Blog 3: Women of the Mission District.

This past week has been very exciting!

I was able to meet with Leticia Arce, who works at Causa Justa:: Just Cause in the Mission. It’s a non-profit organization that informs tenants and immigrants about their rights. Acre was very passionate about helping people in her community stay in their homes and didn’t buy into the argument people make when they say ” If you can’t afford to liver here, get out.” She believes that all people, not just the rich, have the right to live in the city. Most memorable quote: “When an individual or a family is pushed out of the community, people that have been living there for 10, 20 years. That’s displacement.”

I also had the pleasure of talking to Dolores Ramirez from the Mission Neighborhood Health Center. She started working there 44 years ago as a volunteer where she was a interpreter for Spanish-speaking patients. According to Ramirez, people in the Mission used to get healthcare treatment in parked trailers before the health center was built. Crazy!

Lastly, I talked to Mariella Salcedo who I met outside of the Mission Neighborhood Resource Center. The resource center provides basic supplies and amenities like lockers and showers for the homeless in the Mission. She was actually the one who approached me, asking me if I was lost. She told me what it was like living on the streets, saying that it was especially difficult for her as a woman. She wants to see a woman’s shelter in the Mission.  Most memorable quote: “They have all this money for construction but not for the homeless. And for a woman, it’s a lot harder.”

Although I talked to several other people this week, these three women really stood out to me. They all have interesting stories and taught me more about the Mission.

16th Street Mission Bart Station- This is where a lot of people hang out, either to wait for a bus or just to sit down. I was able to find four police officers patrolling right around the corner.

Mission Neighborhood Resource Center: The outside of the building. You can see someone’s cart on the lower right corner.

Taqueria Cancun- Me and my coworker needed a place to eat after one of my interviews. I got the “Burrito Mojado” which is a burrito slathered in spicy salsa. Super yummy!

I feel confident and I’m eager to keep the ball rolling!