Episode 3

"They Didn't Know We Were Seeds" Tres Generacíones/Three Voices Live

"They Didn't Know We Were Seeds" is a powerful episode from the RAMA Blueprints Live podcast, "Tres Generaciones/Three Voices." Recorded on February 27th, 2025 at Brava Women for the Arts in San Francisco, this discussion delves into resilience and nonprofit sustainability in challenging times. Host Socorro Gamboa leads a conversation with executive directors Mario Paz (Good Samaritan), Lariza Dugan Cuadra (CARECEN SF), and Celina Lucero (Horizons Unlimited).

The episode explores the saying "They tried to bury us, but they did not know we were seeds," symbolizing the enduring spirit of community organizations. Panelists share personal stories, leadership insights, and the crucial role of nonprofits in San Francisco. They address issues like budget cuts, political upheaval, and the importance of community-driven solutions. This episode highlights the value of nonprofit workers, their impact on the city, and the ongoing fight for equity and representation.

This episode was produced and edited by Darren J. de Leon and Socorro Gamboa.

Consider donating to the RAMA Blueprints podcast through the CARECEN SF website.

Founded in 2021, RAMA Blueprints is the 1st podcast documenting the history of the Real Alternatives Program (RAP) within the City and County of San Francisco between 1967 - 2003 along with its current impact on community empowerment in San Francisco and the country.

Transcript
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You are listening to the RAMA Blueprints

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Live podcast.

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Tres Generaciones, Three Voices.

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They did not know we were seeds

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on February 27th, 2025 at Brava

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Women for the Arts' Cabaret in

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San Francisco's Mission District,

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we gathered in community with

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three executive directors to

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discuss resilience and nonprofit

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sustainability through these

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challenging times.

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Following is our discussion.

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Well, welcome everyone.

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My name is Socorro Gamboa.

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I'm your host at the RAMA

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Blueprints Podcast.

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I'd like to welcome everyone

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to this beautiful space, to Brava.

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We are on our, fourth show.

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And the title of the show is called,

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They Did Not Know We Were Seeds.

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This is part of a series called,

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Tres Voces, Tres Generaciones.

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We're streaming live from Brava

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in the cabaret.

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I want to begin by recognizing the

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land that we are standing on today.

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We recognize the Ramaytush

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Ohlone as the ancestral homeland.

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The original inhabitants and

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the caretakers of the land.

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We honor their history and

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the connection to the land.

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I want to start off with a quote.

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A quote to give us some direction.

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As to where this conversation

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is going.

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It's a famous quote by an Irish

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playwright, George Bernard Shaw.

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"This is the true joy in life.

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The being used for a purpose recognized

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by yourself as a mighty one.

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The being thoroughly worn out before

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you are thrown on the scrap heap.

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The being a force of nature.

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Instead of a feverish, selfish

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little clod of ailments and

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grievances, complaining that

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the world will not devote itself.

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to make you happy.

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I am of the opinion that my life belongs

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to the community.

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And as long as I live, it is my

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privilege to do whatever I can.

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I want to be thoroughly used up

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when I die because the harder I work.

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The more I live life is no brief

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candle to me.

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It is sort of a splendid torch,

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which I have a hold of at this moment.

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And I want to make it burn as

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bright and possible before I hand it

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over to the future generations."

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End of quote.

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As we gather today, the city, the

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state, the nation and the world are

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facing unprecedented challenges

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demanding a level of resilience

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from individuals, communities and

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systems like never before.

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This panel discussion will

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dive into the multifaceted concept

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of resilience, exploring how we

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can adapt, overcome and thrive in the

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face of adversity.

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The community is facing serious

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budget cuts and potentially the

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eradication of non profit workers,

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and the capacity and existence of

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their organizations.

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I feel that we also have to first

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explain why we chose the title,

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They Did Not Know We Were Seeds.

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it is the second half of a popular

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saying attributed to many thinkers.

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The first part of the saying is, they

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tried to bury us, but they did not

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know we were seeds.

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We have taken that stance that the

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Real Alternatives Program, RAP,

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did not die.

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The doors may have closed, but the

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organization, yeah, it no longer exists.

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Even though its building is shut

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down, it still exists, because

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the RAP philosophy And the spirit

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continues with the leaders that have

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grown and many of you out there too,

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and have blossomed from the seeds

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of RAP's sowing.

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As a production team, we have direct

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experience working with community

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where we've provided guidance and wisdom

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from individuals who have shaped the

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RAP organization and developed the

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philosophy of self determination.

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We are gardeners.

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We are people who come with community

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first in our mind.

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We honor the ancestors and

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the warriors from the past.

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We come from the indigenous folks,

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the people of Turtle Island.

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We are revolutionaries.

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We are poets.

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We are artists.

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We come from working class families.

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We live in the barrio.

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We recall the moment of La Raza

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to remind us not to ever give up.

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We are communicators and storytellers

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in many circles, from the past,

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from the present, and the future.

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We are listeners who have a

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responsibility to speak our

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truth to power.

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We won't ever compromise

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our integrity.

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Because we are one community.

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What we learned from community organizing

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in San Francisco is that it is a place

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where you learn to access power, which

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builds a stronghold and a pathway

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to influence the direction that the

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community dictates.

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Unfortunately, the concept is now

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being challenged.

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Community leaders who have the

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needs of community in mind have a

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duty to develop organizational

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resilience so that the organizations

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can respond resourcefully to

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the inevitable future changes.

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In this community, the Latino Parity

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and Equity Coalition was founded by many

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people that are sitting here today

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and some of you in the audience and

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some of you out there to focus on

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issues and look at the increased

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displacement of homelessness

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and poverty and access for our

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many communities.

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This is a true example

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of resilience and action.

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Historically speaking, we've

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been down this road before.

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Sure.

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But some of us are still alive

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and kicking to tell the story.

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In 1999, the Mission District

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organization RAP found itself facing

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imminent closing.

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And during this closure, RAP was

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still providing services for over

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1, 500 youth and had received services

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through case management, violence

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reduction, substance abuse prevention

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and community advocacy, engagement

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and juvenile justice advocacy.

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We can't say enough of the

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impact that this closure had on the

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entire community.

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And 26 years later, we find ourselves

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almost facing invisibility from a

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city that is turning its back on the

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essential work of nonprofit community.

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Community workers, which are an

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integral part of the fabric of

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San Francisco.

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And the city's priorities.

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That's right.

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They've shifted with a new administration

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in place to say the least.

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And at a federal level, the

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atrocities that the new administration

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is encouraging further deepens

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the impact on everybody's life.

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Community leaders have a huge task

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before them to continue to steer

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these community vessels through

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the perfect storm of uncertainty and

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provide support to staff and

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the constituents they serve.

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Their work is certainly cut

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out for them In tonight's

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discussion, we'll hear from executive

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directors that have been on the front

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line sustaining the work and overcoming

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the obstacles.

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We hope to examine a few of the

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strategies that they have used that

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build resilience and overcoming many

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of these struggles.

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Let's begin by hearing from our

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community leaders, our warriors, our

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esteemed panelists.

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We have with us today Mario Paz,

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Executive Director at Good Samaritan,

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Lariza Dugan Cuadra, Executive

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Director at CARECEN, and Celina

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Lucero, Executive Director at

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Horizons Unlimited.

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Let's give them a big hand, since

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they're here.

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They will share, they will share

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with us their insights, their

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wisdom, on what resilience means

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to them, and how we can collectively

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strengthen our capacity.

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So to prepare the panelists, to be

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fair, we sent them a question and

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they'll be answering a question with a

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brief statement.

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"Through the years of community field

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of social justice in this work. Tell us

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how you have managed to stay present in

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your beliefs while sustaining a steady

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pace of leadership, especially through

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the most challenging times. of fiscal

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challenges, intense scrutiny, and

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political upheaval." We're gonna

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start with Celina Lucero, on my left.

Celina:

Hello, everyone.

Celina:

It's great to be here.

Celina:

Excited and nervous.

Celina:

I know this is a important

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conversation.

Celina:

Thank you, Socorro, for having us here.

Celina:

I think for me, reflecting on

Celina:

that question is, really deep.

Celina:

And I always want to go to my roots.

Celina:

It's so important, right, to honor

Celina:

those that make it possible for

Celina:

us to be here.

Celina:

It's important for me when I'm

Celina:

introducing myself.

Celina:

That I share, that I am the proud

Celina:

daughter of Marlene and Luis Lucero.

Celina:

The youngest of nine siblings.

Celina:

Some of who are here today and it's about

Celina:

familia and strength and what we do.

Celina:

So that's a, a big piece of it.

Celina:

But reflecting on this, I came

Celina:

across a quote and that really

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resonated with me about leadership in

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general, the essence of leadership, but

Celina:

also personally like my own

Celina:

leadership style.

Celina:

So I want to share it with you all.

Celina:

And it says, the one who plants

Celina:

trees knowing that they will never

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sit in its shadow has at least begun

Celina:

to understand the meaning of life.

Celina:

And that, that struck me.

Celina:

That struck me.

Celina:

So, I want to say it again, and I

Celina:

invite you all just for a quick second,

Celina:

just bear with me.

Celina:

If you feel comfortable,

Celina:

just close your eyes for me.

Celina:

Words are so powerful, but it's

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not just about hearing them.

Celina:

It's about feeling them.

Celina:

So I want you to really feel

Celina:

those words.

Celina:

And I'm gonna say them again.

Celina:

So, the one who plants the trees,

Celina:

knowing that they will never sit

Celina:

in its shadow.

Celina:

has at least begun to understand the

Celina:

meaning of life.

Celina:

And that was big for me.

Celina:

You know, when I think about that,

Celina:

I think about selflessness,

Celina:

I think about sacrifice, I

Celina:

think about patience, right?

Celina:

I think about waiting for the, the

Celina:

fruits of the tree to come through.

Celina:

and our young people, right?

Celina:

So when I think about this, I

Celina:

think about the young people in

Celina:

our community, they are my why.

Celina:

Right?

Celina:

They're why I do this work.

Celina:

They're why I came into this work.

Celina:

Why I continue to do this work.

Celina:

They're why when I'm tired and nervous

Celina:

and worried and feel like I don't have

Celina:

the answer, and when I'm hopeful and I'm

Celina:

experiencing the wins and successes

Celina:

and defeat, they're really my why.

Celina:

And for those of you that know a

Celina:

little bit about my story, I have the

Celina:

honor of being the executive director

Celina:

at Horizons, but I was a young

Celina:

person there.

Celina:

Many of my family also participated in

Celina:

programs, so I know they say don't take

Celina:

the work personally, but the work is

Celina:

personal, right?

Celina:

So it's a full circle moment.

