Glide Memorial Church ambassadors provide alternative to homeless sweeps
In an effort to tackle the homeless crisis in San Francisco, ambassadors from the nonprofit Glide Memorial Church has begun canvassing the neighborhood and providing direct resources to those living on the streets.
"I'm out here to provide hope for all the unhoused guests that are out here, and just take care of my city like I always wanted to do," said Oscar Salinas, a Cecil Williams community ambassador.
Salinas puts on his purple ambassador vest and walks about eight miles on his shift, circling the Tenderloin District. He makes sure to carry snacks and socks to provide to those in need across the neighborhood.
"We're there for them in a human level. We interact with them because we came from the streets. We understand and what we want to do is not just move them, but to better them," he said.
Salinas added that he believes the more moral solution to improving San Francisco is not through homeless encampment sweeps, but rather through canvassing and providing the unhoused with the tools.
In July, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order for local governments to address the homeless crisis by clearing them from the streets.
"The long term goal is for them not to be out on the streets anymore when you're dealing with the sweeps, we're just moving them around. That's when we come in though. We do the compassionate part, we do it with unconditional love and we continue the mission of Cecil Williams," he said.
On his shifts, Salinas makes sure to bring his phone to sign up homeless individuals for nearby shelters.
"We have confirmation that around six individuals, we've sent back home. So that right there is rewarding in it of itself," he said.
Andre Torrey, the street response coordinator for the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, helped with the planning of the nonprofit's ambassador program.
"Definitely have seen some impact there. We got lot of good feedback from merchants, some of the neighborhood associations and other folks. So I would say yes. It's still early on, but definitely tons of great feedback and some visible change for sure," Torrey told CBS News Bay Area.
Ambassadors like Salinas help local businesses as well, by flagging some storefronts that have been riddled with graffiti.
"They'll take care of the graffiti. And as you can see there's no graffiti on here, there's no graffiti on the wall, so she's pretty happy," Salinas said after checking in with one local dry cleaning business in the Tenderloin District.
Salinas is a first-generation San Franciscan. He said his passion for helping the community is on a deeper level.
"I've been in recovery for 13 to 14 months now. So, I have a lot of fellowship around AA and things like that. So, I have that connection with unhoused folks that are struggling right now when it comes to staying sober, staying clean," he said.
"Everybody thinks that it's dangerous down here. I would invite everybody to come down here and walk with us," he added.