Dear Thrive Community,
This month, we're hosting a range of programs addressing seemingly intractable problems that intersect: housing, nonprofit displacement, transportation, climate mitigation, and the Census. We are partnering with the County on multiple initiatives, including co-chairing the Complete Count Committee with SAMCEDA, and participating in Climate Ready San Mateo County.
Our new County Manager Mike Callagy has already met with many of our local nonprofit leaders, and is thinking about challenges, changes and new priorities. Read more in this
article
in The Daily Journal. Governor Gavin Newsom's plans include prioritizing early childhood education and building more housing, among many other important issues. We will keep watching how this plays out in Sacramento, and track opportunities to make our voices heard on these issues impacting our local community and those we serve.
Thriving Together,
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Georgia Antonopoulos, Executive Director
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Petra Silton, Policy & Advocacy Coordinator
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Everyone is welcome to attend any of our TAG meetings.
Please note: there is no fee, but registration is now required.
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Arts & Culture
Facilitated by Georgia Antonopoulos, Executive Director,
Thrive
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The Arts & Culture TAG has decided to hold an Arts Advocacy Day to lobby on a state level for more arts funding. It will be in April to coincide with the Arts, Culture and Creativity Month (ACCM), sponsored by
Californians for the Arts
.
Next meeting:
Monday, February 4, 3:00 - 4:00 pm, Bay Room, Sobrato Center
Featured Speaker:
Rebecca Bangs, President,
Art Bias
(formerly known as the Art Center of Redwood City & San Carlos)
Topic:
Local Work to Address Community Needs in the Arts
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Ted Lempert, President of
Children Now
encouraged us to be more vocal and more united in our voice in lobbying for children. He said that representatives from both parties are aligned in their support for children, but that advocacy on behalf of children is not as effective as it should be because it is not clear and coordinated among the different advocacy groups. He was very inspirational and informative as to ways to be more effective when working with both County level and State level representatives. His
blog
post explains his views on why we need a change in children's advocacy.
Next meeting
: Wednesday, February 27, 9:00 - 10:30 am (note special time, date)
The next meeting will be a joint meeting with the Basic Needs & Safety Net TAG with a focus on transportation for the nonprofit community. See below for more details.
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Immigrant & Worker's Rights
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Deportation defense work that is being partially funded by additional funds that the County allocated is described in this
article
in The Daily Journal.
San Mateo County Human Services Agency, the Office of Community Affairs, and
CLESPA
(Community Legal Services of Palo Alton created a new video about “Know Your Rights” to provide guidance to undocumented residents. The short video shows examples of a real court warrant signed by a judge versus a warrant from ICE. Find this information on the new Community Affairs
webpage
, and below.
San Mateo Rapid Response Network: 203-666-4472
Next Meeting:
Wednesday, February 20, 9:00 am - 10:00 am
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Environment & Sustainability
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Last meeting, we heard a presentation by Jasneet Sharma introducing Climate Ready San Mateo County. Climate Ready San Mateo County will help us better prepare the County in the face of a changing climate. This initiative will expand our community’s understanding of climate-related risks from heat, wildfires, intensifying rainfall and severe storm events and develop community-driven strategies for climate change preparedness. By working together, planning ahead and being better informed we can more effectively prepare to protect our communities, natural resources, essential services and infrastructure, and most importantly our physical and mental well-being and health. The
website
for this initiative is launching shortly, and we participated in the collaborative's launch last week: Climate Ready San Mateo County. Learn more about County of San Mateo
climate efforts
. For more information please contact
Hannah Doress
.
The San Mateo County Office of Sustainability County is offering 4R’S (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot-Compost) Grants.
Applications
due February 4.
Sustainable San Mateo County's Awards Dinner will take place on April 4. They have been busy going through the nominations for their Sustainability and their Green Building Award.
Next Meeting:
Wednesday, February 20, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Topic:
The Intersection of Housing and Sustainability
Feel free to bring your lunch.
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Joint TAG Session:
Focus on Transportation
Basic Needs & Safety Net
Children & Education
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Last meeting Thrive co-hosted with Rise Together and United Way Bay Area to focus on taxes and present resources. Cal Budget & Policy Center presented. Stay tuned next month for presentation materials and ways to connect with these resources.
