Mission and 22nd Street, SF fire

On Wednesday night (1/28/2015), a four-alarm fire at Mission and 22nd St in San Francisco destroyed a number of residential units. At least 40 residents, many of whom were long-time Mission families, have been displaced. Imagine losing your home and all of your possessions in a fire.

I rode by on my bike tonight right as the fire broke out and witnessed families who had just lost their homes mourning on the street, as hoards of passersby unremorsefully filmed the scene on their phones.

I've started this fund to prove that, as a community, we care about our long-time residents. Let's come together a support them in this time of need.

The county, in conjunction with the Salvation Army, has found temporary places for most of the displaced to stay, but keep in mind that most of these folks have lost everything.

I met with most of the affected residents this week, heard their stories, and took down their private contact information. The vast majority of them are low-income, latino families who had been in their apartments for 20+ years. They are incredibly good people -- and they have been so resilient throughout all of this. They are currently moving around from place to place, but I've been informed that the city -- particularly Benjamin Aymes, the city's Disaster Relief Manager -- is working as hard as it can to relocate them.

Here's a few of their stories, for anyone interested:

http://priceonomics.com/the-faces-of-san-franciscos-mission-fire-part-2/

http://priceonomics.com/the-faces-of-san-franciscos-mission-fire/

For all those who wish to donate items *other than money* (clothes, food, etc.), please get in touch with the Salvation Army, who has been collecting stuff for the past two weeks:

Mission Corps Community Center (Salvation Army)
1500 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) [phone redacted]

In particular, the victims told me they needed: women's hygiene products (pads, tampons, etc), water, nonperishable food,new socks,new underwear, and clothing. There is not a major need for children's items at this time.

And a note on where this money will be going:

I'm partnering with MEDA (Mission Economic Development Agency) to distribute these funds in the form of cash. They are a local nonprofit with many additional resources to offer families, and I'm excited to work with them. MEDA will NOT be charging any kind of administrative fee; aside from the 7.9% taken by GoFundMe and WePay, all of these proceeds will get into the families' hands. 

This has been a difficult task so far (keep in mind I'm just a mere journalist who wanted to help solve a problem -- I'm not a social worker, or nonprofit maestro). But, I've been receiving a lot of good support, and weeding out malicious people. This money will get into the hands of those who need it. I will make sure of that.

Thanks again for your support. Any questions, please email me: [email redacted]

Let's band together to prove that we can support our long-time residents in the face of crisis.