SUSTAINABILITY

San Francisco Impact

San Francisco, California, United States

On Saturday, October 31, 2020, our San Francisco team drove around the city to donate 100 handpicked Presidio Education® backpacks filled with hygiene supplies for the homeless. Supplies included 1,100 masks, 900 bottles of soap, 600 pairs of socks, 200 bottles of sanitizer, toilet kits, first aid kits, clothes, feminine products, toilet paper, reusable Bisphenol-A (BPA)-free water bottles, drinks and food. Protecting our communities means so much to us. We feel great pain when we see so many of our fellow community members forgotten or hurt.

Over the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase in homelessness in San Francisco. In 2019, the City and County of San Francisco estimated 9,808 homeless across the city, which was a large spike from 7,499 in 2017. Unfortunately, because of COVID-19, many homeless were recently forced out into the streets to avoid close contact inside shelters. This presents a tremendous problem because many of the homeless on the streets do not receive sufficient medical treatment, psychological evaluation, food, water, or hygiene resources. Now, more than ever, the homeless need masks and sanitizers to protect against the COVID-19 pandemic.

We must all do a better job protecting the homeless. We hope our stories and pictures encourage students, parents, community members and even other education companies to take immediate measures to help the homeless. Whether volunteering every month at food banks, or even sending supplies overseas to impoverished countries, we press the urgency of helping those left on the streets. Please contact our Sustainability Team to find out how you can join our Impact Projects to help end poverty. No one should be forgotten!

Martin-Presidio+Gear-P9_8-Nov-2020.jpg — **A Story from Martin Nobida**

**Presidio Education®** **English Teacher**
*I am both grateful and humbled to have been able to help so many people with something so important. As part of the* *Presidio Education®* *San Francisco Impact Project 2020 event, on Saturday, October 31, 2020, we took to the streets of San Francisco on the lookout for* *homeless* *people. Our mission: combat the spread of* COVID-19 by distributing 100 backpacks filled with snacks, clothes, hand sanitizers, toiletries, and basic personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies to some of the most vulnerable and needy men and women in the city.
*San Francisco is known for many things, among them the Golden Gate Bridge, sourdough bread, cable cars, and the* 49ers. Unfortunately, the City by the Bay is also known for its legions of homeless people. And this not-so-invisible community is in desperate need of help.
*While most Americans struggle to deal with reduced social contact and navigating partially shut-down economies,* *whole homeless communities are barely surviving*. They receive little assistance or compassion from mainstream society, which is itself locked down in the face of a pandemic. COVID-19 has forced the closure of many homeless shelters around the city, making unavailable some of the only places the homeless traditionally rely on to get a little bit of food, shelter, and their basic health needs taken care of. So they’ve scattered around the city, huddled together in community parks, dark alleyways, and off windswept sandy beaches. Left to fend for themselves, they are without the means to combat a virus that has already killed so many people who were much better equipped to protect against it.
The Presidio Education® SF Impact Project 2020 was meant to give them at least a bit of a fighting chance. I’m sure our efforts were just a drop in the bucket when looking at the entire San Francisco homelessness problem—there are just too many people living on the streets for 100 backpacks to solve the problem permanently. I am happy and proud, however, to know that we were able to help in at least some small way, giving a hundred or so people the means just to stay alive for a while. Judging by the smiles on the faces of many who received those backpacks, it seems they were grateful.

At first we thought this man in the orange vest was a city street cleaner. But he was actually homeless and was trying to sweep up the alley where he slept. Photograph by Martin Nobida, English Teacher, 2020.

Presidio Education® searching out homeless tents on Mission Street. Photograph by Martin Nobida, English Teacher, 2020.

Giving out backpacks to the homeless in tents on Mission Street. Photograph by Martin Nobida, English Teacher, 2020.

Martin Nobida, English Teacher, taking pictures during the Presidio Education® SF Impact Project 2020. As a San Francisco Bay Area native, Martin truly understands the importance of helping the homeless in our communities around the city. Presidio Education®, 2020.

One of the hygiene sets we packed in a backpack. Photograph by Martin Nobida, English Teacher, 2020.

These homeless families at Ocean Beach were exceptionally polite and grateful. They asked if they could give their backpacks to their neighbors because they felt others needed them more. We were so overwhelmed by this selflessness, that we brought more backpacks for all of them that we did not see. Photograph by Martin Nobida, English Teacher, 2020.

Presidio Education® team donating backpacks filled with hygiene supplies in the Warehouse District. Photograph by Martin Nobida, English Teacher, 2020.

Presidio Education® team unloading backpacks for the homeless lined up at Ocean Beach. Photograph by Martin Nobida, English Teacher, 2020.

Presidio Education® team walking down La Playa Street, where homeless find refuge in between the parked cars and Ocean Beach. Photograph by Martin Nobida, English Teacher, 2020.

Loading up the pickup truck with 100 new backpacks filled with hygiene supplies. This fullsize truck barely had enough space! Photograph by Martin Nobida, English Teacher, 2020.

Among many other components, we packed 900 bottles of soap with 200 bottles of sanitizers. Photograph by Martin Nobida, English Teacher, 2020.

Our team secured 1,100 masks for the San Francisco homeless. Photograph by Martin Nobida, English Teacher, 2020.

Inventorying and organizing the thousands of supplies for the homeless. Photograph by Martin Nobida, English Teacher, 2020.

Organizing the drawstring bags, masks, toilet kids and first aid kits. Photograph by Martin Nobida, English Teacher, 2020.

We assembled black and orange water bottles for a Halloween theme (but we all know the colors are because some just love the San Francisco Giants!). Photograph by Martin Nobida, English Teacher, 2020.