GLIDEChurch – GLIDE – San Francisco: serving the people of the Tenderloin and San Francisco since 1963

San Francisco’s Homeless and Supportive Housing Dept announced that they are removing homeless families from the shelter waiting list. Our streets are growing colder and the holidays are fast approaching. This moves us backwards. The growing needs of homeless families in San Francisco should result in more families receiving supportive housing, not a cut in the number of people prioritized for shelter.

Many of these families encounter additional obstacles, such as navigating immigration issues in a difficult political climate. San Francisco is a sanctuary of diversity and compassion. We should not move backward in our commitment to care for the rising number of immigrant families, especially in the aftermath of the election. The holiday season is the wrong time to leave families out in the cold! Join me in telling the city to step up its response and support homeless families.

The most recent count of homeless individuals and families in San Francisco showed that the number of homelessfamilies had increased 98% from 2022 to 2024. Tonight, more than 500 homeless families are on the waitlist for shelter and in need of safe, stable housing. This year the number of homeless students in San Francisco public schools also increased by 21% to 2,493 students. We have to do better!

Each Holiday Season GLIDE increases our programming to meet the rising need, providing groceries, toys for kids and thousands of Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. This year is no exception. In response to the rising needs of families, GLIDE has been increasing our support for families – through our Janice Mirikitani Family, Youth and Child Center, Family Resource Center and Women’s Center.

We’re challenging the city to see how they can do more for homeless families. Will you join us? Add your name to our letter to HSH and the Homelessness Oversight Commission.

Thank you for joining me in bringing attention to this important issue. Together we can ensure that families have what they need to be healthy, safe, and thriving.

Naeemah Charles
Senior Director of The Center for Social Justice

Volunteers from GLIDE and the Civic Joy Fund partnered with our Cecil Williams Community Ambassadors (CW Ambassadors) to make the Tenderloin a better place. After learning about GLIDE’s unconditionally loving service model, 38 community members and CW Ambassadors collected brooms, grabbers and trash bags at began cleaning the neighborhood.

“It was really special to see that not only are we picking up trash and doing a cleanup, but we are maintaining clean streets,” said GLIDE’s Director of Volunteerism & Corporate Partnerships, Lindsey Coonan. “One of our unhoused neighbors that we met out on the trash pickup, we let them know about our lunch service and then I actually saw them at GLIDE’s lunch.”

CW Ambassadors also helped volunteers learn more about the Tenderloin. “One of our GLIDE Cecil Williams Ambassadors was able to point out to all the other volunteers, specific interactions he has had,” said Tessa Staff, from GLIDE’s Volunteer Department. “When we were at different cross-streets he shared interactions with community members that made his day, or where he was able to improve someone’s life by giving them resources or connecting them with GLIDE. It was awesome to hear him tell stories. And the program has only been going for 45 days and hearing the impact he and the other ambassadors are having was really awesome.”

The Civic Joy Fund is an independent and apolitical non-profit, teaming up with local artists, musicians, small businesses, volunteers and community leaders. The organization aims to bring more art, music, color, energy and joy to SF’s city streets – the most public of civic spaces – to assist in economic recovery and diverse projects that make our city of San Francisco so great.

Volunteers participating in the clean-up crossed the political divide, but they came together to make a difference in their community. Volunteers spoke with community members in multiple languages and shared resources and snacks with those in need.

As they walked from block to block, community members recognized the CW ambassador’s purple vests and showered the do-gooders with kindness. “One thing I really enjoyed was all the community members passing by and saying thank you” said Samara who organized the event with Civic Joy Fund, “it helped us keep going and gave us strength and motivation to keep cleaning up trash.”

GLIDE’s CW Ambassadors is funded by Mayor London Breed’s 30×30 plan to revitalize San Francisco. In the weeks and years to come, GLIDE will invite you to join our CW Ambassadors in future neighborhood cleanups. We will have a purple vest waiting and hope to see you soon!

