News & Info Newsletters Fall 09 Newsletter
Fall 09 Newsletter
 Fall 2009 |
Inside this issue:
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San Francisco Community Land Trust Needs You To Join/Renew You Membership
The San Francisco Community Land Trust is a membership-based organization whose mission is to create permanently affordable, resident-controlled housing for low- to moderate-income people in San Francisco through community ownership of the land. The Community Land Trust model is a vision of community stewardship of land, taking land off the speculative market and work with diverse voices to preserve working-class communities in San Francisco. While the housing crisis is nothing newÑtodayÕs unique challenges also provide an opportunity for progress in regards to the ways we use land in the City.
As we work to support low and moderate income individuals and families in San Francisco, we desperately need to find concrete solutions that can help us move towards housing security for all San Franciscans. At SFCLT, we believe that through cooperative ownership and community ownership of land, we can make some strong strides towards this goal. But we need to work and build together. SFCLT is a membership, grassroots organization. That means that we depend on our members for input, leadership and financial support.
September is our Annual Membership Drive Month!
Many of you are on our membership list, but have not renewed your dues in many years. Now is the time! We need your support to help build our organization and the movement to create more limited equity housing cooperatives on community owned land in San Francisco.
If you have never been a member, now is the time! Becoming a member of SFCLT means that you can vote in our annual Board of Directors elections, serve on SFCLT committees (project, outreach and organizing, policy, education and fundraising), receive free trainings on Community Land Trusts and Housing Cooperatives and receive several fabulous members only benefits (see below).
Membership dues are only $24/year for an individual or $80/yr for an organization. Please go to our website and join or renew your dues now! You can also mail us a check at:
San Francisco Community Land Trust P.O. Box 420982 San Francisco, CA 94142
New Member Benefits for all current SFCLT Members!
SFCLT is excited to announce several new member benefits programs for all our current members. We now have a partnership with City Car Share that will give SFCLT members free membership and $30 of driving credit with City Car Share. Once you renew or join, we will email you an individual promotion code that you can use to access this benefit.
Also, SFCLT members can now enjoy a 10% discount at Modern Times Bookstore in San Francisco. Once you join or renew, we will be mailing you an SFCLT Membership card that you can use to access this member discount at Modern Times.
By maintaining a current membership with SFCLT you can not only support the movement to building resident owned, permanently affordable housing for low and moderate income people in San Francisco, but you can also support other cooperatives and like-minded local business. So join or renew today and take advantage of these fabulous member benefits! Membership dues are only $24/year for an individual or $80/yr for an organization. Please go to our website and join or renew your dues now!
Finally, we are going to be offering free workshops for our members on relevant issues such as the history of affordable housing of San Francisco and an introduction to Community Land Trusts and Cooperative Housing. The first workshop will be on the history of affordable housing in San Francisco and will take place on October. See below for details! These workshops are offerred to our members for free and are designed to build all of our analysis and skills in the area of cooperative housing and the community land trust model.
SFCLT Member Workshop: The History of Affordable Housing in San Francisco with Chris Carlsson, October 27th 7-9pm
We are please to announce our first member workshop for all SFCLT members. This fall, please join SFCLT member and well known social historian, Chris Carlsson, for an engaging presentation about the history of affordable housing, and the struggle to save working class neighborhoods in San Francisco. October 27th from 7-9pm. Location TBA. For more information call Jamie Spector at 415.399.0943. Feel free to invite your friends as well!
Chris Carlsson, executive director of the multimedia history project "Shaping San Francisco," is a writer, publisher, editor, and community organizer. He has edited four collections of political and historical essays. He helped launch the monthly bike-ins known as Critical Mass, and was long-time editor of Processed World magazine.
Community Leader Profile:
Cathie Lam of the Chinatown Community Development Center
In each issue of our Newsletter we want to highlight the amazing work of people across San Francisco who are working for the rights of low income families and individuals. These community heroes are working every day to create equitable housing, jobs, wages, services and city planning processes that work for all San Franciscans.
This month we are honoring the work of Cathie Lam, Senior Organizer at Chinatown Community Development Center and a key organzer for the Columbus United Cooperative. We took a minute to ask Cathie a few questions and hear about her work. Here is what she had to say:
SFCLT- Where are you from in China originally and how long have you lived in the Bay Area?
Cathie- I was born in Hong Kong after world war II. I am the second daughter and youngest member of my family. As with many Chinese families, my father was in the U.S. while I was growing up in Hong Kong with my grandfather, my mother, and sister. My family immigrated to the U.S. in 1966 to reunite with my father.
