in housing – including with tenant-led peer support programs. Housing helps prevent substance use!” she emphasized.

Do’s and Don’ts for Practitioners and Policymakers Supporting Recovery from Substance Use

GLIDE’s Health Programs Manager Janet Ector spoke on a panel alongside Shavonne Allen, a lead artist in Skywatchers (a Tenderloin group that fights addiction and builds community with artistic expression), Executive Director of Code Tenderloin Donna Hilliard, and Maurice Byrd, an LMFT from Harm Reduction Therapy Center. Facilitating the panel was Richard Beal, the Director of Recovery Services at Tenderloin Housing Clinic. Janet Ector received tumultuous applause when she made the point, “Carceral solutions are not the answer.”

Maurice Byrd spoke about the importance of developing relationships with people in recovery, “Without relationships, you accomplish nothing.” He criticized scare-based drug education tactics in schools, pointing out that giving students misleading information can erode their trust. He also highlighted the need for more Black therapists and more therapists trained on the ins and outs of addiction.

Donna Hilliard talked about the importance of “listening without giving answers,” and giving employment opportunities to people in recovery. Shavonne Allen shared a story about being hospitalized while using substances, and being persuaded by the caring attitude of her doctor that it was worth trying a treatment program. Everyone on the panel agreed that honest caring professionals who establish relationships need to be compensated fairly. Low wages contribute to burnout, and the least we can do for people on the frontlines is give them the resources they need to succeed.

Ultimately, the enemy is not substances: the enemy is the isolation and hardship that drive people towards using substances as a coping mechanism. The panel ended with the memorable quote, “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.”

Sometimes the difference between the people we admire and the people we look down on is just the point they are at in their lives! That’s why the values of radical inclusion and unconditional love we hold at GLIDE are so important. Through the lens of inclusion and love, we can see a person as their best possibilities, not their worst moments.

Author: communications

Christopher’s Story of Recovery and Employment at GLIDE

Time to Flip the Tables:

Michael D. Tubbs Speaks at Glide Memorial Church on the Final Sunday of
Black Futures Month

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Christopher’s Story of Recovery and Employment at GLIDE

Time to Flip the Tables:Michael D. Tubbs Speaks at Glide Memorial Church on the Final Sunday of Black Futures Month

Time to Flip the Tables:

Michael D. Tubbs Speaks at Glide Memorial Church on the Final Sunday of
Black Futures Month