One of San Francisco’s most troubled neighborhoods brings a pumpkin patch to its children
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Children from San Francisco’s Tenderloin ate pizza, jumped in a bouncy house, got their faces painted and scooped up bags of candy Wednesday during the neighborhood’s first ever pumpkin patch festival.
The Tenderloin neighborhood near City Hall is among San Francisco’s most troubled, rife with open drug use and homelessness. But it also has the highest concentration of kids in San Francisco, an estimated 3,000 children from largely immigrant families.
The idea for the event came from parents served by nonprofit Compass Family Services. They suggested a field trip to a pumpkin patch for Halloween, said Erica Kisch, the group’s CEO.
Kisch scrambled to put together an outing. Then she thought, why not bring the pumpkin patch to the children?
“The kids of the Tenderloin deserve something like this in their own neighborhood,” said Kisch, who was dressed in a green dinosaur costume. “They shouldn’t have to travel elsewhere.”
Laura Lugo, 7, held up two orange bags full of candy. Kit Kats are her favorite.
She wore a long black dress — not to be anyone in particular for Halloween, she said, but because she wanted to be fancy. Her family had been living in an RV and recently moved into an apartment with Compass’ help.
“I love it,” her mother, Laura Clavijo, said in Spanish of the new home.
Children from neighborhood schools and child care programs came throughout the day, accompanied by teachers and other trusted adults who shepherd them safely along chaotic city streets. They sat on the ground in circles eating pizza, with some wearing pajamas for pajama day.
Lucy Vang accompanied her 11-year-old son, who was holding a pumpkin. She doesn’t like that her children witness substance abuse and scary street behavior. But then there are events like the pumpkin patch.
“They have the luxury of attending these kinds of events in front of City Hall,” she said. “It’s amazing.”
Kisch said local businesses and groups were eager to donate to the event.
“There’s so much stress and so much going on, it’s very difficult right now,” she said. “And we wanted to kind of come out here with joy as a form of resilience.”