Next Meeting:
Wednesday, February 27, 9:00 - 10:30 am
Featured speakers:
- John Ford, Executive Director, Commute.org,
- Chris Lepe, Senior Community Planner, Silicon Valley, Transform.
Topic:
What current options are there for transportation for the nonprofit workforce, and what nonprofits can do to influence future transportation plans to benefit low income workers.
John Ford will present information about the current transportation options for nonprofit workers and other low income communities. Chris Lepe will give us an up to the minute status on current transportation projects, including the use of Measure W funds and the Managed Lanes for Highway 101. After, he will provide an opportunity to provide input on the direction nonprofits would like to see those transportation dollars are spent, and then will discuss what advocacy nonprofits can do to make their needs are considered in deciding where the transportation dollars coming down the pipeline are spent.
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Resources for Those Affected by the
Government Shutdown
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Although the government shutdown is over, many contractors and government employees were severely affected. Here are some resources still available for assistance.
Food Assistance
Second Harvest Food Bank offers a number of locations that provide free groceries through a network of local food pantries. Learn more by calling (800) 984-3663 or click
here
.
CalFresh, California's food stamp program, provides expedited service for qualified applicants. Learn more by calling (800) 233-8383 or visit
CalFresh
.
Emergency Housing, Utility Assistance and More
The County's Human Services Agency works closely with eight community-based service agencies to provide individuals and families with basic emergency and support services. These services include emergency housing and utility assistance, crisis intervention and referrals. Core Service Agencies are located throughout the county. Contact a
Core Service Agency
near you to learn more about the services they offer. Or Contact
Samaritan House
.
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Thrive and SAMCEDA are excited to be co-chairing the Complete Count Committee. Here we are at the kick-off!
- For in-depth information and strategy, especially around the citizenship question, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus has prepared a Legal & Strategy Brief: The Citizenship Question, Confidentiality, Language Access, and Other Critical Issues on the 2020 Census A Resource for Census 2020 Partner Organizations and a one pager on 2020 Census and the Citizenship Question.
- January 2019 Report to the Legislature has links to hard-to-count census tracts, school curriculum, County contract award amounts, and more.
- Census jobs are available. Hiring is happening now.
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Housing Leadership Council Will Ask for More County
Funding for Affordable Housing
On February 26th, HLC will be asking the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to allocate $30 million per year for affordable homes, plus an additional set-aside for people with developmental disabilities. In the last 5 years, County funds have created over 1,758 affordable homes. Last year, affordable housing builders applied for $50 million in funding, but there was only $23 million budgeted. To join HLC at February 26th
Board of Supervisors meeting
to ask them to prioritize affordable homes,
click here
to see their talking points. Questions? Email
HLC
.
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Home For All Expands Their Pilot Community Engagement Project
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Home for All
,
established in 2016, is a collaboration of local governments, businesses, schools, advocates, developers, and not-for-profit organizations working to increase local housing production and preservation so that persons of all ages, backgrounds and income levels have the opportunity to call San Mateo County home. Thrive participated in their most recent Convenin: Community Engagement. Last year they started a pilot project of Community Engagement to help increase the number of informed participants addressing the shortage of available housing in four cities: Redwood City, Portola Valley, Burlingame and Half Moon Bay. This year they will add five more San Mateo County cities. Are you interested in volunteering with
PCRC
(Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center) for a series of community dialogues around housing issues in San Mateo County? Click
here
for more information.
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"Nonprofits Struggle with Growing Rents" Features Thrive
Article By Anna Schuessler in the Daily Journal
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Please see this
recent article
that features Thrive and Thrive members discussing nonprofit displacement and facilities challenges, including both Gatepath and Thrive Arts & Culture TAG participant Dragon Theatre. It provides a closer look at the impact of these nonprofit space shortages in San Mateo County, along with potential solutions. For a deeper dive into this issue, join us on Thursday, February 7 for
Philanthropy Matters: Regional Funding Priorities for 2019 and Beyond
.
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Contact Thrive with your ideas or questions!
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Thrive Alliance | 650-654-7993 | ThriveAlliance.org
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