Celina:

But just kind of, again, reflecting on

Celina:

the question, again, when I think of our

Celina:

young people, they keep me motivated

Celina:

to, to continue to do this work.

Celina:

We're big on youth leadership.

Celina:

Many of our staff at Horizons are

Celina:

former young people.

Celina:

And it's really, I think, in addition

Celina:

to keeping our young people centered

Celina:

in the work, it is about being

Celina:

part of a larger ecosystem, right?

Celina:

We don't do this work alone.

Celina:

We're not meant to do this

Celina:

work in silos.

Celina:

We're meant to be part of a

Celina:

larger collective.

Celina:

So it's also about coalition building.

Celina:

It's about partnership.

Celina:

I think that's what keeps all of us

Celina:

alive in this work.

Celina:

I know it sounds cliche but it is

Celina:

strength in numbers and I think as

Celina:

a community we believe that and

Celina:

we step into our power with that.

Celina:

So a little bit about, you know,

Celina:

reflecting on this question.

Celina:

Thank you so much.

Socorro:

Oh, thank you, Anne.

Socorro:

That was powerful.

Socorro:

Very powerful.

Socorro:

I, I just want to add, yeah Celina

Socorro:

is a youth from this community.

Socorro:

I think right up here, right?

Socorro:

And also, and born and raised

Socorro:

in Horizons Youth Rapp High

Socorro:

School graduate.

Socorro:

You know, so when we talk about the

Socorro:

seeds and we talk about the sowing

Socorro:

of the seeds, it's truly a reflection.

Socorro:

Thank you for your comment.

Socorro:

Yeah.

Socorro:

That was beautiful.

Socorro:

Thank you.

Socorro:

Next, we're going to go to Lariza

Socorro:

Dugan Cuadra, the Executive Director.

Socorro:

Of of CARECEN.

Lariza:

Thank you.

Lariza:

So good evening.

Lariza:

Everyone is such an honor to be here.

Lariza:

Good evening to everyone tuning in,

Lariza:

through facebook and other social

Lariza:

media channels that's such a big

Lariza:

question, but thank you for getting us

Lariza:

started, Celina.

Lariza:

CARECEN's 39 years this year, Central

Lariza:

American Resource Center, and when we

Lariza:

talk about seeds, it's such a blessing

Lariza:

and such an honor.

Lariza:

to work with our people, for

Lariza:

our people in this community.

Lariza:

And our founders had a vision that

Lariza:

we should have institutions that

Lariza:

were led by our own community,

Lariza:

where our community could build the

Lariza:

vision and continue the work, right?

Lariza:

Because all the wins that we've had

Lariza:

in this community have been wins

Lariza:

that we fought for.

Lariza:

So it's a great honor to work

Lariza:

at CARECEN.

Lariza:

It's a place where we understand

Lariza:

each other.

Lariza:

But really committed to a clear north

Lariza:

and our vision for social justice,

Lariza:

our vision for inclusion, our

Lariza:

vision for equity and a vision

Lariza:

where our own communities build

Lariza:

institutions for generations forward.

Lariza:

And our norte continues, like

Lariza:

we're, we haven't reached that.

Lariza:

And I think being really clear about

Lariza:

our vision for social justice,

Lariza:

for inclusion, for equity, for all

Lariza:

people across not only San Francisco,

Lariza:

the Bay Area, the nation, the globe,

Lariza:

that gives us focus, but it also

Lariza:

allows us to be flexible as we face

Lariza:

various challenges in these 39 years

Lariza:

of our existence and also as we

Lariza:

face challenges in community with our

Lariza:

allies and greater San Francisco.

Lariza:

I also think of La Gallinita,

Lariza:

La Gallinita Roja story.

Lariza:

I use that a lot at work.

Lariza:

And I think it's a great parabola,

Lariza:

right, to illustrate that La Gainita

Lariza:

Roja, if you don't know the little

Lariza:

red hen story, she had a clear vision.

Lariza:

She was like, I want to make bread.

Lariza:

I want to make the best bread.

Lariza:

And she went through the process of

Lariza:

planting the seeds.

Lariza:

And every step of planting the

Lariza:

seed, watering it, plowing the

Lariza:

soil, taking care of it, harvesting

Lariza:

it, grinding it, every step that

Lariza:

she took, she invited community,

Lariza:

the rest of the farm, to join her.

Lariza:

And everybody was really busy, but

Lariza:

she stuck to that vision of, I'm

Lariza:

making bread, and What I love about

Lariza:

that story, and I think it's similar

Lariza:

to CARECEN, is like, like, nothing

Lariza:

stops us, right?

Lariza:

we have that vision.

Lariza:

We're going to invite

Lariza:

community along.

Lariza:

But the other part of the story is

Lariza:

that when she's done baking that bread,

Lariza:

and that beautiful smell comes out

Lariza:

of that kitchen, it draws the whole

Lariza:

farm together.

Lariza:

And that's, I think, really important

Lariza:

for us at CARECEN, is being able to

Lariza:

show community what it is that that

Lariza:

vision looks like.

Lariza:

And that moral of the story is

Lariza:

like, okay, we're still gonna share

Lariza:

the bread, right?

Lariza:

We, we called on you to be with

Lariza:

us, to work with me, but now the

Lariza:

bread is cooked, we're gonna share

Lariza:

it with everyone.

Lariza:

And we, we're confident that after

Lariza:

that kind of spirit of we're going to

Lariza:

push through, we're going to show what

Lariza:

this vision looks like, that then

Lariza:

everyone else joins.

Lariza:

And that ultimately we have to just

Lariza:

keep doing the work no matter what,

Lariza:

because we are about social justice.

Lariza:

and it's hard work, right?

Lariza:

And sometimes you're alone in the work.

Lariza:

And I think as a non profit sector.

Lariza:

we only have one little seed, right?

Lariza:

We gotta take care of it as

Lariza:

the most precious possibility,

Lariza:

and that we come together to then,

Lariza:

multiply that work and multiply that

Lariza:

bread making and continuing to share

Lariza:

that vision of how it is that we do

Lariza:

it and that it does take a lot of work.

Lariza:

Personally I feel blessed to

Lariza:

do this work.

Lariza:

I think in Central America and, and

Lariza:

other parts of the global south doing

Lariza:

the kind of work that we do here

Lariza:

You know, it's a high risk job very

Lariza:

high risk job you'd be politically

Lariza:

persecuted . We have allies across the

Lariza:

globe that don't have the level of

Lariza:

resources don't have the kind of freedom.

Lariza:

Don't have the the conditions that

Lariza:

we are so blessed to have locally

Lariza:

even despite the challenges.

Lariza:

So whenever I kind of feel a little

Lariza:

down, I, I just remember it's such

Lariza:

an honor to get paid to do this work.

Lariza:

It's such an honor to work with

Lariza:

our communities.

Lariza:

And it's such an honor to work with

Lariza:

these two colleagues on this panel and

Lariza:

so many people in this audience

Lariza:

and across the community because

Lariza:

really that does sustain us through

Lariza:

the hard times.

Socorro:

Thank you, Lariza.

Socorro:

I also want to mention that Lariza

Socorro:

does come from the RAP Familia.

Socorro:

And uh, we share a story, you know,

Socorro:

just when I first met her and she,

Socorro:

came into those RAP doors and started

Socorro:

working and we were able to connect and,

Socorro:

saw the potential and I'm grateful

Socorro:

to you for all the work you've

Socorro:

continued to do and so proud of you.

Socorro:

Just so proud of you.

Socorro:

Thank you for the work.

Socorro:

And now we will hear from Mario Paz.

Socorro:

Mario Paz is the executive director

Socorro:

of Good Samaritan.

Socorro:

We have a rich history.

Socorro:

A long history, a connection and Mario

Socorro:

and I met when he was the contracts

Socorro:

manager for some of the first CALLES'

Socorro:

contracts through the Mayor's Gang

Socorro:

Prevention Program.

Socorro:

I think like 30 years ago or

Socorro:

something like that, but, but

Mario Paz:

Longer.

Socorro:

And so, I'm glad to see

Socorro:

that Mario is now the Executive

Socorro:

Director of Good Samaritan and has

Socorro:

brought his skills and let's hear from

Socorro:

Mario and what he has to say about

Socorro:

his perspective.

Socorro:

Mario Paz: Thank you.

Socorro:

First of all, I want to thank you,

Socorro:

Socorro, and for this invitation,

Socorro:

I want to thank all of you.

Socorro:

It's an honor to be here.

Socorro:

It's certainly an honor to be here

Socorro:

with my colleagues, Lariza and Celine,

Socorro:

who I admire so much, very

Socorro:

powerful sisters.

Socorro:

And I also want to start by saying,

Socorro:

when I think about resiliency and

Socorro:

strength, there's two people in this

Socorro:

room that I want to acknowledge.

Socorro:

Ray Balbaron, Frederick Hartwist,

Socorro:

and Ralph.

Socorro:

Um, Let me just say, it's sort of

Socorro:

interesting when we talk about

Socorro:

leadership, and they were both

Socorro:

incredible warriors.

Socorro:

One was quiet and resolute,

Socorro:

always showed up.

Socorro:

And the other was someone that

Socorro:

no one can put filters on him and

Socorro:

because he spoke truth and he would

Socorro:

stand up to anyone.

Socorro:

So I want to acknowledge that

Socorro:

when we think about where we

Socorro:

get our strength and resiliency

Socorro:

is because we've learned different

Socorro:

people like you and leaders like you.

Socorro:

So I want to thank you.

Socorro:

All right., Ray.

Mario Paz:

So.

Mario Paz:

I feel very honored and privileged.

Mario Paz:

My career journey has expanded

Mario Paz:

35 years.

Mario Paz:

I was a Horizon Youth.

Mario Paz:

I served on the board of directors.

Mario Paz:

I worked for Proyecto Ayuda with

Mario Paz:

Jesse Valencia.

Mario Paz:

I started my career like that

Mario Paz:

in the community.

Mario Paz:

I hung out on 24th Street, walked

Mario Paz:

the streets.

Mario Paz:

And then the pathway came and I ended

Mario Paz:

up working in the mayor's office.

Mario Paz:

Young, idealistic, thinking I was

Mario Paz:

a hot shot.

Mario Paz:

Part of what, how you build resiliency

Mario Paz:

is you really have to engage

Mario Paz:

in the journey of self clarity.

Mario Paz:

You really have to know who you are and

Mario Paz:

what your values are and what drives you

Mario Paz:

and the difference that you want to

Mario Paz:

make in the world.

Mario Paz:

And I think when you engage in that

Mario Paz:

reflection and journey, I think

Mario Paz:

it really gives you strength and

Mario Paz:

it gives you, and you've been,

Mario Paz:

begin to find your purpose.

