Restorative Justice

SF Rising is committed to restorative justice, an approach to criminal justice which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. We are an active part of the Restorative Justice Collaborative, a group of community members, organizations, the Restorative Justice Unit of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, and other government partners who work to promote and expand the use of restorative justice principles and practices to repair harm in the city. SF Rising recognizes that our city needs to build cross-cultural bridges throughout our communities when it comes to public safety. Through public advocacy and education, we aim to make restorative justice an integral component of our criminal justice system. 

That’s why SF Rising is launching a deep canvassing program to talk to our neighbors about the role police and incarceration play in our communities and share our vision for a system that uses community-based solutions to address conflict. Deep canvassing is a method of outreach that uses storytelling and empathic conversations to shift people’s beliefs on an issue. And it’s proven to work.

We hope you’ll join us for this exciting volunteer program between Wednesday, November 3rd and Sunday, December 5th. We’ll provide training before every shift. Phone bank with us on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5-7:30pm, and join us for door knocking in the Bayview neighborhood on Sundays from 12-3pm.

Community Redistricting

Every 10 years, after Census data is released, cities, counties, and states redraw district lines to align with population changes. Where these lines are drawn will have huge impacts on our power in elections and the subsequent distribution of resources for the next decade. With an increase of 80,000 people in the last ten years, San Francisco will be redrawing its Board of Supervisors district lines so that all districts have around the same number of people. It’ll be vital for the Redistricting Task Force, made up of 9 appointees, to keep communities of interest together and avoiding diluting the political voice of marginalized communities when redrawing the maps. Sign up to be a redistricting advocate and help us ensure the voices of working-class communities of color are taken into account and prioritized during this process. 

Cancel Student Debt

Before the COVID-19 public health crisis began, student debt was already a drag on the national economy, weighing heaviest on Black and Latinx communities, as well as women, amounting to $1.7 trillion dollars. These communities are more likely to fall behind in repayment, and are much more frequently the targets of predatory student loan companies. During the first round of COVID relief, the Federal Government under Trump prioritized bailing corporations with $4 trillion dollars of aid - money that could have and should have gone to everyday people.

This weight is exponentially magnified given the disproportionate toll that COVID-19 is taking on both the health and economic security of people of color and women. Cancelling student debt would allow millions of people to focus on crafting a more meaningful future for themselves and reaffirm education as a basic right. Sign this petition to tell Congress to support student debt cancellation by executive action.

Next month, SF Rising’s student organizers are hosting a Mass Organizing Community Training on Friday, November 5th, 12-4 pm and Saturday, November 6th from 10am-4pm. Our student organizers know that we need to do more than just talk about the student debt crisis, we need to organize to end it! So this community training will be a space to learn organizing skills, mobilization tools, and political education around the impacts of debt that will help students win the fight to abolish student debt once and for all.

For students who are looking to build community with other students in the Bay Area on a regular basis, we also host virtual monthly meetings every third Wednesday of the month from 5-7pm, and the next one is coming up on Wednesday, November 17th from 5-7pm. This is a chance to participate in political education, organize with other students who are putting pressure on elected officials, and stay up to date on the student debt campaign.