SF's Mission District to launch new street ambassador program
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco is launching a new street ambassador program in the city's Mission District to improve public safety around BART plazas and Mission Street, announced Mayor London Breed on Monday.
Street ambassadors in the new Mission SAFE Streets program will connect residents with city services, clear pathways in public spaces when unpermitted street vending takes place, call emergency personnel when needed and make referrals to community organizations like the Street Crisis Response Team.
Launched in partnership with Supervisor Hillary Ronen, Breed said the ambassadors will cover a 13-block radius in a rotating schedule seven days a week. They join five pre-existing community ambassador groups that have served the neighborhood since 2014.
Breed said she's been working for months to address "unacceptable behavior" in the neighborhood.
"Our ambassadors are part of this solution and they will strive to provide culturally sensitive service to support a coordinated City response that will allow police to focus on urgent calls for help. It is vital that we keep working to ensure the Mission neighborhood is a place where people want to live, visit, and do business," Breed said.
Ronen said the launch, combined with other public safety initiatives like foot beat patrol and police ambassadors in the area, signals a "turning point" in an effort to make the Mission safer.
"We look forward to seeing cleaner and safer Mission Street and the neighborhood overall," she said.