Mario Paz:

And another thing that I learned is

Mario Paz:

probably one of the greatest fulfillment

Mario Paz:

of this career has been, it's when you

Mario Paz:

can go through a journey and you can

Mario Paz:

discover your gifts.

Mario Paz:

And when you share those gifts with

Mario Paz:

others, that is what the beauty lies.

Mario Paz:

And that's where we can begin to

Mario Paz:

make the better, the world a

Mario Paz:

better place.

Mario Paz:

Because we're sharing those gifts.

Mario Paz:

And that's what my colleagues here

Mario Paz:

and many people in this room are.

Mario Paz:

And that's what I think

Mario Paz:

keeps us going.

Mario Paz:

Because I think we've become

Mario Paz:

comfortable and understand that

Mario Paz:

this is our purpose.

Mario Paz:

These are not jobs.

Mario Paz:

This is not really our work.

Mario Paz:

This is our purpose, this is what

Mario Paz:

we're meant to do.

Mario Paz:

Because we don't like what we see

Mario Paz:

in the world.

Mario Paz:

The work is hard, and the work has

Mario Paz:

changed, even within the last 10 years.

Mario Paz:

I remember in the old days, and You

Mario Paz:

know, the leaders that I would

Mario Paz:

look to admire.

Mario Paz:

You know, it's usually

Mario Paz:

one executive director who had

Mario Paz:

to know it all.

Mario Paz:

Or thought they knew it all,

Mario Paz:

they're good.

Mario Paz:

They had to do the grant writing, write

Mario Paz:

the proposals, know HR, do all of these

Mario Paz:

things, right?

Mario Paz:

And somehow they got away with it,

Mario Paz:

you know, get away, there wasn't too

Mario Paz:

much pressure.

Mario Paz:

And things are so different now.

Mario Paz:

Because you just can't be a jack

Mario Paz:

of all trades.

Mario Paz:

You actually have to be really good

Mario Paz:

at everything now.

Mario Paz:

It used to be you can be good

Mario Paz:

at one thing and get away with it.

Mario Paz:

You might be a good fundraiser, I mean,

Mario Paz:

Mitch, I mean Mitch can sell to anyone.

Mario Paz:

Right?

Mario Paz:

Yeah.

Mario Paz:

He can sell to anyone.

Mario Paz:

But you have to be good at, not just

Mario Paz:

that, you have to understand budgets.

Mario Paz:

You have to understand

Mario Paz:

compliance.

Mario Paz:

You have to understand HR now.

Mario Paz:

You have to understand how

Mario Paz:

to use data.

Mario Paz:

It's, it's not easy.

Mario Paz:

The work is hard.

Mario Paz:

And that's what we've learned.

Mario Paz:

At least what I've learned over the

Mario Paz:

years is that you have to be sort of

Mario Paz:

a lifelong learner and you gotta learn

Mario Paz:

from the people around you, from the

Mario Paz:

people you admire.

Mario Paz:

You gotta, you gotta read books,

Mario Paz:

You gotta read, you gotta reflect.

Mario Paz:

You just can't just say, I'm

Mario Paz:

gonna try to wing it all the time.

Mario Paz:

You can get away with it sometimes,

Mario Paz:

but you won't be able to wait

Mario Paz:

for too long.

Mario Paz:

It will catch up with you.

Mario Paz:

So, this is the sort of the strength

Mario Paz:

and resiliency that we've had to

Mario Paz:

sort of engage in as colleagues in

Mario Paz:

doing this work.

Mario Paz:

The work is hard, running

Mario Paz:

an organization is really hard.

Mario Paz:

You have to build systems, you

Mario Paz:

have to, surround yourself with

Mario Paz:

good people.

Mario Paz:

And for me, it's not just surrounding

Mario Paz:

myself with good people, with people

Mario Paz:

with good skills, but people that

Mario Paz:

have good hearts.

Mario Paz:

A lot of us did the work out of

Mario Paz:

the passion and the values, because

Mario Paz:

we loved, right?

Mario Paz:

But you also have to build some skills,

Mario Paz:

because that's how you're gonna

Mario Paz:

have an impact.

Mario Paz:

And so, I am grateful to many

Mario Paz:

people in this room, to my colleagues,

Mario Paz:

to people that I grew up with in

Mario Paz:

the community that took care of me.

Mario Paz:

When I was working in the mayor's

Mario Paz:

office, I got beat up a lot.

Mario Paz:

I would have these really tough

Mario Paz:

conversations with Mitch, you know,

Mario Paz:

with Ray, You know, we get called

Mario Paz:

sellouts, we work in government.

Mario Paz:

Did you sell out?

Mario Paz:

Or, cause there's all these

Mario Paz:

expectations and burdens on you.

Mario Paz:

But like I said, at that age, I

Mario Paz:

understood self clarity.

Mario Paz:

Mm-hmm . I knew I, why I, I was there.

Mario Paz:

I wanted to make a difference.

Mario Paz:

I really did.

Mario Paz:

I learned from a long time from a

Mario Paz:

mentor if you honor the work, the work

Mario Paz:

will honor you.

Mario Paz:

So I did my work with integrity.

Mario Paz:

I, I'm, that's really

Mario Paz:

important to me.

Mario Paz:

If you want to know what's the

Mario Paz:

most important skill I think

Mario Paz:

any leader should have is integrity.

Mario Paz:

And that you honor the work each

Mario Paz:

and every day.

Mario Paz:

And I think that will, will give you

Mario Paz:

the strength and resiliency to face

Mario Paz:

any, any challenge.

Mario Paz:

So, thank you.

Socorro:

in thinking of what all three

Socorro:

of you contributed, what comes to mind

Socorro:

is the statement, our tagline says, to

Socorro:

listen is to heal.

Socorro:

And over time we all go through a

Socorro:

process where we make full circle.

Socorro:

Some of us, dibble and dabble in the

Socorro:

cities and I know Lariza had done

Socorro:

her, her do in the city for a while.

Lariza:

Yeah, you drilled me.

Socorro:

And so, the beauty of it

Socorro:

is that folks Go out and bring back,

Socorro:

reflect on what is it that I need to do

Socorro:

to contribute to be part of that change,

Socorro:

or strengthen, or how do I build that

Socorro:

resilience, and, and thank you for

Socorro:

sharing that, Mario and for honoring,

Socorro:

yeah, honoring Mitch, and honoring

Socorro:

Ray, and honoring those individuals

Socorro:

in the audience that are still with

Socorro:

us that are here.

Socorro:

One of the things we're looking at in

Socorro:

this conversation is to look at

Socorro:

the value of the nonprofit Worker,

Socorro:

the value that the organizations

Socorro:

bring to the city and county of

Socorro:

San Francisco.

Socorro:

I want to briefly hear about what is

Socorro:

the value of the work that you give

Socorro:

to, to this city.

Socorro:

And then we'll go and reflect and say,

Socorro:

what is the city's responsibility?

Socorro:

The city and county to you and so let's

Socorro:

let's go there now and let's dig

Socorro:

a little deep.

Socorro:

You want to go ahead.

Lariza:

I have some stats, actually.

Socorro:

Go ahead.

Lariza:

So I wanted to piggyback

Lariza:

really quick.

Lariza:

I know I kind of got lost in the red

Lariza:

little hen story, but it's because

Lariza:

she's resilient because she knows

Lariza:

what she wants to accomplish because

Lariza:

she's willing to do the hard work

Lariza:

Because she's going to invite people

Lariza:

to join in but even if people don't

Lariza:

join in she's still going to keep going

Lariza:

And I think of that analogy not for me,

Lariza:

but it's like that's what nonprofits are.

Lariza:

That's what we do and I appreciate

Lariza:

both of your words because you said it

Lariza:

better than I could, but I think it's

Lariza:

important to note that through the

Lariza:

pandemic all of us.

Lariza:

I mean, I literally met with Mario.

Lariza:

I feel like the leadership of the

Lariza:

organizations.

Lariza:

We were like locked arms.

Lariza:

And sharing resources, like

Lariza:

we've gotten really good at

Lariza:

leveraging each other's strengths,

Lariza:

leveraging each other's knowledge,

Lariza:

like when we were all trying to figure

Lariza:

out what a COVID protocol looked

Lariza:

like, Good Sam had a great template,

Lariza:

and Mario was like, here, and he shared

Lariza:

it so that we could all adapt when

Lariza:

ICE preparedness Action plans needed

Lariza:

to be developed.

Lariza:

CARECEN shared ours.

Lariza:

So, we have a culture now

Lariza:

of sharing.

Lariza:

I think back in the late 80s and 90s,

Lariza:

when I remember, like, we've always

Lariza:

been a united community, but when

Lariza:

the resources are so little, we tend

Lariza:

to, like, fight over them instead of

Lariza:

Fighting for them.

Lariza:

I think we've evolved in that

Lariza:

seed, the flower, the plant is grown

Lariza:

to where we fight for resources.

Lariza:

We don't fight against each other

Lariza:

for resources, but you know, I think

Lariza:

to quote somebody they said sometimes

Lariza:

they treat us like the help.

Lariza:

whether it's governments or just

Lariza:

funders in general, like they know what

Lariza:

the best framework for working with

Lariza:

community is.

Lariza:

Whatever the flavor of the month that

Lariza:

year is in terms of.

Lariza:

of frameworks and strategies, but

Lariza:

at the end of the day, like, the

Lariza:

statistics are that the non profits

Lariza:

represent 10 percent of California's

Lariza:

workforce.

Lariza:

So we're definitely not insignificant.

Lariza:

And the Bay Area, as a whole, the

Lariza:

non profit sector employs almost a

Lariza:

million people.

Lariza:

And one fact that I think is really

Lariza:

interesting is that San Francisco

Lariza:

residents, one in six works in the

Lariza:

non profit sector.

Lariza:

So people who live in San Francisco

Lariza:

work in the non profit sector.

Lariza:

The other statistic that I think is

Lariza:

important to note is that we actually

Lariza:

generate economic impacts, right?

Lariza:

The non profit sector earns two two

Lariza:

hundred and twenty eight billion in

Lariza:

revenue each year.

Lariza:

Wow.

Lariza:

And we have assets of four hundred and

Lariza:

twenty one billion.

Lariza:

And that's just in San Francisco

Lariza:

Bay Area.

Lariza:

Obviously there's a range of

Lariza:

different kinds of non profits.

Lariza:

Some are kind of very wealthy

Lariza:

and asset rich.

Lariza:

Some like us grassroots are

Lariza:

not as asset rich.

Lariza:

But the bottom line is that we

Lariza:

are a significant sector, like, the

Lariza:

fake news is that we're not, but the

Lariza:

truth is that we have a significant

Lariza:

footprint in the labor ecosystem

Lariza:

in the Bay Area.

Lariza:

We not only are and we're 10 percent

Lariza:

of the workforce, but we also have an

Lariza:

economic footprint in the region.