“I’m at GLIDE today, taking these classes,” said program participant Thomas Isacc. “They are going to help me pay my back rent.” Thomas is one of the 1,100 participants that received rental assistance at GLIDE’s Walk-In Center (WIC) over the last three years. This vital work prevented 500 evictions!

Funds distributed by GLIDE to 104 individuals in the 23-24 fiscal year enabled 12 households to move into new housing and 92 received support for back rent so they could remain in their housing. “Getting people rental assistance is so important. It helps ensure that children do not have to move schools, and families do not have to move communities,” said GLIDE President and CEO, Dr. Gina Fromer.

In addition to financial support, GLIDE provides drop-in problem solving for individuals seeking housing or in need of homelessness prevention support. Participants receive help resolving issues with landlords, educational classes to strengthen financial stability and one-on-one support from WIC staff.

GLIDE’s wraparound services provide a pathway out of homelessness. “Some people that were homeless before, maybe this could be their first house that they ever had,” said GLIDE Walk-In Center Case Manager, Angela Coleman.

In the fiscal year 23-24 GLIDE distributed $250,000 in rental assistance from the Human Rights Commission for the Dream Keeper Initiative GLIDE (DKI). DKI funds come from an annual $60 million dollar investment into San Francisco’s diverse black communities.

GLIDE is proud to partner with Mayor London Breed on these important efforts to redirect funds from law enforcement to ensure support for the African American community.

A significant majority (75%) of the one-time rental assistance participants at GLIDE were African American households residing in historically under-invested neighborhoods. Most of the households resided in Tenderloin (38%) or Bayview Hunter’s Point (13%).

GLIDE’s WIC helps individuals find housing and solve issues that might otherwise result in eviction. Tenants who have fallen behind on rent, can work with WIC staff to obtain an agreement with their landlord and seek rental assistance through GLIDE, Seasons of Sharing, San Francisco’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (SFERAP), the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing Problem Solving, or the Dream Keeper Initiative.

“We want partners to invest in our strategy,” said Dr. Gina, who has worked tirelessly to garner public, private and corporate support for GLIDE’s efforts to end homelessness.

“Wells Fargo is proud to support GLIDE’s Rental Assistance Program” said Katy Fitzsimmons who is a Senior Lead Social Impact and Sustainability Specialist at Wells Fargo. “We helped to pilot that program a few years ago and it really speaks to Wells Fargo’s housing strategy, which is to keep people stably housed.”

GLIDE’s rental assistance program has been a life raft for 104 families, helping participants to stabilize their housing and take tangible steps out of poverty. For example, 67% of those surveyed stated that the rental assistance helped them obtain new or better employment.

Thank you to our Walk-In Center staff and funders. Your continued support will help us continue this life-changing work. In the words of GLIDE Walk-In Center Manager, Eunice Feathers, “we help people keep their housing.”

The GLIDE Pride team was singing, hugging and stretching in the foggy Robin Williams Meadow before the San Francisco AIDS Walk began. The energetic team of about 25 walkers snapped fans and danced throughout the day. As they walked, many of the other participants shouted “hey GLIDE!” in honor of GLIDE’s long history HIV/AIDS activism, health services, fundraising, advocacy and grief support.

The team raised more than $11,000 for AIDS research, prevention and treatment. “Every year we are able to raise more and more funds, and this year is the most we have ever raised,” said Michelle Arce, a member of the Glide Ensemble, and a co-captain of the walk for over a decade. Michelle reminded the team that fundraising will continue through the end of August. “It makes me so happy. Every dollar that you give helps towards finding a cure,” she said.

“As a Latino queer person of color from Ecuador, this achievement holds special significance for me,” said GLIDE’s other co-captain Danilo Saavedra. “Our efforts have not only contributed to the fight against the AIDS pandemic but have also helped raise awareness and foster a sense of consciousness for future generations. It is essential that we continue to educate and remind ourselves and others about the importance of this cause and the ongoing struggles faced by many in our community.”

