Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Youth Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
San Francisco officers take Bayview youth to Ghana; participants report transformational impact
Summary
Officer Jason Johnson described a privately funded trip that took seven Bayview Hunters Point youths to Germany and Ghana, including visits to historic sites and community engagement; participants and commissioners said the program changed student attitudes toward school and community, and organizers plan follow-up outreach and fundraising.
Officer Jason Johnson told the San Francisco Police Commission on July 2 that a privately funded program took seven Bayview Hunters Point youth (ages 14–18) to Germany and Ghana this year and produced measurable behavioral and educational changes in participants.
The presentation, delivered during the commission's midyear meeting, detailed a multi‑day itinerary that included a safari, visits to Kumasi and Cape Coast and tours of former slave dungeons. "We went to the slave castles ... it was pretty intense," Johnson said, describing how students reflected each night and some were moved to change their school performance and behavior. He said the trip was his idea, organized on volunteer time by officers and community partners, and that no city dollars were used.
Student participant Ayesha described the experience as "life changing," saying it expanded her perspective on basic necessities and motivated her to apply herself academically. "It makes you appreciate your family, having a roof over your head, having running water," she said, and told commissioners she returned to school and shared her experience with classmates studying the Atlantic slave trade.
Commissioners praised the program. One commissioner asked how many students participated; Johnson confirmed seven. Asked about plans for another trip, Johnson said he was targeting spring break (March 28) and estimated fundraising needs at about $50,000. A commissioner pledged $1,000 during the meeting.
Johnson said the next steps include showing a nearly finished video of the trip in early August and coordinating school visits in September so student participants can share their experience more broadly. He emphasized the trip's private funding, saying volunteers "hustled all the money" and that officers, a captain and other staff participated without using city funds.
The commission’s remarks reflected support for expanding similar programs, and members asked staff to help arrange school appearances and a public showing of the trip video. No formal action or city funding decision was taken at the meeting.