Lariza:

So I, I really want to lift that up and

Lariza:

by the way, and the other thing that

Lariza:

we all talk about a lot is about trying

Lariza:

to, lifting the nonprofit sector

Lariza:

out of poverty.

Lariza:

Because when both Mario and

Lariza:

I worked in the same department,

Lariza:

in the mayor's office of housing

Lariza:

and community development,

Lariza:

and that was an anti poverty.

Lariza:

It is the anti poverty department

Lariza:

in the city, and I always used to say,

Lariza:

if we want to have a really solid,

Lariza:

successful anti poverty strategy,

Lariza:

let's lift the non profit sector out of

Lariza:

poverty, and that'll kind of pave the way

Lariza:

for the work ahead.

Lariza:

Cause it's communities by,

Lariza:

by communities for communities, right?

Lariza:

But, I'll pass the mic.

Socorro:

Anybody else want to jump

Socorro:

in right away?

Socorro:

Mario?

Mario Paz:

Yeah I just wanted

Mario Paz:

to jump in.

Mario Paz:

It's, it's sort of interesting

Mario Paz:

because, You know, we really aren't

Mario Paz:

really respected the way we need to be.

Mario Paz:

I think we all understand that.

Mario Paz:

But let me tell you how much they

Mario Paz:

really need us.

Mario Paz:

During the pandemic, we were

Mario Paz:

really challenged as leaders.

Mario Paz:

We met, we met, we had to confront

Mario Paz:

an experience that we've never

Mario Paz:

really prepared for or understood.

Mario Paz:

And, but we learned early on that

Mario Paz:

we're stronger if we work together.

Mario Paz:

And we came together in community to

Mario Paz:

meet the moment.

Mario Paz:

It was incredible.

Mario Paz:

And we demonstrated that, and this

Mario Paz:

is when it goes back to one of the

Mario Paz:

RAP principles, community solutions

Mario Paz:

are the ones that always have

Mario Paz:

the best impact.

Mario Paz:

That's right.

Mario Paz:

Right?

Mario Paz:

We've known that.

Mario Paz:

But what government's done,

Mario Paz:

and foundations and others, is they've

Mario Paz:

created their own theories of change.

Mario Paz:

They're trying to tell us how,

Mario Paz:

what's best for our community.

Mario Paz:

That's something that Ray's always

Mario Paz:

fought against, You always fight.

Mario Paz:

No, the institutions don't know.

Mario Paz:

They don't have the answers.

Mario Paz:

They have the resources, but

Mario Paz:

they don't have the answers.

Mario Paz:

It's always been the community.

Mario Paz:

And we learned that during

Mario Paz:

COVID, the way we met the moment.

Mario Paz:

And one particular example I want to

Mario Paz:

give you, when the school district

Mario Paz:

lost touch with literally hundreds

Mario Paz:

of thousands of students during

Mario Paz:

the pandemic, they literally, the kids

Mario Paz:

just disengaged, you know, they went to

Mario Paz:

the online virtual and they couldn't

Mario Paz:

find the students.

Mario Paz:

They basically were dropped

Mario Paz:

out of school.

Mario Paz:

Who do you think they turned to,

Mario Paz:

to help them?

Mario Paz:

It was us.

Mario Paz:

Because we have the relationships

Mario Paz:

with them, because they trust us, and

Mario Paz:

we were able to help literally,

Mario Paz:

collectively, thousands of

Mario Paz:

students re engage in school

Mario Paz:

so they wouldn't experience further

Mario Paz:

learning loss.

Mario Paz:

But it was a non profit sector that

Mario Paz:

built them up.

Mario Paz:

We fed thousands of people in our

Mario Paz:

community, and we galvanized

Mario Paz:

it in weeks.

Mario Paz:

Something the government

Mario Paz:

couldn't do.

Mario Paz:

Could never do.

Mario Paz:

They needed us.

Mario Paz:

So we, yes, we are essential to them,

Mario Paz:

and they know it.

Mario Paz:

But, they continue to disrespect us

Mario Paz:

by assuming that we, we are used

Mario Paz:

to working under a deficit model.

Mario Paz:

Yeah, we're poor, yeah.

Mario Paz:

And that's how we're treated.

Mario Paz:

We're treated like the help.

Mario Paz:

But I think we, you know, we're

Mario Paz:

trying to push back.

Mario Paz:

And As much as they treat us with

Mario Paz:

disrespect, they know they need us.

Mario Paz:

And I think that's the leverage

Mario Paz:

we have to use.

Mario Paz:

And that's the power we're going

Mario Paz:

to have to use.

Mario Paz:

We're about to face another crisis with

Mario Paz:

budget cuts and things like that.

Mario Paz:

We're all going to have to plan.

Mario Paz:

We're going to have to do a lot

Mario Paz:

of work on how we continue to support

Mario Paz:

our community, who are going

Mario Paz:

to be impacted.

Mario Paz:

We have a federal government

Mario Paz:

that's assaulting our community.

Mario Paz:

Right, right.

Mario Paz:

By characterizing all of us as

Mario Paz:

criminals.

Mario Paz:

In the most vile ways, we have to

Mario Paz:

come together and fight that, and we

Mario Paz:

need to change that.

Mario Paz:

So, yes, we are taking advantage

Mario Paz:

of, but we can demonstrate again

Mario Paz:

that it's always been the community.

Mario Paz:

That has come up with the most

Mario Paz:

impactful solutions and there's a lot

Mario Paz:

of data to prove it and that's what we

Mario Paz:

got to start pushing

Socorro:

Thank you for that.

Socorro:

Celina do you have?

Celina:

Yeah Absolutely

Celina:

piggybacking off that I think for

Celina:

me when you ask that question

Celina:

What value do we hold for the city?

Celina:

Like we hold the trust of the people.

Celina:

There's nothing more valuable than that.

Celina:

I think we need to really stand

Celina:

in our power that nothing moves

Celina:

unless we move.

Celina:

The people don't move without us.

Celina:

Government doesn't work without us.

Celina:

Government doesn't move without us.

Celina:

And I think in these times, because

Celina:

we sometimes feel know, because we

Celina:

don't have resources often, or because

Celina:

we're always in competition,

Celina:

you know, not necessarily against

Celina:

each other, but in competition

Celina:

for resources that we forget that

Celina:

we have power.

Celina:

And I think for me, again, like A lot

Celina:

of the values that we teach our young

Celina:

people is to make sure that they know

Celina:

their worth, right?

Celina:

And I think we have to make sure that we

Celina:

know our worth when we, when we have

Celina:

these conversations, when we're, have

Celina:

opportunities.

Celina:

Again, a lot of the work around

Celina:

policy, like how are we really making

Celina:

big change, right?

Celina:

And a lot of it has to do with changing

Celina:

policies and changing systems.

Celina:

But again, I think part of it

Celina:

too, we have to reframe, we have to

Celina:

fight against the narrative of what,

Celina:

The city sees non profits as, right?

Celina:

We're more than the help.

Celina:

So much that they appropriate our

Celina:

frameworks and our ideas and they use

Celina:

that, you know.

Celina:

They come to us when they're looking

Celina:

for best practices.

Celina:

They come to us when they're

Celina:

looking for people.

Celina:

Right?

Celina:

A lot of folks that are in government

Celina:

positions now come from non profit.

Celina:

So we are the ones that are building

Celina:

the, the leaders that then go into

Celina:

the departments.

Celina:

Right?

Celina:

And I think for us too, a big thing

Celina:

is representation matters.

Celina:

That's a big piece when we're talking

Celina:

about power and really elevating our

Celina:

power is if we're not represented

Celina:

in these positions in government,

Celina:

in the city.

Celina:

We're at a loss, right?

Celina:

And I think sometimes more

Celina:

than fighting for funds, more than

Celina:

fighting for You know, opportunities.

Celina:

It is about fighting for representation

Celina:

and making sure that folks that look

Celina:

like us that come from our backgrounds

Celina:

that have similar experiences are

Celina:

represented in these positions

Celina:

that are decision makers, And, we

Celina:

think about it.

Celina:

Oftentimes we have to code

Celina:

switch, right?

Celina:

So when we're in the community, we

Celina:

have our language.

Celina:

And then all of a sudden when we show

Celina:

up to meetings, we have to code switch.

Celina:

And I think for us we need to be

Celina:

authentic, right?

Celina:

It's not about an ask.

Celina:

This is our money.

Celina:

And we're there.

Celina:

Sometimes it feels like we're begging,

Celina:

and I don't, you know, I don't want

Celina:

to use that, but, oftentimes we're

Celina:

in a position where we really have to

Celina:

demonstrate our worth as if our

Celina:

worth isn't crystal clear, Some of

Celina:

the coalitions we're a part of,

Celina:

as you mentioned, like SFLPEC.

Celina:

I mean, we represent dozens

Celina:

of organizations, 80, 000 people

Celina:

in the community.

Celina:

Like, so there is a lot of power,

Celina:

and I think we just, we have to

Celina:

be mindful of that.

Celina:

We can't forget that when things

Celina:

get tough.

Socorro:

Thank you for that.

Socorro:

Yeah, let's hear it.

Socorro:

Celina.

Socorro:

Wow.

Socorro:

I mean, thank you for that,

Socorro:

for sharing those nuggets

Socorro:

and that wisdom.

Socorro:

I want to give the opportunity

Socorro:

to talk about the Latino parity

Socorro:

equity project as a, as an example

Socorro:

of resilience.

Socorro:

I know I mentioned it in the opening

Socorro:

statement, but What is it that,

Socorro:

the group is doing now and where is

Socorro:

it going and what are the next steps

Socorro:

for that group

Celina:

I'm happy to talk a little

Celina:

bit about it.

Celina:

We're actually just, we met today.

Celina:

Part of it is ensuring that we're

Celina:

not duplicating efforts, although

Celina:

sometimes we need to double up on the

Celina:

work that we do.

Celina:

Just today, the CLI, Chicano,

Celina:

Latina, Indijena.

Celina:

Health equity coalition that

Celina:

we're a part of.

Celina:

There's a lot of usual suspects in

Celina:

all of these, so we sit on multiple

Celina:

coalitions.

Celina:

But met with the health committee of

Celina:

the San Francisco Latino Parity and

Celina:

Equity Coalition today to come

Celina:

together again.

Celina:

Many of the members sit on both of

Celina:

them, but to really understand

Celina:

where where's the overlap and where

Celina:

is some of the uniqueness in, in

Celina:

the work that we do.

Celina:

So just today we're trying to think

Celina:

through that because we want to make

Celina:

sure it's about strategy, right?

Celina:

All of what we do, we're not paid to

Celina:

do it, we're there on a volunteer

Celina:

basis in all of these coalitions.

