Members of different religious communities throughout the city came together for a “Faith Summit on Poverty in San Francisco” this week, hoping to develop a shared vision and advocacy plan for addressing issues like hunger and homelessness at the local level.
Partners at the daylong event on April 23, held at Providence Baptist Church, included the S.F.-based Jewish Community Relations Council, the San Francisco Interfaith Council and United Way of the Bay Area. The summit was modeled on Fighting Poverty with Faith, a national campaign that aims to cut poverty in half by 2020.
Jessica Trubowitch, director of legislative affairs and intergroup relations at the JCRC, said the interfaith community at the summit has the same goal for reducing poverty in the Bay Area.
“Our aim was to share experiences, bring people together around this common cause, talk about some root causes of poverty and decide on a few issues that we can narrow down into an advocacy agenda,” said Trubowitch, who noted that the group of 65 included representatives from the Buddhist and Muslim communities. She said hunger, access to health care and affordable housing were focal points of the day’s discussions.
“As a bonus, I think people who have maybe never engaged in interfaith collaboration saw how great the benefits can be,” she added. “The faith community has a very strong voice when we are working together collectively on an issue. Lawmakers listen, because we really are the voice of many.”
Discussion topics included “Poverty and Policy in San Francisco” with a representative from the City Controller’s office; “A View from the Trenches” with representatives from Jewish Vocational Service, Providence and Glide Memorial Church sharing perspectives on what is working and what is not; and “Congregational and Community Organizing” facilitated by Susan Lubeck, CEO of the Jewish social advocacy organization Bend the Arc. About 20 attendees signed up to draft an advocacy plan based on the discussions, Trubowitch said. n
To get involved or for more information, email [email protected].