News » City Highlights
San Francisco Bay Area
This month we’re heading on over to the San Francisco Bay Area! Be sure to visit our opportunities page for more information about serving with us in the “City by the Bay.”
News from the SF Bay Area – The Great City of Oakland!
There is so much to share about all the exciting things that are going on in the great city of Oakland. It has been amazing moving to the San Antonio neighborhood and having the opportunity to learn more about the city, while trying to connect with various ministries and non-profits that might benefit from partnering with CSM and utilizing our volunteers. Even though I have only been in Oakland since February, God has already crossed my path with the paths of some incredible people that are using their gifts and talents to serve the city they live in. Instead of writing a novel about all the different people I’ve met and places I’ve visited, I’m going to focus on the Oakland Police Department. Many of you have probably heard about Oakland in the news: the crime, the gangs, the drugs, etc. Despite the alarming crime rate, there is unfortunately a major shortage of police officers in Oakland.
This past February, I had the opportunity to get a glimpse into what an Oakland police officer experiences on a daily basis. In trying to learn more about the crime in Oakland, I sent a couple of e-mails to a chief officer asking him if I could meet with someone who could fill me in on the gang scene. I was told to dress professionally and meet at a police station in East Oakland. Excitedly, I prepared myself for what I thought would be a sit down interview with an experienced cop. Instead, when I arrived, I found out that I was doing a ride along with a police officer (which meant that I was handed a set of car keys and told that if I felt “unsafe” at any time to run or drive away with the car). With my nice clothes and dress shoes, I jumped in the front seat of the cop car that had blood splattered in the back window and spent a day going on calls with an officer while learning about some of the gang impacted areas in between sirens blaring. Calls ranged from drug busts and stolen cars to robberies in homes and markets.
The encounter that left me most heart broken was a call from a young woman on International Boulevard in Fruitvale, which is a predominantly Latino neighborhood in Oakland. Her name was Maria, and she reported that a man had stolen 6 cans of coffee from her small market store. While the officer filled out the report, Maria and I talked about the robbery. Most people wouldn’t make a big deal out of 6 coffee cans being stolen, but she explained through tears why the loss was such a huge one. Maria told me that she and her husband had put their life savings into opening up their store. She went on to say that their market had only been open for one week, and the same man had robbed their store 2 different times. Not only was I sad for Maria and her husband, I was also sad for the man that was desperate enough to steal cans of coffee from a small market. I continue to wrestle with issues connected to racism, poverty, and classism and what is required of me as a Christ follower in responding to these issues. Jeremiah 29:7 states: “As people of faith we are called by God to pray and work for the shalom of the city—its health, welfare and prosperity.”
My time as pseudo cop was just one of many great experiences that I have had since moving to Oakland. This past March, I hosted our very first Oakland group at Harbor House Ministries. (Check out Harbor House!) The group was from Tigard, Oregon and each student/leader left Oakland with a new perspective on the city and God’s heart for all people. My group got to eat at some of our new Oakland restaurants which include: Cambodian food, Chicken & Waffles, Thai, Indian, Ethiopian, Vietnamese, and Mexican. CSM San Francisco Bay Area is growing in the amount of ministries and non-profits that we are able to provide volunteers for, and I am excited about all of the new possibilities in Oakland.
In the new Oakland prayer tour, we conclude with mentioning that the city’s namesake was from the Oak trees that filled the streets as late as the 1870’s and talk about how God has been doing a mighty work in this city and is going to restore Oakland. In the midst of the crime, drugs, and poverty God is at work! Isaiah 61:1-3 states:
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.”
Sign up your group to come experience a week in Oakland!
– Lisa Trump, CSM San Francisco Bay Area Associate City Director
Local Resources
- San Francisco Chronicle Special Feature on Homelessness
- Coalition on Homelessness
- Homeless Action Center of Oakland
Local News Links
- A Life of Generosity April 6, 2008 – Neat article about Oakland native and his legacy
- S.F. Promotes Services for Illegal Immigrants April 3, 2008
- School Turns Into Oasis for Homeless Students March 25, 2008
- Google Connects San Francisco Homeless March 3, 2008
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