Celina:

So we have to maximize our

Celina:

time, we have to maximize our effort.

Celina:

So today, we're really thinking

Celina:

through, okay, how does SFL PEC

Celina:

differ or overlap with the CLI?

Celina:

And two of the things that we're

Celina:

thinking about, first in terms of

Celina:

partnerships, right?

Celina:

So the CLI is really connected with UCSF.

Celina:

And that is one of their main

Celina:

partners with SF LPEC, specifically

Celina:

with the Health Health Committee.

Celina:

We've been intentional about

Celina:

partnering with the Department

Celina:

of Public Health.

Celina:

And so grateful to have Ysella Ford,

Celina:

who's been a big community advocate

Celina:

and liaison with us.

Celina:

But we are a powerhouse when it

Celina:

comes to advocacy, when it comes to

Celina:

understanding, again, having

Celina:

to be the jack of all trades,

Celina:

understanding the needs in the

Celina:

community, putting a dollar to that.

Celina:

What does it mean to really be

Celina:

able to provide these services?

Celina:

But SF LPEC is around advocacy.

Celina:

It is around, and we looked at, it's the

Celina:

macro and the micro.

Celina:

We looked at SF LPEC as, we are in

Celina:

the weeds, we're in the service

Celina:

delivery, we're, And CLI is kind

Celina:

of like the macro, the, the research

Celina:

and the data.

Socorro:

Thank you for that.

Socorro:

Do you want to add something?

Mario Paz:

Yeah, I, I can just add

Mario Paz:

that when it was founded in 2016, it

Mario Paz:

was, a few leaders that got together.

Mario Paz:

Melba Maldonado, Sam Ruiz, Stella Garcia

Mario Paz:

and, and others.

Mario Paz:

And just came together and said,

Mario Paz:

We don't like what we're seeing in

Mario Paz:

our community, increasing

Mario Paz:

homelessness, poor student outcomes,

Mario Paz:

the ongoing housing instability, the

Mario Paz:

lack of economic opportunities for

Mario Paz:

our community, the displacement,

Mario Paz:

the justification.

Mario Paz:

No one was really paying attention

Mario Paz:

in the way that we needed to and we

Mario Paz:

believe that if we work together, if

Mario Paz:

we came together, we would be stronger

Mario Paz:

and build a stronger voice for Latinos

Mario Paz:

in San Francisco.

Mario Paz:

And so that, so those are the values

Mario Paz:

that sort of drove us to come together.

Mario Paz:

No one organization can do it all.

Mario Paz:

And we understood that, but if we

Mario Paz:

all come together.

Mario Paz:

It can be, it can really build power

Mario Paz:

and strength and, that started our

Mario Paz:

advocacy efforts and and we challenged

Mario Paz:

the city to start paying attention

Mario Paz:

because we matter.

Mario Paz:

Socorro: That's right.

Mario Paz:

Yeah, that's right

Lariza:

I also I'm channeling Estela.

Lariza:

Dr. Estela Garcia.

Lariza:

That's right Because she was

Lariza:

really intent.

Lariza:

I remember on the word "parity"

Lariza:

remember and she was thought she

Lariza:

was reminding us that we're not

Lariza:

just saying we're not talking about

Lariza:

equal We're talking about like equitable

Lariza:

and parity.

Lariza:

Where like we recognize

Lariza:

that there's differences, right?

Lariza:

But I think part of the response

Lariza:

at that time, too, and to this day,

Lariza:

is that Latinos in San Francisco

Lariza:

represent 17 percent of the population,

Lariza:

almost 18%.

Lariza:

Half of those children in the

Lariza:

school district have a foreign

Lariza:

born parent.

Lariza:

Yet, the level of investment does

Lariza:

not reflect the, the percentage of

Lariza:

our population.

Lariza:

That's also true in the philanthropic

Lariza:

community, where we know that less

Lariza:

than 1 percent of all philanthropic

Lariza:

dollars goes to Latino led

Lariza:

organizations.

Socorro:

Well, thank you for

Socorro:

sharing that, you know, as you guys

Socorro:

are speaking, I, thinking of the

Socorro:

countless hours we spent with

Socorro:

Jim Queen, right?

Socorro:

And we, we, Jim Queen being one

Socorro:

of the founders of, of EMUNYO, and

Socorro:

then eventually becoming RAP.

Socorro:

I think about this model, this

Socorro:

action that was being spoken about

Socorro:

in 1969, 1970, the MCO days, the

Socorro:

community being empowered through

Socorro:

self determination, and those RAP

Socorro:

principles existing, and the setting

Socorro:

the model for DCYF that eventually,

Socorro:

you know, they, as you said, they

Socorro:

co opted and, and made it theirs,

Socorro:

and, and I think that that's the.

Socorro:

beauty in it.

Socorro:

And I'm not trying to be Pollyanna,

Socorro:

but because I know we're in a really

Socorro:

terrible trying time, but at least

Socorro:

the resilience that this community has

Socorro:

shown it continues.

Socorro:

It's going to continue to

Socorro:

represent and to hear about the

Socorro:

COVID struggle and when you guys

Socorro:

were here and I mean, while you

Socorro:

guys were engaging.

Socorro:

I know some, some great things

Socorro:

came out of here.

Socorro:

Brava was involved, the Latino Task

Socorro:

Force, a lot of things that

Socorro:

arose from that.

Socorro:

And so to see that it's still existing

Socorro:

and people are still doing the

Socorro:

work is I'm very very honored and to

Socorro:

know that I, I know some of you guys

Socorro:

that are still doing this work and I just

Socorro:

want to continue to, to bless you,

Socorro:

to continue to do it and continue

Socorro:

to stay strong.

Socorro:

I know it's hard.

Socorro:

I know it's tough.

Socorro:

but the community has your back and,

Socorro:

and I feel that.

Socorro:

So we're going to ask there's this

Socorro:

opportunity now to have the audience,

Socorro:

if anybody is in the audience and wants

Socorro:

to say something.

Socorro:

Is there anyone?

Alfredo:

To Mario and Larisa, being

Alfredo:

municipal workers and returning to

Alfredo:

the non profit, I just want to hear

Alfredo:

a little about that because I was born

Alfredo:

and raised a non profit, now I'm a

Alfredo:

municipal worker and I don't hold the

Alfredo:

roles that you do, as important people

Alfredo:

as you are, but you guys were in the

Alfredo:

municipality before.

Alfredo:

Just want to hear about

Alfredo:

your experience transitioning.

Lariza:

It took me 51 years to realize

Lariza:

I had imposter syndrome because

Lariza:

growing up in Bernal Heights and

Lariza:

Nicaragua during the war, like all

Lariza:

the things that shaped my personal

Lariza:

experiences through a woman's leadership

Lariza:

group, I realized like, I've been like

Lariza:

really dealing with imposter syndrome.

Lariza:

And I think in some ways I coded

Lariza:

it by trying to work harder.

Lariza:

And, like, feeling like I didn't

Lariza:

deserve, so I had to work, like,

Lariza:

ten times harder.

Lariza:

And, it's not until the last few years,

Lariza:

I think during the pandemic, I kind

Lariza:

of said, Okay, I'm going to have

Lariza:

to settle into whatever knowledge

Lariza:

I have in the deeper insides of me.

Lariza:

But to answer specifically your

Lariza:

question, somebody said to me, like,

Lariza:

You can affect change from various

Lariza:

places, as long as you're clear about

Lariza:

the change you're trying to affect.

Lariza:

And that's become my personal statement

Lariza:

like, personal mission statement,

Lariza:

is to affect change for community.

Lariza:

And knowing that I care about children,

Lariza:

youth, families, people who migrate,

Lariza:

and social justice.

Lariza:

So, wherever I can impact those

Lariza:

communities.

Lariza:

I'll take it on, because I think

Lariza:

it's important, especially you know,

Lariza:

as you're developing professionally, to

Lariza:

expose yourself to different systems.

Lariza:

I think a lot of our own community

Lariza:

members are now in, in local government,

Lariza:

and it's great to know that Homegrown

Lariza:

leaders are emerging from neighborhoods,

Lariza:

from programs, to non profit

Lariza:

leadership, to then city leadership,

Lariza:

including elected officials, right?

Lariza:

We have, like, Supervisor Mila

Lariza:

Melgar, who's homegrown,

Lariza:

Salvadoriana, migrant, San

Lariza:

Franciscan.

Lariza:

But I kind of started to drink the

Lariza:

Kool Aid when I was in local government.

Lariza:

And it's, it's like a, it's kind of

Lariza:

easy to, to do that.

Lariza:

On the other hand, I did appreciate

Lariza:

the bird's eye view you get from the big

Lariza:

picture vision that you get from working

Lariza:

on that side.

Lariza:

But when I came back to CARECEN 13 years

Lariza:

ago that's when I really realized

Lariza:

how far, like, you know, you're from

Lariza:

the neighborhood, you grew up here,

Lariza:

you kind of, these are your

Lariza:

community members and all that.

Lariza:

And I thought, oh, I'm still connected

Lariza:

to community.

Lariza:

But it wasn't really when I came back to

Lariza:

CARECEN there, I'm like, okay, back

Lariza:

in the trenches, And so it's

Lariza:

very noticeable.

Lariza:

How, even though you're walking

Lariza:

around as a city of you know, good

Lariza:

public servants out there doing

Lariza:

hard work.

Lariza:

But it's not the same as trying

Lariza:

to like resolve people's needs

Lariza:

day to day, being the jack of all

Lariza:

trades trying not to lose sleep to

Lariza:

make sure you got the resources, the

Lariza:

team and everything you need, you

Lariza:

know, so that the work can continue.

Lariza:

But I'm, I'm exactly where I need to be

Lariza:

and forever grateful to the work and

Lariza:

the learnings I had at the city, but

Lariza:

also at KQED and other institutions

Lariza:

throughout San Francisco.

Socorro:

Mario,

Socorro:

Mario Paz: Thank you.

Socorro:

Thank you, Lariza.

Socorro:

Yeah.

Socorro:

For me it was sort of interesting.

Socorro:

I, I went in again with an idealistic

Socorro:

mind that, you know, as a student

Socorro:

of public policy that maybe in

Socorro:

my own way I can affect some change.

Socorro:

cause different ways to, to really

Socorro:

affect change as Lariza mentioned.

Socorro:

But very quickly what I learned

Socorro:

working in government, I

Socorro:

learned very quickly about

Socorro:

these blockages, these obstructions.

Socorro:

These Oh my God, there's a lot of

Socorro:

wheeling and dealing here, just like

Socorro:

in the community.

Socorro:

and you get disillusioned.

Socorro:

I got disillusioned fairly quickly.

Socorro:

But I kept at it.

Socorro:

I kept at it because I wanted to learn.

