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Tenderloin parents and residents urge supervisors to restore La Voz Latina funding
Summary
Dozens of Tenderloin families testified that La Voz Latina is the only Latino family organization in the neighborhood and pleaded with supervisors to restore roughly $150,000 in city funding to keep youth, parent and Safe Passage programs running.
A large group of Tenderloin parents, children and community partners told the Budget & Finance Committee that La Voz Latina is the only organization providing linguistically appropriate services for Latino families in the Tenderloin and urged restoration of city funding.
"Please support us so that we don't lose the only agency in the Tenderloin for Latino families," said Yolanda Itarian, a mother and volunteer who said she has worked with La Voz Latina since 2005. Multiple mothers described programs for youth, safety foot patrols with the Tenderloin Police Department, Safe Passage, and parent leadership curricula.
Advocates and former staff said the organization was transferred administratively to a First 5 consortium in 2010 and then lost a subsequent RFP, leaving La Voz without city funding in the mayor’s proposed budget. Randy Shaw and others said the group seeks a targeted restoration (advocates later cited a $150,000 figure) to preserve child and family services in a neighborhood where families lack alternatives.
Speakers asked supervisors to prioritize neighborhood‑based services and to consider add‑backs that would prevent loss of programs that residents described as essential to youth safety and family support.
