Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Investment Omi topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Community leaders press city departments for focused investments in Lakeview/OMI at Budget & Finance hearing
Summary
Seven city departments presented program activity and funding for the Lakeview/OMI neighborhoods at a committee hearing. Community callers and supervisors pressed for more neighborhood‑specific metrics, a satellite benefits office, targeted investments for Black‑led community organizations (IT Bookman, Catholic Charities), workforce and housing readiness tied to neighborhood preference, and further follow‑up from departments.
The Budget & Finance Committee held an extended Feb. 3 hearing on investments in the Lakeview, Ocean View, Merced Heights and Ingleside (OMI/Lakeview) communities covering 2013–2020. Seven departments gave short presentations and took questions from the committee and community stakeholders who had asked for the hearing.
Vice Chair Asha Safaei opened the hearing by describing community concerns that prior public meetings had not sufficiently addressed inequities in resources flowing to local, homegrown community‑based organizations. She asked departments to present concise, OMI‑specific information and to answer community questions about targeted investments and how reserves and budgets factor into service delivery.
Presentations and key points
- Human Services Agency (Trent Rohrer) said HSA reaches tens of thousands in the zip‑code groupings 94112/94132 and that public benefits reach is significant; he and colleagues agreed to provide more granular, geocoded data beyond ZIP codes to better align services to the supervisorial boundary.
- Department of Disability & Aging Services (Shareen McSpadden) described community services, home‑delivered meals and a planned IT Bookman dinner program; DAS said it will use Dignity Fund resources for a participatory community process and outreach to recruit IHSS workers from the Black community.
- Office of Early Care & Education (Ingrid Esquita) reported $17 million invested in family childcare and center‑based programs across the ZIP codes, with 78% supporting family childcare; she described plans for a Black Early Education Council and a director role to focus on African American early childhood outcomes.
- OEWD (Joshua Arce and Jorge Rivas) summarized workforce investments including neighborhood job centers and subsidized employment programs (Inner City Youth, YMCA) and highlighted data showing higher unemployment rates for Black residents in OMI.
- MOHCD (Brian Chu) explained service investments and previewed targeted work to connect residents with DAHLIA homeownership opportunities and rehab programs; staff acknowledged many housing counseling providers historically serve other neighborhoods more than OMI and pledged to expand local links.
- DCYF (children, youth & families) reviewed funded programs in schools and community sites, showed increases in program counts and funding in the latest cycle, and described community hub efforts to support distance learning; DCYF said it is working with the school district to expand hub capacity.
- DPH (Tracy Packer, Marlo Simmons) outlined direct clinical sites and population health programs addressing food security and COVID response; DPH reported targeted COVID food security work and recent funding to IT Bookman and said it will disaggregate ZIP code data further.
Community reaction and public comment
Community callers — including OMICC, Invest Black, African American early childhood advocates, local nonprofits and residents — asked for: neighborhood‑level heat maps and counts showing which organizations and sites deliver services specifically inside the OMI/Lakeview neighborhood; a satellite public benefits enrollment office or shared space in the community; prioritized funding and capacity building for homegrown Black‑led organizations such as IT Bookman and local family childcare providers; targeted workforce and economic development investments for the Randolph–Broad corridor and a clearer plan to help neighborhood residents access neighborhood‑preference housing pipelines (including DAHLIA listings).
Committee response and next steps
Vice Chair Safaei and committee members acknowledged gaps and asked departments to return with refined, neighborhood‑level evidence — not ZIP code aggregates — and to explore shared space/satellite office models and partnerships with community organizations. The committee voted to continue the hearing to the call of the Chair to allow departments time to prepare more granular data and proposals for follow‑up actions.
Representative quote
"We will follow‑up to ensure that they're using maybe heat maps or looking at how directly the investment is happening," — Vice Chair Asha Safaei.
Closing note: Departments agreed to follow up with the supervisor's office and community stakeholders on specific deliverables including disaggregated service maps, proposed satellite/satellite‑shared models and plans to align workforce and housing readiness programs with neighborhood preference and community‑based organizations.