Socorro:

I wanted to have an inside view and

Socorro:

I wanted to learn.

Socorro:

Up until the point where I felt where,

Socorro:

Okay, my values already are telling

Socorro:

me I can't continue.

Socorro:

And this is where the issue of self

Socorro:

clarity comes.

Socorro:

Okay, at some point, I was, I

Socorro:

remember I was put in a position

Socorro:

and I got beat up.

Socorro:

When I was put in a position where I had

Socorro:

to sell a really bad policy the community

Socorro:

was really against.

Socorro:

If you remember, Ray, the issue

Socorro:

of the curfew.

Socorro:

Yeah.

Socorro:

Yeah.

Socorro:

So, you know, Mayor assigned, yeah,

Socorro:

and but guess who he assigned to

Socorro:

try to, right.

Socorro:

He assigned me and another colleague

Socorro:

to try to sell it, It was hard.

Socorro:

Yeah.

Socorro:

Yeah, I remember.

Socorro:

But let me, but let me tell you

Socorro:

about self clarity.

Socorro:

I did my best.

Socorro:

Because there's an ethical

Socorro:

responsibility we have when we work

Socorro:

in government.

Socorro:

Remember I told you about

Socorro:

honoring the work.

Socorro:

Okay.

Socorro:

I did my best because I felt

Socorro:

my ethical responsibility was

Socorro:

to the mayor who had assigned me and

Socorro:

another colleague to promote this policy.

Socorro:

Okay, so I did it to the best

Socorro:

of my ability.

Socorro:

I didn't try to blow it up from

Socorro:

the internal.

Socorro:

I felt ethically I had to do, I

Socorro:

had this job.

Socorro:

I was being paid to do that job.

Socorro:

But it came to a point where

Socorro:

I realized I can't do that.

Socorro:

Because I don't believe in this.

Socorro:

And that's when I felt it was time

Socorro:

for me to leave.

Socorro:

but I say that.

Socorro:

Is that we're going to be in positions,

Socorro:

when you're a leader, you're going

Socorro:

to be in positions where you're going

Socorro:

to have to make some tough decisions.

Socorro:

That's right.

Socorro:

Real difficult decisions.

Socorro:

And, what has helped me over the

Socorro:

years, is again this issue of integrity.

Socorro:

And, and sometimes we're faced with

Socorro:

the issue of what's the right thing to

Socorro:

do, or what's the best thing to do.

Socorro:

And that's really tough.

Socorro:

Because in our hearts, we know

Socorro:

the right thing to do is making

Socorro:

this decision.

Socorro:

But when you look at the bigger picture,

Socorro:

the best thing to do is to make this

Socorro:

other decision.

Socorro:

And those are real tough challenges,

Socorro:

and we've all faced them.

Socorro:

Yep.

Socorro:

As leaders.

Socorro:

and it's interesting, when

Socorro:

I left government, I went to go work

Socorro:

for philanthropy.

Socorro:

I spent eight years working

Socorro:

for foundations.

Socorro:

That was a whole new world, another

Socorro:

perspective.

Socorro:

But what I learned, and again, for

Socorro:

me it was a learning journey.

Socorro:

I was able to maintain my values

Socorro:

and my self clarity about who I was.

Socorro:

Try to make a difference in

Socorro:

institutions.

Socorro:

They're very different than the

Socorro:

work I did at the community level.

Socorro:

But I knew if I can affect any

Socorro:

change in those institutions, that

Socorro:

I was gonna, I was making a difference

Socorro:

in my own way.

Socorro:

And I think I did.

Socorro:

I think I made a lot of difference

Socorro:

when I was working in city government.

Socorro:

And I think I made a lot of difference

Socorro:

when I was working in philanthropy.

Socorro:

And now I have the privilege to serve

Socorro:

in organizations that has a 130

Socorro:

year history.

Socorro:

That is very values driven.

Socorro:

That has very high standards

Socorro:

of integrity.

Socorro:

That has a board of directors that

Socorro:

cares for us.

Socorro:

That cares for its people.

Socorro:

And and I'm surrounded with

Socorro:

good people with an incredible staff.

Socorro:

And I'm exactly where I need to be.

Socorro:

And just to tell you about Full Circle,

Socorro:

when I was recruited for the job of Good

Socorro:

Samaritan, my mother reminded me that

Socorro:

she took me there.

Socorro:

We used to go there when I was a young

Socorro:

child growing up in the neighborhood

Socorro:

'cause she would get the cheese 'cause

Socorro:

good Samaritan used to have honey,

Socorro:

get the cheese.

Socorro:

My mom would use that cheese to make

Socorro:

pupusas as to sell, to help to help

Socorro:

the family out, household income.

Socorro:

So for me, it was a whole full circle.

Socorro:

so every time I see a family come

Socorro:

through our doors, I see myself, I

Socorro:

see my mother and there's no greater

Socorro:

fulfillment to know that I here serving

Socorro:

the community in that way.

Socorro:

And that my, my decisions, and

Socorro:

I've always let my heart guide my

Socorro:

career decisions brought me to this

Socorro:

full circle, but it really is about

Socorro:

honoring the work.

Socorro:

Thank you.

Socorro:

Thank you.

Socorro:

Thank you, Mario.

Socorro:

I want to thank Mario and Lariza

Socorro:

for just, you know, just being honest

Socorro:

and because people always have that

Socorro:

question, right?

Socorro:

They always think I,

Lariza:

I knew Socorro was going

Lariza:

to come down and be like.

Socorro:

Yeah, Yeah.

Socorro:

Is there someone else?

Stacey:

I was just going to ask

Stacey:

a question based on the question

Stacey:

over here, I'm really baffled

Stacey:

right now with the scapegoating

Stacey:

that nonprofits are receiving

Stacey:

from not only the city and county

Stacey:

of San Francisco, but also, just

Stacey:

across the board.

Stacey:

We have done everything we can to

Stacey:

serve the community.

Stacey:

And we have been blocked every step

Stacey:

of the way in terms of, preach all the

Stacey:

scandals at the city is causing an

Stacey:

incredible amount of administrative

Stacey:

work for us all.

Stacey:

That I have been in compliance at every

Stacey:

level all the time.

Stacey:

And now I am constantly getting

Stacey:

audited by workers comp by the city

Stacey:

by every entity across the board.

Stacey:

Employment expenses have gone

Stacey:

up drastically because of AB5.

Stacey:

My electric bill has gone up 250

Stacey:

percent in the last four years.

Stacey:

I'm just overwhelmed by what it takes to

Stacey:

get through the day.

Stacey:

And, eyes on the prize every day.

Stacey:

Eyes on the prize.

Stacey:

I got my list in the morning that I think

Stacey:

about all these women that inspire

Stacey:

me every day.

Stacey:

I get up and I think about Larissa

Stacey:

and Socorro and Fatima and all,

Stacey:

all of the people that just drive me

Stacey:

to continue to do the, the good work

Stacey:

for all the people.

Stacey:

And you see, you see when people

Stacey:

leave here, they go home and they

Stacey:

sleep better and they wake up and

Stacey:

they're a better person the next day

Stacey:

and they're inspired but I'm beginning

Stacey:

to, be really concerned about

Stacey:

the capacity for us all to survive

Stacey:

this climate.

Stacey:

And I also have this incredible

Stacey:

staff right now.

Stacey:

They're all between 25 and 32.

Stacey:

They're all, she they's from, women

Stacey:

of color in this, from the city, from

Stacey:

the mission, from Excelsior, from

Stacey:

Tenderloin, from Western Edition,

Stacey:

and they're all fierce and badass.

Stacey:

But what is the path that we're

Stacey:

leaving for them to lead into the

Stacey:

next generation?

Stacey:

cause the work is just getting harder

Stacey:

and harder and I've been in this

Stacey:

business 43 years.

Stacey:

I've been working in this neighborhood

Stacey:

for 43 years in the arts.

Stacey:

And I have never seen the situation

Stacey:

that has been so every day you just

Stacey:

so distracted by administrative work

Stacey:

every single day.

Stacey:

So I'm just curious where you

Stacey:

all as executive directors are at

Stacey:

and what you're seeing in terms of.

Stacey:

One, the city's scapegoating us all.

Stacey:

Two, how do we vision

Stacey:

ourselves through this madness?

Socorro:

Thank you, Stacey.

Socorro:

That's Stacey Powers, Executive

Socorro:

Director of Brava.

Socorro:

Who wants to take a little stab at that?

Socorro:

You want to take a stab at it?

Mario Paz:

I'll take a stab.

Mario Paz:

I'll try.

Mario Paz:

Thank you, and certainly I think

Mario Paz:

we understand all those challenges.

Mario Paz:

I know, for me, What I did several years

Mario Paz:

ago is I realized that you have to

Mario Paz:

learn how to adapt.

Mario Paz:

It's really important.

Mario Paz:

And you have to begin to think about

Mario Paz:

systems building.

Mario Paz:

You can't think about it as putting

Mario Paz:

out one fire in another that you

Mario Paz:

have to do deal with on a daily basis.

Mario Paz:

So what I began to do is sort of figure

Mario Paz:

out working with a couple of my staff

Mario Paz:

is what kind of system do we need

Mario Paz:

to build to make the work easier, to

Mario Paz:

reduce the stress.

Mario Paz:

We entered when we lost a 35 year

Mario Paz:

plus CFO, they've been there for

Mario Paz:

a long time.

Mario Paz:

He had been operating.

Mario Paz:

the old style, the bookkeeper still

Mario Paz:

had QuickBooks on desktop and, you

Mario Paz:

know, it's sort of the old fashioned

Mario Paz:

way, right?

Mario Paz:

And all the knowledge was

Mario Paz:

in his head.

Mario Paz:

And when he finally retires, like, we

Mario Paz:

knew we needed to modernize and we

Mario Paz:

needed to build a better system

Mario Paz:

because financial reporting is

Mario Paz:

extremely important and to make sure

Mario Paz:

that you track all your expenses, you

Mario Paz:

have to understand fund accounting,

Mario Paz:

all the compliance issues, there's

Mario Paz:

just a lot that's being thrown at

Mario Paz:

us, right, Stacey, each and every day.

Mario Paz:

So we decided, we're going to try

Mario Paz:

something different.

Mario Paz:

We learned about, some new groups

Mario Paz:

that were doing what they call fractional

Mario Paz:

relationships, fractional

Mario Paz:

accounting, fractional banking.

Mario Paz:

We have a fractional CFO that includes a

Mario Paz:

whole team of people that now do our

Mario Paz:

financial systems at a lower cost

Mario Paz:

than if we would have hired a new CFO

Mario Paz:

at current market.

