Above: Parents, teachers and students of Bessie Carmichael advocate for the school's expansion at the SFUSD hearing. Right: Trinity Tenants, friends and allies rally in front of the building of their landlord, Angelo Sangicomo.
Building success, one victory at a time.
In 2001, a group of grassroots organizations witnessed the gentrification and displacement occurring in the SoMa neighborhood, and in response, formed the South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN) to dedicate themselves to serving the needs of those being directly affected - youth, seniors, veterans, the Filipino community, low-income residents, and the homeless - through providing much-needed resources for community organizing. Since then, SOMCAN has achieved a number of successes in community organizing, leadership development and community planning.
Bessie Carmichael Elementary School Expansion
In an effort to stabilize the learning experiences of the students of Bessie Carmichael Elementary School and to meet the needs of the growing residential population in the South of Market, SOMCAN collaborated with SoMa parents and teachers to propose that the school expand to include all grades from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The passage of the proposal enabled the SoMa community to continue the only Filipino bilingual program in the San Francisco Unified School District, and supported the overwhelming need for a middle school dedicated to the SoMa neighborhood.
Download the article here. (JPG file)
Negotiation with Trinity Plaza Tenants Association
In 2005, SOMCAN celebrated its success in protecting affordable housing for low- to moderate-income residents of the Trinity Plaza Apartments in San Francisco. Because of SOMCAN's community organizing efforts, the tenants of Trinity Plaza reached an agreement with the landlord and developer of Trinity Plaza to preserve more than 360 rent-controlled units originally slated for demolition, and negotiated an additional 135 affordable housing units.
Download the press release here. (Word document)
SoMa Community Stabilization Fund
SOMCAN helped the SoMa community reach an agreement with developers to mitigate the impact on local residents of the large-scale Rincon Hill development in SoMa. The $34 million SoMa Community Stabilization Fund offset the gentrifying impact of the Rincon Hill plan on low-income residents, workers and business owners in SoMa by providing for affordable housing, economic development and job training and placement.
Download the press release here. (Word document)
To learn more about how you can become part of SOMCAN's success, read more about how to volunteer and donate to the organization.