SFCLT- When did you start working at CCDC?
Cathie- Since I came, I felt fortunate to have gone to a parochial school in Hong Kong where English was taught so I didn't feel foreign speaking the language. During my college years, I volunteered to teach English as a second language to recent immigrant children in a grade school in Oakland. One day I visited the home of one of these children and found that there is also poverty in this country. I felt for these immigrants and since then wanted to work in SF Chinatown, hopefully using my bilingual skills to alleviate some of the hardship that monolingual immigrant families face in America. My first job in Chinatown was a core teacher for immigrant children during the summer at the YWCA on Clay Street. I joined Chinatown CDC in January 1979.
SFCLT- What is your job at CCDC?
Cathie- I am fortunate to have played a few roles in Chinatown CDC. Initially I was hired as a community liaison. In August of '79, I transferred to take care of general administration for the then housing development arm when it got its first funding to operate. Later I took care of the accounting for both the general administration as well as the properties that the organization owns, until 1996. I took a few years' leave and came back as a community organizer for the program department in 2001.
SFCLT- What campaigns and projects do you work on?
Cathie- One of the main programs is to continue the Chinatown alleyway renovation project called for in the Chinatown Alleyway Master Plan, adopted by the city in 1998, working with community stakeholders such as property owners, residents and merchants. I also work and assist in other areas such as keeping alleyways clean of litter and graffiti, transportation, housing counseling, tenant organizing, media outreach and resource development.
SFCLT- What do you love most about your work in the community?
Cathie- The opportunity to network, to be a conduit between city government and community, to advocate for benefits for the community.
SFCLT- What keeps you going doing all the work that you do? What gives you strength?
Cathie- The belief that it can be a better world tomorrow, that people can change, including myself. That if you have a good cause, and the sincerity, tenacity, and patience, you will prevail, and at times the outcome is beyond your earlier expectation.
SFCLT- What are you fondest memories in working with the residents of Columbus United Coop?
Cathie- That at the end of the struggle, everybody feels a team spirit and takes ownership of the coop.
SFCLT- What has been the hardest part in working with the tenants of Columbus United Coop?
Cathie- I can't say the residents of Columbus United Coop have given me the hardest time, as I see that in any case working with people, developing trust and team spirit is always the most challenging to accomplish. However, the struggle is an important part of process.
SFCLT- Do you see this limited equity coop model as a model for other tenants in San Francisco? If so, what is the most important thing that you would advise other tenants considering this option?
Cathie- Yes, of course (that's why I feel so lucky to be involved). I would tell other tenants to think for yourself as well as think collectively, that you are part of a whole, of a community, an extended family as you may say. Synergised energy is always more effective than individual ones. That's why we have a family, community, society, country, the human race...
SFCLT thanks Cathie for all her hard work with the residents of Columbus United Cooperative and all people in Chinatown.
Vacancy at the Baker's Dozen Co-Op
The Baker’s Dozen has been a shared living household in the Western Addition since 1972. They are 13 people and a cat living collectively in a tobacco smoke-free, 4-story Victorian home. The group consists of a variety of ages, interests, sexual orientations, ethnicities and they value diversity. Currently, they have an opening for as early as January 1, 2010. They are looking for housemates who are interested in living collectively and committed to honest communication and shared responsibilities.
As a low-income household there is an income cap. Individual applicants must earn less than $32,050 gross annual income per year (without dependents). The income cap is higher for parents with dependents.
The Baker’s Dozen is for people with low incomes who are willing to work with their housemates to maintain a supportive community, and who are willing to invest in their home in every sense of the word. The Baker’s Dozen is not for those who want to remain renters or who are not ready to take on the responsibility of shared home ownership.
Monthly Expenses: Around $475/month includes rent, bulk food, supplies & utilities
Move-in Costs: $1,126 (1st mo. rent of $326+$652 deposit); plus $200 food/utility/supply deposit to be paid over the first 6 mos. ($33.33 1st mo. plus $115 deposit).
Responsibilities include:
Cooking dinner for household once every two weeks
Attending monthly house meetings 1st & 3rd Sundays 10am-12pm.
Sharing house chores
Participating in house-ownership responsibilities (15-30hrs/wk).
Contact: 415-346-2990 ext. 2, between the hours of 12pm-8pm, (Please leave a good time to be reached)
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