Mario Paz:

And let me tell you, I can sleep at night

Mario Paz:

knowing that every penny we get that

Mario Paz:

goes in and out in our organization

Mario Paz:

is completely documented and

Mario Paz:

tracked to the penny, because

Mario Paz:

of the systems they've created.

Mario Paz:

And that's made my life easier, my

Mario Paz:

board easier, in terms of how you

Mario Paz:

run an organization and can do

Mario Paz:

reports and spits.

Mario Paz:

So you have to start adapting and

Mario Paz:

using tools that are out there, and

Mario Paz:

it's really hard in the beginning.

Mario Paz:

It creates a lot of pressure.

Mario Paz:

You have to do a lot of education.

Mario Paz:

You have to work with your staff.

Mario Paz:

You have to build it.

Mario Paz:

When we adopted Salesforce, we

Mario Paz:

went through a whole process.

Mario Paz:

It took us two years to learn it.

Mario Paz:

But now we can stand behind every

Mario Paz:

data point, every number, every

Mario Paz:

person we serve.

Mario Paz:

We can stand behind every report

Mario Paz:

that we submit.

Mario Paz:

We have it.

Mario Paz:

Every individual we serve because of

Mario Paz:

that platform, but it takes time, but

Mario Paz:

you get, you really do have to adapt.

Mario Paz:

You have to begin to utilize technology

Mario Paz:

in ways that we've, you know, maybe,

Stacey:

with that, with systems in

Stacey:

place, we have lots of systems in place

Stacey:

and we're continuing to create those

Stacey:

systems, but then they come up with

Stacey:

some other systems, you and then you

Stacey:

gotta manage the new system, and

Stacey:

so that's what, that's the challenge

Stacey:

for me, is like, we have all lived

Stacey:

from 1989 to today, through the tech,

Stacey:

revolution, now you know, we're in a

Stacey:

society that we're always talking about

Stacey:

neurodivergence, right?

Stacey:

Everybody is neurodivergent in

Stacey:

some, at some level.

Stacey:

You sit down at your computer to write

Stacey:

an email and you get 20 pop up windows

Stacey:

every five seconds.

Stacey:

AI on your computer every five seconds.

Stacey:

And how are you supposed

Stacey:

to concentrate?

Stacey:

How are you supposed to stay focused

Stacey:

on messaging and on delivery if

Stacey:

the world around us is constantly

Stacey:

distracting?

Celina:

For me, yes.

Celina:

I want to agree with systems.

Celina:

I think the other solution is,

Celina:

we have to stop depending on the

Celina:

city for our funds.

Celina:

That's the bottom line.

Celina:

And it's hard not to, right?

Celina:

I know Horizons, the majority of

Celina:

our entire history is, you know,

Celina:

we've been 99.

Celina:

99 percent government funded.

Celina:

There's a lot of stability in

Celina:

government grants, definitely.

Celina:

Five year funding cycles, sometimes

Celina:

with the option to renew.

Celina:

obviously, that's the carrot, right?

Celina:

That's a carrot.

Celina:

But up until last year again,

Celina:

Horizons has been primarily funded by

Celina:

government grants.

Celina:

And we knew that we needed to

Celina:

diversify our funds.

Celina:

We have to.

Celina:

You cannot survive without that.

Celina:

And we were lucky.

Celina:

Well, I don't want to say lucky.

Celina:

We earned, we deserved, right?

Celina:

We had to start looking for

Celina:

other general operating grants.

Celina:

We had to look for foundations, right?

Celina:

So it is about diversifying

Celina:

your funds so you don't have

Celina:

to rely on that.

Celina:

The city comes with so much compliance.

Celina:

Like, we had to go through drug Medi

Celina:

Cal certification, right?

Celina:

There's huge, huge, I mean, you need

Celina:

full time people just to push paper

Celina:

and keep compliance.

Celina:

And they wonder why we have these high

Celina:

standards in, in delivery and then

Celina:

also high standards in ensuring the

Celina:

paperwork and it's hard to manage

Celina:

both sometimes.

Lariza:

So high level, like I

Lariza:

think one CARECEN's greatest asset

Lariza:

is our staff.

Lariza:

Thank you Kevin and Juan for being

Lariza:

out here tonight.

Lariza:

So really like 70 percent of

Lariza:

our budget, it fluctuates between

Lariza:

68 and 75 percent of our organizational

Lariza:

budget is staff.

Lariza:

So your budget should reflect

Lariza:

your values, your institutional

Lariza:

budget, that's one.

Lariza:

So keeping, always knowing that the

Lariza:

quality of our programs depends

Lariza:

on the stability of our, team.

Lariza:

So lifting our staff out of poverty.

Lariza:

Second, not chasing the money.

Lariza:

Like, we are looking for partnerships

Lariza:

and funding.

Lariza:

We're not gonna just give you what

Lariza:

you want because we want your dollar.

Lariza:

Because we go for the wills, we say.

Lariza:

And sometimes la pepesca, but we're

Lariza:

going for multiple year grants.

Lariza:

Good programmatic matches, partners

Lariza:

and funders ,who are going to support

Lariza:

our framework and our caseloads and

Lariza:

what we know is sustainable and that

Lariza:

we can deliver on.

Lariza:

We're not giving funders numbers to

Lariza:

make ourselves more attractive because

Lariza:

we don't want to set ourselves up for,

Lariza:

for failure, right?

Lariza:

Integrating technology.

Lariza:

Looking, we're having a

Lariza:

conversation right now at CARECEN about

Lariza:

what's the role of AI in our work.

Lariza:

CARECEN I think was really innovative.

Lariza:

I think I brought this from KQED's

Lariza:

life to make communications

Lariza:

a program area.

Lariza:

So we can actually communicate our

Lariza:

work because that's how we're also

Lariza:

gonna expand our, our support base.

Socorro:

Thank you.

Socorro:

I know, Ray, you, you wanted to

Socorro:

make a statement?

Ray Balberan:

I wanna say, Mario,

Ray Balberan:

thank you for those words, you know,

Ray Balberan:

thank you so much.

Ray Balberan:

Uh, I just want to apologize

Ray Balberan:

for ramming the RAP truck into

Ray Balberan:

your sports car.

Ray Balberan:

Yeah, yeah, you know, it wasn't on,

Ray Balberan:

it was an accident.

Ray Balberan:

I just want to know, I don't know

Ray Balberan:

what happened.

Ray Balberan:

Did Mitch pay you to fix it?

Ray Balberan:

All right.

Ray Balberan:

I just, I just want to get

Ray Balberan:

that straight.

Ray Balberan:

Okay.

Ray Balberan:

I just want to say, We're

Ray Balberan:

we're all alike in a lot of ways.

Ray Balberan:

when I went to meetings, I felt and

Ray Balberan:

stepped in there.

Ray Balberan:

I wanted respect because I did like

Ray Balberan:

you do represent the community.

Ray Balberan:

If you're holding 80 clients and

Ray Balberan:

their families, Or thousands of clients

Ray Balberan:

in your family, you represent each and

Ray Balberan:

every one of them.

Ray Balberan:

You are what you are, a

Ray Balberan:

community leader.

Ray Balberan:

You know what I'm trying to say?

Ray Balberan:

And we're, we're like that.

Ray Balberan:

I mean, we're like that.

Ray Balberan:

We feel, I feel it.

Ray Balberan:

I don't, I don't take it from

Ray Balberan:

these guys.

Ray Balberan:

The thing is, the community, RAP

Ray Balberan:

and Mission Media Arts has been in

Ray Balberan:

a lot of actions.

Ray Balberan:

And I don't hear that nowadays.

Ray Balberan:

I don't get those phone calls,

Ray Balberan:

Ray, we're going on the action.

Ray Balberan:

I don't even have to know.

Ray Balberan:

I just have to go.

Ray Balberan:

Who's calling it, and I know they're

Ray Balberan:

a leader, and who's the target.

Ray Balberan:

And in 20 minutes, I'll be down there.

Ray Balberan:

And some of the first questions

Ray Balberan:

we would ask where the action is, like

Ray Balberan:

maybe the director of mental health.

Ray Balberan:

I would ask him, what's his salary?

Ray Balberan:

You know?

Ray Balberan:

You know, and then, you know, he didn't

Ray Balberan:

want to, and we would, I would not

Ray Balberan:

get off of that until he had to say,

Ray Balberan:

what is his salary?

Ray Balberan:

You know, and, uh, this was in

Ray Balberan:

mental health.

Ray Balberan:

Mental health was a good fight, and,

Ray Balberan:

I just want to say you're a treasure.

Ray Balberan:

You're a bunch of bad motherfuckers.

Ray Balberan:

I'm sorry.

Lariza:

We learned from the best.

Socorro:

Thank you, Ray.

Socorro:

Thank you for that blessing.

Socorro:

So obviously, thank you for those words.

Socorro:

Thank you for the questions.

Socorro:

Thank you for the thoughts and

Socorro:

thank you for the comments.

Socorro:

It's about engagement, too.

Socorro:

You know, this podcast is around

Socorro:

just engaging audience and

Socorro:

also getting people to think.

Socorro:

And, RAMA is here just to stimulate

Socorro:

the dialogue.

Socorro:

That that's our role, you know,

Socorro:

we're part of the, this resistance, the

Socorro:

resistance has been going on for like

Socorro:

50 years, 60 years.

Socorro:

We're part of it.

Socorro:

We just want to, get people to

Socorro:

talk and get their feelings out.

Socorro:

I know we don't have a lot of time, but

Socorro:

one of the things we want to hear is

Socorro:

briefly what your thoughts are on

Socorro:

what's the city's responsibility

Socorro:

to you, to your organization?

Socorro:

And how should they be held accountable?

Socorro:

You know, maybe the city's listening.

Lariza:

That's such a trick question.

Lariza:

But I think I'll come at it from my

Lariza:

spirit when I worked as a community

Lariza:

builder in San Francisco City and

Lariza:

County was, I felt like I had to come

Lariza:

home and sleep in this neighborhood,

Lariza:

on the other block.

Lariza:

So, my community kept me honest.

Lariza:

And I think I wanted to show

Lariza:

pride in the work.

Lariza:

Like, just respect.

Lariza:

Like, I remember, I had to call

Lariza:

Mario one time to tell him we were

Lariza:

cutting them.

Lariza:

In 2008.

Lariza:

And that was tough, you know?

Lariza:

And so I think that because of these

Lariza:

relationships, because we come from

Lariza:

community, working for community.

Lariza:

What I think the city needs to

Lariza:

be just a better partner, like a

Lariza:

thought partner.

Lariza:

Not come and tell us what we need, but

Lariza:

ask us what we need.

Lariza:

Make sure that we are clear about what

Lariza:

the expectations are, both ways.

Lariza:

Because it's always like, you have

Lariza:

to do this, you have to do that.

Lariza:

It's always like, these are your

Lariza:

responsibilities, non profit.

