What Poverty is like in Bayview
October 17th is the 30th anniversary of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, a day that recognizes the millions living in poverty’s grasp and their persistent courage. The United Nations declared “Dignity for All” as this year’s theme, underlining that fundamental rights to personhood belong to everyone. As an organization that serves in an area with a high poverty rate, we resonate with this theme–a denial of dignity is one of the most common offenses visible in the Bayview district. About 1.3 billion people live in poverty worldwide, half of them are children and youth, and some of them we serve everyday.
What causes poverty? And why in Bayview?
Poverty is a multidimensional, worldwide phenomenon that is not defined simply. Its basis consists of such elements: poorly paid income, poor education, defects in government policy, racial inequalities, achievement gaps, erosion of workers rights, rise of corporate power, generational trauma, and outright exploitation. Poverty is not the outcome of personal inadequacies, whereas mainstream rhetoric makes it seem that way. It is an unnatural state of living; and we strongly believe that this status is not inevitable if the conditions were different. It has much to do with deliberate decision-making by the most powerful–decisions where suffering has no means to an end. In the early days of the Bayview district, redlining (refusal of loans and insurance in ‘risky’ communities– mainly areas of Black residents) became a common, racially-motivated practice towards residents. At the closing of the Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard in 1974, the district lost its economic footing all at once, and the redlining prevented residents from ever propelling themselves towards the middle class. This massive gap in opportunities deadlocked community development and poverty became one of the district’s greatest burdens.
Aerial view of the Bayview District of San Francisco.
Poverty Line in Bayview-Hunters Point
The most common experiences of a life in poverty, and how they present themselves in the Bayview District.
Dangerous Working Conditions → The District has a long history of primarily blue-collar employment and low wages. Dangerous working conditions are present in the proximity to the radioactive fallout of the Navy shipyard, lack of access to jobs, and drug-related means of harboring income.
Unsafe Housing → Persistent gun violence and gang related crime threatens the lives of everyone in the area. A dramatic rise in rent and housing affordability has pushed families out of their homes.
Lack of Nutritious Food → Bayview is a food desert that only recently had the resources to establish a new grocery store. The district has a history of out-of-business markets because of a lack of resources to keep them afloat. Residents are usually forced to travel far to access basic foods. Many of our youth rely on the food we provide to sustain them.
Unequal Access to Justice → Bayview is at the top of the list for homicides and gang violence compared to all other SF districts. Residents have complained that police interjection is slow-moving when needed. Tony Montoya, president of San Francisco Police Officers Association, shares concerns over a recent drop in police recruits, “[there are] about 9 recruits out of 38 that started, so that speaks for itself right there.”
Lack of Political Power → “Poverty is a consequence of political powerlessness” - Michael Kats. Bayview faces a long history of neglect compared to the rest of the city–often receiving leftover basic resources for sustainability. Active political presence remains an open project that residents are fighting to expand.
Limited Access to Health Care →Many of the health care sites within the district were created by concerned residents wanting to make serious changes. The District's proximity to the Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard has wrecked havoc on the health of its residents, where high rates of asthma, high blood pressure, and heart conditions plague households. Life in poverty, more often than not, restricts people from accessing healthcare when they need it because of an inability to pay the fees.
Lack of Public Transportation: A symptom of poverty that hits Bayview hard is its isolation from the rest of the city. Not only through its geography, but by the transportation systems or lack thereof. To be utterly cut off from access to grocery stores, healthcare, schooling, and job opportunities backs residents into corners of docility. Traveling by foot imposes more danger for residents, and should be the last resort to accessing basic facilities–not the only resort.
In 2014, the poverty rate in Bayview was 20%, now that figure stands at 22%. To put this into perspective, about 110,199 people live in Bayview; which means over 24,240 of these residents make less than a living wage, not to mention–about 60% of these households have lived on the same property since before the year 2000. Long-term disparities run rampant; many of these families are caught in a “poverty trap” that does not spare them regardless of how long they have lived in the community. Compared to the neighboring Mission District, their poverty rate stands at 6%–a massive margin difference and materialization of SF neighborhood dualisms. To compare further, 28% of Bayview residents have a bachelor's degree, compared to 60% in the Sunset District and 77% in the Mission District. The most common jobs among Bayview residents are janitors, personal care aides, and housekeeping cleaners. About 54.8k residents are employed currently. Neighboring districts are saturated with tech and finance jobs that are just not present in Bayview.
Bachelor Degree Attainment by San Francisco District
According to the UN, COVID-19 was the “worst reversal” of progress in global poverty reduction in the last 3 decades. We absolutely felt that truth in Bayview. The structural disempowerment of healthcare, basic necessities, and the school system displayed at its worst at the start of the pandemic. With a majority of residents in blue-collar work, unemployment shot up and the youth were left without a sound answer. Before COVID, City of Dreams did not have an academic-based after school program. A frantic call to action happened when the children had no means of attending virtual classes. An always-open community center with resources like staff and wifi became a necessity.
Now, City of Dreams is expanding. We feel that it is absolutely necessary for us to reach as many Bayview youth as possible to help ease the symptoms of poverty and systemic racism. Instead of cycles of disappointing results, collective action needs to happen, with a focus on output for the benefit of this community. We are harnessing resource flows through our mentors, partners, donors, and supporters. Our programming was created to fight the cycle of despair. We often celebrate our progress and that of the children, but we do not want our realities to be diluted. We are deliberate about making noise and displaying the truth of the matter. City of Dreams is skeptically hopeful–constantly reworking approaches for sustainable poverty alleviation. To attain transformative results in the eradication of poverty in the Bayview district, help is needed. This day is important; and we will continue to fight for the elimination of this unnatural form of living, especially for the most vulnerable.
To support City of Dreams efforts, visit our donation page.
Sources:
“Census profile: San Francisco County (South Central)--Bayview & Hunters Point PUMA, CA.” Census Reporter, https://censusreporter.org/profiles/79500US0607507-san-francisco-county-south-central-bayview-hunters-point-puma-ca/. Accessed 17 October 2022.
Graf, Carly. “Public Transit Fails Its Mission In The Bayview.” Center for Health Journalism, 22 November 2021, https://centerforhealthjournalism.org/fellowships/projects/public-transit-fails-its-mission-bayview. Accessed 17 October 2022.
“Health Equity in San Francisco – Marin City Clinic.” Marin City Health and Wellness Center, https://www.marincityclinic.org/bayview-hunters-point/health-equity-in-san-francisco/. Accessed 17 October 2022.
Michael kats, “What kind of problem is poverty?” 2015
Mitchell, Meaghan. “Food Empowerment: A New Kind of Grocery Store May Come to the Bayview.” The San Francisco Standard, 26 October 2021, https://sfstandard.com/community/a-new-kind-of-grocery-store-may-come-to-the-bayview/. Accessed 29 September 2022.
“OA ADAP Federal Poverty Guideline Chart.” California Department of Public Health, 20 May 2022, https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DOA/Pages/OA_ADAP_Federal_Poverty_Guideline_Chart.aspx. Accessed 17 October 2022.
Ross, Ángel Mendiola. “Who Is Low-Income and Very Low Income in the Bay Area?” Bay Area Equity Atlas, 21 September 2020, https://bayareaequityatlas.org/node/60841. Accessed 17 October 2022.
Sernoffsky, Evan. “6 wounded as gun violence escalates in SF's Bayview.” KTVU, 15 February 2021, https://www.ktvu.com/news/6-wounded-as-gun-violence-escalates-in-sfs-bayview. Accessed 17 October 2022.