{"id":39526,"date":"2025-02-14T13:21:27","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T21:21:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=39526"},"modified":"2025-02-14T13:21:27","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T21:21:27","slug":"photos-the-tenderloin-according-to-those-who-live-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/02\/14\/photos-the-tenderloin-according-to-those-who-live-there\/","title":{"rendered":"Photos: The Tenderloin, according to those who live there"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\" by\u00a0GUSTAVO HERNANDEZ<\/a><\/strong> FEBRUARY 13, 2025 (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Person
Gracie Filiva. Photo by Gustavo Hernandez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Tenderloin is, to put it mildly, a lot. It\u2019s one of the most densely populated parts of the city, but has a fraction of the public space<\/a> found in other districts. It\u2019s one of the poorest. It\u2019s home to one of the largest concentration of immigrants in San Francisco, and one of the highest concentrations of children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early February, photographer and San Francisco State University student Gustavo Hernandez began taking portraits of people he met walking through the Tenderloin. What he found was a neighborhood<\/a> full of old-timers and newcomers. Some people move there because they love it. Others do so because they don\u2019t have a whole lot of other options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone, though, has something to say about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gracie Filiva<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Person
Gracie Filiva. Photo by Gustavo Hernandez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Mission<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Want the latest on the Mission and San Francisco? Sign up for our free daily newsletter<\/strong> below.Sign up<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really stressful,\u201d said Filiva, who has lived in the Tenderloin for two years. \u201cThe drug crisis and the mental-health issues for the people on the streets affects the whole community.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel like any change is temporary. A lot of things are just getting shuffled around the city, or shipped out of the city. There\u2019s no true change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Hightower<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Andrew Hightower Photo by Gustavo Hernandez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Hightower has lived in the Tenderloin for three years, and for him the biggest change has been construction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His son lives in the Bayview, a neighborhood Hightower loves and visits as often as he can, partly because his son doesn\u2019t like the Tenderloin one bit, and refuses to visit.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked how he would like to see the Tenderloin change, Hightower kept his response brief: \u201cCarefully,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marvin DeBow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Marvin DeBow has lived in the Tenderloin for about 10 years. \u201cI thought the crack era was bad, but this is worse,\u201d DeBow said. \u201cPeople are dying now; falling out dead the first time they use.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Man
Marvin DeBow. Photo by Gustavo Hernandez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DeBow was skeptical about solutions. \u201cYou\u2019re never going to house everybody. There\u2019s too many people, and it\u2019s too small here,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople make good money and still live in the Tenderloin, but they have to watch their backs at night.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the challenges, DeBow said San Francisco remains a unique place. \u201cFrisco is like television. You just watch everything go on,\u201d he said. \u201cBut they\u2019re too lenient here. People do things, and there\u2019s no consequence. If they didn\u2019t get services here, a lot of people would leave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Callie Torres<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Callie Torres. Photo by Gustavo Hernandez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As Callie Torres began living openly as a trans woman, walking around North Beach, her former neighborhood, became less and less comfortable. \u201cMoving to the TL gave me the opportunity to be among other Black and Brown people, people who are queer and trans,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel safe, definitely the safest I\u2019ve ever felt.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to see more money pumped into the neighborhood; programming like Urban Alchemy and communal programs that acknowledge and find solutions for the level of pain management that exists in the community,\u201d she said. Despite the challenges of the Tenderloin, Torres said she would \u201cabsolutely\u201d raise a family there.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI actually just had this conversation with one of the people in my building. She\u2019s a crisis responder and a nurse. She\u2019s a white cis woman living in the Tenderloin and responding to drug overdoses and deaths associated with drug use. And we reached the conclusion that it\u2019s all about mental health.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Torres sees a lot of drug use in the Tenderloin, but, \u201cthe problem isn\u2019t the drugs; it\u2019s the root causes, which have to do with an individual\u2019s mental health and how they choose to manage their pain,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re all people. Addiction is a disease, and it doesn\u2019t discriminate. So whenever I walk the neighborhood, I remind myself: That\u2019s a person too, and that could just as easily be me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kirk Nelson<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Man
Kirk Nelson. Photo by Gustavo Hernandez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kirk Nelson has spent six years walking through the Tenderloin, and says that, during that time, he has noticed a growing sense of desperation. He would not raise a child there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, no, no. I mean, I wouldn\u2019t even raise a child in San Francisco, but yeah, definitely not in the TL,\u201d he said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nelson hopes more resources will be made available to unhoused residents.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to see these people have a place to sleep that\u2019s not on the street,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd of course, these shower programs are great, but maybe a few more of those would be nice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashley Carter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Woman
Ashley Carter Photo by Gustavo Hernandez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ashley Carter has lived in the Tenderloin for two years. It\u2019s a tough place to move to with a kid, she said. \u201cShe ain\u2019t never seen nobody laying out on the street, so she\u2019s gonna look at it. It\u2019s disgusting, but hey, it is what it is. This is San Francisco for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marcus Rice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Person
Marcus Rice Photo by Gustavo Hernandez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Marcus Rice has lived in the Tenderloin since starting law school last fall. When asked if he would raise a family in the Tenderloin, Rice was hesitant. \u201cI don\u2019t think so, unless I was really desperate for the cheapest housing around.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would like to have safer streets. I would like to have less drug use,\u201d he said. \u201cIf it comes down to a question of enforcement, I think that\u2019s really tough. We already have a lot of cops on the streets; I hear the sirens all night. I don\u2019t really know the solutions. I wish I did.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Derek Markovich<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Person
Derek Markovich Photo by Gustavo Hernandez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Derek Markovich, who was out \u201cjust shooting around, getting some exercise.\u201d moved to the Tenderloin a year ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI like the homeless services it has, which is what drew me out here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, he added, \u201cIt seems like people are getting more and more frustrated every day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0GUSTAVO HERNANDEZ FEBRUARY 13, 2025 (MissionLocal.org) The Tenderloin is, to put it mildly, a lot. It\u2019s one of the most densely populated parts of the city, but has a fraction of the public space found in other districts. It\u2019s one of the poorest. It\u2019s home to one of the largest concentration of… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39526"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39526"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39527,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39526\/revisions\/39527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}