Lariza:

But we are never told what we

Lariza:

can count on the city for.

Lariza:

I would want it to be true partnership.

Lariza:

I want, I would want it to be co

Lariza:

design, right?

Lariza:

And I would want them to step in

Lariza:

when we need help so we can have

Lariza:

an opportunity to transform, learn,

Lariza:

grow, and be better.

Socorro:

Mario?

Mario Paz:

Well, I want them to

Mario Paz:

understand that an organization's

Mario Paz:

budget size doesn't represent

Mario Paz:

whether it's having impact or not.

Mario Paz:

a lot of thoughts are going

Mario Paz:

through my mind.

Mario Paz:

I want them to truly be honest with us

Mario Paz:

and treat us in an authentic way where

Mario Paz:

they can admit we really need you.

Mario Paz:

We want to work with you.

Mario Paz:

We, you know, there's good

Mario Paz:

people working in government.

Mario Paz:

You know, let's not assume that everyone

Mario Paz:

in there is bad.

Mario Paz:

There's a lot of good people, like

Mario Paz:

Lisa's there, you know, she's one

Mario Paz:

of our champions.

Mario Paz:

there's a lot of good people trying

Mario Paz:

to do good work in government, who care

Mario Paz:

about our community.

Mario Paz:

And we need to support them also.

Mario Paz:

But we need to hear from the city that

Mario Paz:

they understand that we're essential,

Mario Paz:

that we're needed.

Mario Paz:

And stop playing sort of games

Mario Paz:

with us, or making characterizations,

Mario Paz:

or feeding the news media that, we're

Mario Paz:

all corrupt and all these things

Mario Paz:

that you hear.

Mario Paz:

Because it's not like that.

Mario Paz:

It's a very, very few.

Mario Paz:

We are doing great work.

Mario Paz:

We are making this city better each

Mario Paz:

and every day.

Mario Paz:

And they need to understand that.

Mario Paz:

But we have to also something rise above

Mario Paz:

and not go in there and just call them

Mario Paz:

a bunch of names or tell them they're,

Mario Paz:

you know, they're this and that.

Mario Paz:

We need to just say, okay, we

Mario Paz:

respect you.

Mario Paz:

We just need you to respect us now and

Mario Paz:

let's work together.

Mario Paz:

Because our community needs it.

Socorro:

Thank you for that, Celina.

Celina:

Yeah I think for me, I think

Celina:

the most powerful thing that the city

Celina:

could be for us is facilitators.

Celina:

Right, facilitators of access to

Celina:

resources.

Celina:

We are one of the richest cities

Celina:

in the world.

Celina:

Why is there so much disparity in

Celina:

our communities?

Celina:

The city has access to more than just,

Celina:

you know, money.

Celina:

There's partnerships.

Celina:

There's relationships.

Celina:

They have access to data and

Celina:

research, all these other things.

Celina:

So, what would it look like if

Celina:

the city really saw their role

Celina:

as a facilitator?

Celina:

And not like a funder grantee,

Celina:

not like this power dynamic.

Celina:

What would it look like for us to be

Celina:

on the same playing field, right?

Celina:

Or what if they felt like it was

Celina:

their role to uplift the community?

Celina:

Not to ask the community, what

Celina:

are you going to do for me, right?

Celina:

And again, I, you know, I don't

Celina:

want in any way Go down that path

Celina:

and everyone in government is you

Celina:

know not who they say they are or

Celina:

any of that, but I Again, I really

Celina:

think it's about how you see your

Celina:

role in in the work And if it is,

Celina:

you know again, I don't want to put

Celina:

too many analogies.

Celina:

But it made me think of something

Celina:

my son said a long time ago, he had

Celina:

a project that he was working on

Celina:

and it had to do with the police.

Celina:

And it had to do with what would

Celina:

it look like what does community

Celina:

policing look like?

Celina:

And this is a young child thinking

Celina:

about that, right, growing up in

Celina:

the neighborhood.

Celina:

And brilliance, these children, they

Celina:

said, well, what if police officers

Celina:

were really peace officers, right?

Celina:

So what if the city really saw

Celina:

their role as a facilitator and not

Celina:

a gatekeeper or not a funder grantee?

Celina:

What would it look like to shift the

Celina:

paradigm of what that relationship

Celina:

looks like?

Celina:

That would change things.

Celina:

Then they would make sure that

Celina:

Their success was our success, and

Celina:

I think mutual accountability

Celina:

is part of that.

Celina:

You know, we have to turn things

Celina:

around in two, in two weeks.

Celina:

But we might not get our contract

Celina:

certified for a year or get paid

Celina:

for six months.

Celina:

So where's the equity and parity

Celina:

in that, right?

Celina:

They have all this money and all these

Celina:

systems and all these resources.

Celina:

And we may have one or two staff

Celina:

running around trying to get this

Celina:

grant in, or get this budget in, or

Celina:

get these compliance things in, and

Celina:

we got a couple days to get it in.

Celina:

So I think it's about understanding,

Celina:

again, what's their role, what's their

Celina:

purpose, and how can they actually

Celina:

shift that in a way that would help

Celina:

facilitate our work.

Socorro:

Well, thank you for that.

Socorro:

I really want to thank you guys for

Socorro:

your insight, and it makes me think

Socorro:

about in 1999, when RAP's doors

Socorro:

closed and the city turned its back.

Socorro:

There was accountability on

Socorro:

our part for the fiscal solvency

Socorro:

issues that we had, but the city

Socorro:

had the ways and the means and the

Socorro:

budget to save the organization, and

Socorro:

had not provided a lot of the

Socorro:

guidance that folks like Mitch

Socorro:

needed, and other.

Socorro:

And so, this is a new era, this is

Socorro:

a new change, with systems, with all

Socorro:

kinds of folks that are committed, and

Socorro:

there's unity, and there's cohesion,

Socorro:

and there's, power in this group, and

Socorro:

I think we have to give these guys

Socorro:

a really big hand for the work that

Socorro:

they're doing, and thank them for the

Socorro:

work that they're doing, and, and,

Socorro:

and really be in gratitude for the

Socorro:

continued work.

Socorro:

I want to thank everyone for

Socorro:

listening to the RAMA Blueprints

Socorro:

podcast.

Socorro:

Like we have said, said so many times

Socorro:

before, we dedicate this particular

Socorro:

episode to the Corazon of the

Socorro:

RAP family, which includes all of

Socorro:

the young people, their families, the

Socorro:

staff, the former board members,

Socorro:

interns, volunteers, community leaders,

Socorro:

consultants, supportive staff

Socorro:

from other agencies and communities

Socorro:

throughout San Francisco,

Socorro:

California, and the nation.

Socorro:

We want to thank our sister

Socorro:

organizations for their sponsorship

Socorro:

and support.

Socorro:

To CARECEN SF, to Instituto Familiar

Socorro:

de la Raza, Horizons Unlimited,

Socorro:

the Salt Vasa Community, United

Socorro:

Players, Brava Women for the Arts.

Socorro:

And a special thank to San Francisco's

Socorro:

to CARECEN, San Francisco's

Socorro:

marketing team, to Juan, and to Kevin.

Socorro:

Let's give them a big hand.

Socorro:

They do a lot of work behind

Socorro:

the scenes.

Socorro:

Not only for this, but for all the

Socorro:

work that CARECEN is doing in getting

Socorro:

the word out to specifically to our

Socorro:

immigrant population in our community.

Socorro:

I also want to thank Dr. Estela

Socorro:

Garcia and Roban San Miguel.

Socorro:

I want to thank Paul Flores, Francisco

Socorro:

Cardona, and all of our dedicated

Socorro:

community listeners and the individual

Socorro:

donors for their ongoing support.

Socorro:

Please, consider donating to the RAMA

Socorro:

Blueprints podcast., and to CARECEN

Socorro:

SF'S website, or on our link in the

Socorro:

description that we have identified.

Socorro:

Please subscribe to our podcast, and

Socorro:

share it with two people, or more.

Socorro:

And tell folks about what you

Socorro:

heard tonight.

Socorro:

Because what you hear, it's

Socorro:

all archived.

Socorro:

It's archived, and it's part

Socorro:

of our history.

Socorro:

And this is just a sample of community

Socorro:

organizers and leaders that are

Socorro:

here doing the work and on the

Socorro:

ground level.

Socorro:

And we want to document those

Socorro:

stories, and we want to share them

Socorro:

with the future generations,

Socorro:

with the seven generations to come.

Socorro:

Thank you for listening to the

Socorro:

RAMA Blueprints podcast.

Socorro:

And remember,

Socorro:

to listen is to heal.

Socorro:

All power to the people.

Socorro:

Gracias.

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About the Podcast

Show artwork for RAMA Blueprints
RAMA Blueprints
The History of the Real Alternatives Program (RAP), a Revolutionary Youth Organization practicing Self-Determination.

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About your hosts

Profile picture for Darren J. de Leon

Darren J. de Leon

Darren J. de Leon is an award winning poet from San Bernardino, CA., playwright, podcast/radio producer, street DJ, high school teacher, taquero and community activist. For 12 years, he produced and hosted Radio 2050, a Latino Arts Radio Magazine for KPFA in Berkeley, CA. In the mid 90’s, Darren was a teacher at Real Alternative Programs (RAP High School) where he developed a curriculum that emphasized the practice of non-violence, composition, and self-expression for juvenile delinquents and the chronically truant. Currently, Darren lives in San Bernardino, CA in his family’s house of over 50 years. He continues to write, create art, and tend to his garden of vegetables and fruits. He produced Podcast Descarga: A History of Los Delicados and Project 1521, a poetry podcast. An avid bicycle rider, he can be spotted around the L.A. area on weekends pedaling and enjoying the art and literary scene. He loves mezcal and hates gasoline.
Profile picture for Socorro Gamboa

Socorro Gamboa

Socorro R. Gamboa is a conscious and passionate leader born and raised in Oxnard, California, she is a Community Activist, Artvist, an original Chicano Park muralist, a former high school principal, former Gang Reduction Intervention/Outreach specialist, a podcast producer and a community engagement consultant.
Socorro is truly a renaissance artivist. Socorro moved to San Francisco in 1988 where she began her journey working at the Real Alternatives Program (RAP) where she worked for 15 years as Case Manager, Education DIrector and the interim Executive Director of R.A.P. She also worked as the Director of the Community Response Network (CRN) a city wide community youth violence street intervention program, supervising 25 formerly incarcerated individuals, providing outreach and professionalism development. She is currently the co-founder of the 5 Sisters Audio Garden Production Company and co-producer and host of the RAMA Blueprints Podcast. She is rooted deeply in her spiritual practices, working the land, gardening and preserving the legacy of the elders by leaving a repository of valuable life lessons and insights.