From The San Francisco Standard · · 2m
Raising families in the Tenderloin
Five families share trade-offs and community in San Francisco's toughest neighborhood.
In brief
Five families share trade-offs and community in San Francisco's toughest neighborhood. Five families describe balancing drug risks and community in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. Originally reported by The San Francisco Standard.
Tenderloin families navigate drug risks
Families in San Francisco's Tenderloin face open drug use and street disorder while raising children.
“the tenderloin has become a byword for san francisco’s dysfunction, but it also has the city’s highest concentration of children”
Safe Passage program protects kids
Safe Passage volunteers clear drug users and loiterers from alleys behind Tenderloin Community Elementary each day.
“volunteers in high-visibility blue-and-red vests corral the children into organized groups”
Chun Truong's family strategy
Chun Truong, 46, teaches kids to be mean to strangers to avoid being preyed on.
“i tell them you have the one-time permission to cuss them out”
Drug education for children
Truong frames addiction as mental illness and warns drugs destroy the body long-term.
“this is what happens when your mental mind’s not there”
Truong's living situation
Truong shares a one-bedroom apartment with three children for $900 a month.
“i’ve lived here for thirty-something years”
Gomez family's challenges
Esperanza Gomez, 40, and her husband raise six children in a three-bedroom apartment for $1,300 a month.
“it’s really hard to make ends meet”
Gomez's community efforts
Gomez's children work at Boys & Girls Clubs and help with food and housing applications.
“dayana is employed as a psychologist and social worker”
Ghaleb's food struggles
Nawal Ghaleb, 36, faces tripled grocery costs and food allergies for her three children.
“a pack of two raw chickens has gone from eight dollars to twenty dollars”
Ghaleb's park work
Ghaleb works as a park captain at Boeddeker Park for $33,000 a year.
“sometimes people yell or throw food at me”
Martinez family's trauma
Edwin Martinez fled El Salvador seven years ago but now faces drug violence in San Francisco.
“sometimes now it’s even worse, with the immigration situation and everything else”
Martinez's health struggles
Martinez's son saw his father injecting insulin, thinking it was drugs.
“the first time edwin jr. saw his father injecting himself, he thought he was using drugs”
Alameri's community
Adnan Alameri built a Yemeni-Latino community in the Tenderloin with block parties.
“i don’t remember having a bad neighbor”
Alameri's children
Alameri's three children graduated from college or work in fields like dentistry and biology.
“azzam is helping at his dad’s restaurant, fanoos grills, while applying to dental school”
Tenderloin's school system
The Tenderloin has only one public school despite high child concentration.
“the tenderloin has the highest concentration of children of any neighborhood in the city”
Family food challenges
Families cook at home to save money but face food allergies and limited budgets.
“we don’t see the needles on the street anymore”
What happens next
Families continue balancing neighborhood risks with community support and education.
“i want to give a good, like a better future to my children”
The big picture
Five families describe balancing drug risks and community in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood.