In addition to walking, the Pride Team also sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” during the opening ceremony of the 5K. The song, from the musical Carnival, is the official anthem of the AIDS Walk and has special meaning for Glide Ensemble soloist, Dennis Hersey. Walking in memory of his partner Ross Freeman, who died in 1989, Dennis said, “when I think of him, it reminds me that I’m not alone and it’s a great feeling.”

Karen Kuchinski, an ally and longtime member of the Pride Team, wanted people of all backgrounds to remember “all of us can get the disease, none of us are immune.” She was walking in honor of her best friend who has been living with HIV for 35 years. “She is healthy. She is alive. And you can live with this disease,” Karen said.

The AIDS epidemic had a profound affect on Rick Ross, who moved from New York to San Francisco and “basically disappeared for thirty years,” he said. “It was inescapable. It was fatal. It was beyond serious. It was stigmatized.” In 2016, Rick encountered Glide Memorial Church and began to heal and reconnect. “GLIDE is one of the things that helped me reemerge into the world,” he said, “and that has transformed my life.”

One of GLIDE’s AIDS quilt panels was on display at the walk. Created in 1996 by the children of GLIDE, the panel is designed to look like the historic stained-glass windows of Glide Memorial Church. The center of the panel includes some of the many names of GLIDE community members who died from AIDS.

The quilt panel is regularly featured at the AIDS Walk, because it is one of the only panels that includes and celebrates children who have been affected by HIV and AIDS.

At the end of the walk, a small group of volunteers from the National AIDS Memorial gathered near the quilts and shared stories about the event from throughout the years. Several had canes and were no longer able to put the tables, chairs and tents away. One of the top walkers and a long-time AIDS activist, Joanie Juster turned to me and declared, “I can’t physically lift the quilts anymore. So, today is the day you learn to fold them. We need you to carry this work forward.”

I joined four other volunteers and began folding the AIDS Quilt panels. As I was folding GLIDE’s quilt, I felt the literal weight that has been carried by all who walk, advocate, raise funds and grieve. As we walk forward it is up to all of us to continue this important work until there is a cure, new infections cease, stigma is vanquished and everyone we have lost is honored.

It was a beautiful sunny day at the San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park. Inside, The Glide Ensemble gathered at the players’ batting cages. The volunteer choir warmed up differently than the professional athletes who typically gather there. They chatted, sang and prayed that their voices would honor a legend and support those who were grieving.

When the Ensemble walked through the dugout to field, each singer carefully stepped over the crisp chalk lines that typically signal a game is about to begin. Andra Day was the first to sing at the sound check. Without make-up or vanity, she sang her hit song “Rise Up” while the Giant’s audio-visual team ensured that the sound system would carry her voice throughout the stadium.

Next the Ensemble rehearsed their songs and ensured that they could harmonize in rhythm without interference from the echo of their voices in the stadium’s speakers.

After the sound check, the Ensemble gathered in the green room, where they chatted and shared traditional stadium snacks. As they waited backstage for the Celebration of Life for Willie Mays to begin, baseball legends, politicians and fans began to gather in the stands and on the field.

Barry Bonds and Spike Lee were chatting when the Glide Ensemble returned to the field and opened the event with two songs. Fire fighters danced and sang along with the Ensemble as they performed. Glide Ensemble Director, Vernon Bush, and Dennis Hersey sang solos. And more than one celebrity was observed filming and photographing the choir.

The event was the second time this year that the Glide Ensemble performed on the field at Oracle Park. A few months earlier, the Ensemble performed at the Giants’ African American Heritage Night where fans were given a Willie Mays Birmingham Black Barons bobblehead.

The iconic #24 is a legendary batter, who hit a record breaking 660 home runs. Willie’s numbers could have been even higher, but he took two years off from baseball to serve in the Army during the Korean War. After he retired from baseball, Willie continued to support San Francisco and GLIDE and caring for underprivileged youth through his Say Hey Foundation.

Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle

Our dearly departed, Rev. Cecil Williams had a relationship both with Willie Mays and the San Francisco Giants. One of the biggest events with both Cecil and Willie, was the SNACK concert organized by Bill Graham to raise funds for sports programs in the San Francisco School District. Carlos Santana, Joan Baez, Jerry Garcia and Bob Dylan were a few of the performers at the legendary concert.

The Celebration of Life for Willie Mays was Janice Maxine Reid’s first time playing on the field for the San Francisco Giants. An iconic Bay Area musician who is a regular part of Glide Memorial Church’s Sunday Celebrations, Janice’s rendition of Ave Maria is often a highlight of the holiday season. Janice’s spirited piano playing and singing was featured on the Jumbotron, a recognition she attributed to her many years teaching drama to students.

After the Ensemble’s performance, elected officials, celebrities and sports legends addressed the crowd of thousands. Janice recorded each guest on her cellphone camera so she could preserve the memories unfolding in front of her. You can view Janice’s recording of Pres Bill Clinton here.

“[Chelsea] went with me to Glide, the church, and then here to the ballgame,” remarked President Bill Clinton. He planned to sit with Willie Mays and watch a Giants game, but it was rained out. Instead, the group was joined by Barry Bonds and had a three-hour conversation about baseball which made the former president feel like “a kid in a candy store.”

You can view the archival video of President Bill Clinton’s April 16, 2000 visit to Glide below.

Throughout the star-studded event, many of icons of Giants baseball recalled that Willie was famous for signing every table he sat at, including the dining room tables at houses where he stopped by for dinner. The Giants asked all the speakers at the event to sign a card table in honor of this beloved quirk.

Willie’s joyful spirit is depicted in the photo to the right, from the GLIDE archive. Careful observers of the photo, taken in the GLIDE dining room, will notice that Willie has drawn plays and signed the table where he was sitting. Willie left his mark on the world with his legendary sportsmanship. At GLIDE he also left his mark with a sharpie.

Sitting in fancy seats behind the Giant’s dugout, Janice watched the legends of baseball that shaped her life. Janice cheered the loudest for the players who helped advance civil rights and break color barriers. As she exited the stadium, Janice was heard exclaiming: “This made my whole year!”

“Oh When the Saints,” sung by the Glide Ensemble and accompanied by the powerful brass performers of the Change Band, reverberated through the streets as the annual San Francisco Pride Parade began. The lively melody and vibrant harmonies drew an eager crowd, setting the stage for a day of unity and celebration.

Employees, board members, congregants, family, and friends of GLIDE filled the streets with their infectious energy, dancing, sashaying, rolling, and marching through the heart of San Francisco. The parade route, adorned with a sea of rainbow flags and colorful attire, pulsated with joy and solidarity.

This year’s 2024 GLIDE Pride t-shirts, emblazoned with the phrase “unconditional love” in multiple languages, symbolized the diverse and inclusive spirit of the event. As participants from all walks of life came together, they celebrated this core GLIDE value alongside thousands of members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The t-shirts, vibrant and eye-catching, served as a visual representation of love that transcends linguistic and cultural barriers.

GLIDE’s contingent had 149 participants and won the Beacon of Hope Theme Award! A dynamic display of support and inclusivity, featuring dozens of enthusiastic marchers, two gleaming convertibles, a DJ truck pumping out energizing beats, and a majestic double-decker bus for those with mobility issues. The DJ truck, adorned with colorful banners and flowers, was the heartbeat of the procession, its music resonating through the streets and keeping the crowd in high spirits.

“I feel beyond happy right now,” GLIDES’s President and CEO, Dr. Gina Fromer told KQED. “There’s color, flair, beauty, love, [and] transparency [with] just amazing camaraderie among people in San Francisco. I’m excited to ride for Pride.”

