Basic Dignity Campaign
Last time you sipped water or used the loo, did you consider it a luxury? These basic human rights are unavailable to some of our neighbors, not only those who live on the streets, but also security guards, police officers and others out after hours. We normally think of third world countries when we talk about people not having access to clean drinking water and sanitation. But, in San Diego, people stranded on our city streets die every year from dehydration and from health complications arising from a lack of access to restrooms and basic sanitation.
In 2010, based on a survey conducted alongside homeless veterans in San Diego, we launched a Basic Dignity Campaign for bathrooms and water with community partners. Thanks to the leadership of City Councilmember Marti Emerald, we won a major victory in June 2010, when city council voted unanimously to set aside $700,000 of Centre City Development Corporation’s (“CCDC”)budget for 24/7 bathroom facilities in the form of solar-powered “Portland Loos.” Since then, we have worked with community groups and CCDC to find specific locations. Currently, two facilities will be placed in East Village (one at NW corner of Imperial Ave. & 14th Street and one at NW corner of Market St. & Park Blvd.) and two restrooms will be in Little Italy. We expect additional restrooms will follow!
In 2011, we are organizing focus groups to provide a forum for the homeless community on specific issues facing veterans, women, and youth, among others. We are looking for common threads that will show the way to further change through community organizing and advocacy. Further, we hope to build coordination and camaraderie amongst groups serving the homeless in San Diego so that we eliminate unnecessary duplication and fill in existing gaps. Join us at a basic dignity coalition meeting and let us know if you can help with research or coalition building!
Legal Referral and Advocacy Clinic
The Girls Think Tank Legal Referral and Advocacy Clinic provides information and education directly to homeless people about legal services currently available to them. It makes legal referrals to homeless and at-risk homeless individuals and offers educational information about their civil rights to enable them to more effectively advocate for themselves. As a mobile clinic and in collaboration with local homeless service-providers, it operates at locations convenient to the community it serves.
GTT also plans to facilitate more education and community leadership development within the homeless population. Through one-on-one and group dialog with the homeless community we will help organize the effected community to plan and undertake new advocacy projects targeting their most pressing needs.
As an example, GTT is currently working in conjunction with other civil rights groups to develop a Homeless Bill of Rights - a practical "know your rights" guide for those living on the streets in San Diego.
Check out our legal clinic schedule here. We are always in need of more volunteer lawyers, notary publics, and administrators (where a legal background is not essential). If you are interested in volunteering contact us today at info@girlsthinktank.org
Winter & Summer Survival Backpacks
Fighting the good fight begins with service to others. We began our efforts by distributing winter survival backpacks to homeless veterans and other displaced neighbors, and the act remains one of the most needed and well received. So it continues, now expanding into a bi-annual event coinciding with the most difficult months to be living outdoors through the winter and the summer.
Winter survival packs contain basic hygiene necessities in addition to cold weather gear: Blankets, beanies, gloves and socks, often alongside sleeping bags and clothing. We have also provided “baby bags” chock full of wipes, diapers, baby bottles and other necessities for infants to the most vulnerable and heartbreaking population on our city streets – expectant and new mothers with their newborns. Lighter weight summer survival packs contain similar necessities but with beanies and gloves replaced by baseball caps, sun-block and flip-flops.
Check out our calendar or join our mailing list using the button on the left side of this page (we send very few communications, Scout's honor) to keep posted on activities like this. We can always use the help. The more the merrier!
Project AVOW
In 2011, Girls Think Tank launched Project AVOW. Our goal is to shine a light on the epidemic of violence against women in our own backyards and engage in community-based action to end the violence. We have begun surveying the landscape in San Diego to see what is being done and we are building alliances. Two immediate projects are in the works: the first is mining a demographic crime database to gain an understanding of which communities of women in our county are most impacted by these crimes. The second is proposing a mandatory sexual violence prevention program at universities in San Diego during orientation week for all incoming freshman must attend. College campuses are where a disturbing number of rapes occur in our county and targeting an AVOW program at USD, SDSU & UCSD focused on stopping rape on and off campus is a top priority.
Our long-term goal is to build a coalition with organizations and individuals that are working on this issue in the community, form an “urgent response unit” that responds to attacks against women in the community with support to “neighborhood watch” and police units to help combat and prosecute these crimes.
Past Projects:
Human Trafficking
As female lawyers living in a border town, Girls Think Tank members assessed regional needs and resources for victims of human trafficking. One of the valuable resources we discovered is “AT LAST” (Anti-Trafficking Litigation Assistance Support Team), which provides a free online resource for advocates representing trafficking victims through the legal system. Our volunteers helped to redact and prepare legal documents for a free database for practitioners and advocates alike.
Girls Think Tank Leadership Academy
Girls Think Tank partnered with the high-profile Lincoln High School’s Center for Social Justice to create a one-year mentoring program for high school students who exhibit leadership potential and a desire to positively affect society. Our leadership academy nurtures the heads, hearts and hands of youth. We facilitated a public speaker series on topics of interest to mentees, connected mentees to contacts in the community based on their personal goals and sponsored a community service project inspired and led by mentees. We're hell-bent on fostering a pay-it-forward mentality in our next generation of leaders. They are the keys to vital social change.