* Have never been on a YouthWorks trip
* Have previously attended a YouthWorks trip
Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay, the city of San Francisco is dotted with landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and a scenic downtown skyline. Popular neighborhoods such as Union Square, Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown and Russian Hill offer unique shopping, scenery and fine dining. While tourism is by far the most important industry in this city, San Francisco also is home to a large number of banking and finance companies. Today, this city of 744,041 has a diverse racial makeup of whites (44.5 percent), Asians (31 percent), Hispanics (14 percent) and African-Americans (8 percent). San Francisco was once believed to have the highest number of homeless individuals per capita of any major city in the United States. While local government programs appear to have reduced the homeless population in recent years, there still is a long way to go. A one-night homeless count in 2007 revealed 2,771 people on the streets and another 3,606 in shelters or transitional housing. San Francisco’s median home price of $396,400 makes home-ownership essentially unattainable for the nearly 12 percent of the population that lives below the poverty level. You’re invited to San Francisco for a life-changing experience as you work to serve others in this beautiful city.
The San Francisco Bay Area is home to nearly 7.8 million people making it the nation’s fifth largest urban area. Known for its vibrant culture and beautiful scenery, it has long been popular among tourists. The world’s largest tech firms flocked to the region in the 80s and 90s to form what is now known as the Silicon Valley. As a result, the Bay Area saw significant population growth. Among these new residents were highly-skilled tech workers who helped to drive up the cost of living in San Francisco and down the peninsula. This caused the city’s blue collar and middle-class residents to flock to the neighboring East Bay. Cities and neighborhoods across the region started getting facelifts. Places like San Francisco’s “Mission” neighborhood, once characterized by Central American immigrant culture, started seeing rents creep up during the mid-2000s. Today it is one of the nation’s most expensive zip codes. Even the “Fruitvale” neighborhood in Oakland, once feared for its violent reputation, has found itself aggressively fighting the woes of gentrification Today, tech firms continue to pop up across the Bay Area. As these companies grow, so does the cost of living. In turn, the region’s working-class residents are finding the place they once called home to be less accessible and even unaffordable. The Bay Area’s most vulnerable residents, the homeless and those living below the poverty line, have been completely shut out of the community and forced to the margins. YouthWorks will be working with these vulnerable populations in our return to the community. Participants will serve in Oakland, Richmond and San Leandro. They may serve alongside ministries to the homeless, at local children’s programs, organizations fighting food insecurity, or programs seeking to better the quality of life for all Bay Area residents. In the evenings, participants can expect to go sightseeing in San Francisco, learn from local community leaders, host a community cookout and explore the natural beauty of Northern California.