GLIDE has a long history of supporting the LGBTQIA+ community, including supporting the early organizing efforts of the Parade. You can learn more in our GLIDE Pride exhibit. In addition to the live coverage of the parade, the GLIDE Pride contingent was also featured in the best of Pride coverage of The San Francisco Chronicle and on ABC7 (photo shared below).

As the GLIDE contingent moved through the city, they were met with cheers and applause from spectators lining the streets, waving rainbow flags and joining in chants of love and equality. The sense of community was palpable, with strangers becoming friends, united by a common cause and shared values.

More about the GLIDE Pride Team

The GLIDE Pride Team fundraises, organizes and leads GLIDE’s participation in the annual parade. The group meets on the first Sunday of the month, after the 11 am Celebration at Glide Memorial Church. You are invited to join them at their meetings.

You can also join the GLIDE Pride Team at the San Francisco AIDS Walk on July 21 at Golden Gate Park. Since 1987, AIDS Walk San Francisco has raised more than $90 million for HIV programs and services in the Bay Area and has grown into the largest and most visible AIDS Fundraising event in Northern California. Each dollar raised brings us closer to our shared vision of an HIV/AIDS-free world, where everyone can live with dignity, health, and equality.

Visit the GLIDE team page to donate or to select JOIN OUR TEAM at the bottom of the page! Even if you are not able to walk with us on that day, you can still be a part of our team, and raise funds for this worthy cause.

Glide Memorial Church (GMC) recently welcomed more than 80 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Black and Brown students. We acknowledge and honor them as representatives of our present and future leaders and changemakers. We celebrated Black Excellence and discussed the harms done by systemic and institutional racism committed against Black people in the education system.

This historic collaboration between Glide Memorial Church and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission (HRC) was made possible by the San Francisco African American Reparations Committee (AARAC) and their recommendations for rectifying the historical harm caused to the African Community by chattel slavery and racist city government policies.

Director Sheryl Evans Davis appointed Cathy Meyer & Zach Manuel to co-organize the event with GMC’s Congregational Life & Community Engagement Manager, Freddy Martin & Pastor Marvin K. White.

It was a day of worship and community service, engagement, and tours of the TL. Our President and CEO, Dr. Gina Fromer, shared how education was her gateway out of poverty. When her mother urged her to “get your education so you can get out,” Dr. Gina initially misunderstood, thinking it meant escaping the neighborhood.

But what her mother emphasized was the need for schooling to overcome deprivation. “I’m here to say that I am one generation out of poverty, because of my education,” said Dr. Gina.

“We are going to continue to fight against injustice at the systems level. GLIDE works in partnership with Mayor Breed and supports her fantastic, bold vision to establish a satellite HBCU campus in San Francisco.”

The San Francisco Human Rights Commission is managing the summer program, by hosting more than 60 students from 20 different HBCUs. The students are enrolling in courses at the University of San Francisco and working in departments at the City and County of San Francisco.

Reflecting on the program’s significance, Dr. Sheryl Davis, Executive Director of the Human Rights Commission, noted, “Too much of the data has Black people over-represented in negative connotations. What we wanted to do is to celebrate the Black excellence that lives here. But when we are being truthful, being Black in San Francisco often means being invisible and being isolated.”

Reflecting on the program’s significance, Dr. Sheryl Davis, Executive Director of the Human Rights Commission, noted, “Too much of the data has Black people overrepresented in negative connotations. What we wanted to do is to celebrate the black excellence that lives here. But when we are being truthful, being Black in San Francisco often means being invisible and being isolated.”

Freddy Martin, GLIDE’s Congregational Life and Community Engagement Manager, served on the HRC Reparations Advisory Committee and played a key role in connecting the HBCU students with GLIDE. He warmly welcomed the students, saying, “We love you. You are Black excellence. You are our Black futures, and we support you.”

An additional cohort from Tuskegee University, convened by GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice, met with Dr. Gina and Rabbi Michael Lezak before attending celebration services. Following the service, the HBCU students volunteered at GLIDE, participated in a Tenderloin Walking Tour, and joined GLIDE at the Tenderloin Sunday Streets event. GLIDE plans to continue supporting these students throughout the summer.

The Legacy and Impact of HBCUs

Historically, Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have a rich history dating back to the early 19th century, with the founding of institutions such as Cheyney University of Pennsylvania in 1837 and Howard University in 1867.

These institutions provided African Americans with access to higher education during a time when they were largely excluded from other colleges and universities.

Today, HBCUs continue to play a vital role in higher education, producing nearly 20% of all African American graduates. They are also significant contributors to the socio-economic mobility of African Americans, with studies showing that HBCU graduates are more likely to move into higher income brackets compared to their peers from non-HBCUs.

Incorporating HBCUs into San Francisco’s educational landscape is a powerful step towards honoring their legacy and expanding their impact. By supporting HBCU students and alumni, San Francisco can help ensure that the transformative power of education reaches even more individuals, paving the way for future generations to rise out of poverty and achieve their full potential.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.
“HBCUs Make America Strong: The Positive Economic Impact of Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” UNCF.

On Wednesday, March 8, 1972, 41 community members gathered at Glide Church to listen to the Rev. Bob Humphries talk about his experience organizing a LGBTQ march in Los Angeles.

During the meeting, the group began planning the event that would become known as the San Francisco Pride Parade. In the years that followed, GLIDE continued to march, advocate, and support the LGBTQ community and the annual parade. Our dearly departed Rev. Cecil Williams was named an Emeritus Parade Marshall.

Glide Memorial Church has been celebrating Pride all month long. One of the highlights was on June 2nd, when Bishop Yvette Flunder was a special guest preacher. The Rev. Dr. Yvette Flunder, a San Francisco native, has served her call through prophetic action and ministry for justice for over thirty years.

This call to “blend proclamation, worship, service and advocacy on behalf of those most marginalized in church and in society” led to the founding of the City of Refuge United Church of Christ in 1991. You can view Bishop Yvette’s inspiring message below.

You are invited to join us at this year’s Pride Celebrations!

Our annual Pride Sunday Celebration will be at 9 am on Sunday, June 30th at the Parade line up (Steuart between Howard and Mission). After the celebration we will march down Market Street as part of the Pride Parade.

Participants can walk together from the church or sign up for updates from our GLIDE Pride Team to get information about where and when to meet us. We hope you will join us on this fabulous day celebrating the LGBT community!

We need your help! We need 25 more people to volunteer as contingent monitors! If we don’t get enough people, we can’t go onto the parade route. Please signup.

You can also support our Pride Team by purchasing your 2024 GLIDE Pride t-shirt online or in person at Sunday Celebrations.

On Watch Night (December 31st), Glide Memorial Church hosted a Crochet Jam in partnership with community artist Ramekon O’Arwisters. This sober celebration of Freedom’s Eve, cultivated inter-generational wellness and beloved community through the African-American tradition of weaving in a calm and non-judgmental environment without rules or limitations.

Ramekon, who was an artist-in-residence at the de Young Museum, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, and the Vermont Studio Center, encouraged participants play and explore the fabric and provided basic instructions on how to crochet fabric strips. The process was described by participants as “calming,” “meditative” and “the kind of community I needed today.”

This Crochet Jam is one of many ways that Glide Church provides wellness opportunities through art, community building and congregational life gatherings. Glide Church will be celebrating art and music throughout the year with additional opportunities for creative community art.

You can learn more about these events in our Church Announcements, or by connecting with Freddy Martin our Congregational Life and Community Engagement Manager at fmartin@glide.org.

Ramekon previously shared his love of art, crochet and meditation with the Glide community during Celebrations on June 18th. You can learn more about his vision in the video below.

Author: GLIDEChurch

The Legacy and Impact of HBCUs

Sources

You are invited to join us at this year’s Pride Celebrations!

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