July 2009Family Violence Prevention Fund Moving to the PresidioBy Anthony MyersAt a recent fundraiser at the Four Seasons Hotel, battered woman’s advocates announced that domestic violence homicides in San Francisco have dropped by 80 percent in the past decade. Part of this decline can be attributed to Potrero Hill-based Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF), which works to end intimate partner, family and teen abuse. From their Rhode Island Street offices, FVPF provides a mix of public education and advocacy, addressing the issue at the local and national levels. The nonprofit was an instrumental voice supporting passage of the landmark Violence Against Women Act in 1994. Creating innovative ways to spread the message of violence prevention has been a primary tactic of FVPF for many years. The organization relies on Public Service Announcements and other outreach channels to communicate with immigrant groups. FVPF, which has been in the neighborhood for more than two decades, will soon upgrade their offices and raise their profile by creating the International Center to End Violence, proposed to be built in the historic Presidio. No lease has been signed yet, but the move has been included in the Presidio Trust’s proposed rehabilitation of the parade grounds and surrounding buildings in the park’s Main Post. The Center would join the Walt Disney Family Foundation Museum in two of the brick Montgomery Street Barracks that line the main parade ground’s western edge. According to the Presidio Trust’s website, “The Family Violence Prevention Fund is proposing to rehabilitate Building 100 as the International Center to End Violence. The Center’s programs would be accommodated in the 33,800 square-foot historic Building 100 and in a new one-story, 3,800 square-foot addition in the existing courtyard on the west side of the building. The Center would serve as the FVPF’s headquarters and include related general office use, exhibit space, an interactive learning center, meeting space, a training academy, storage, and a gift shop.” Building 100 is an 1890’s-era building that sits adjacent to the Presidio Bowling Center at the corner of Montgomery Street and Sheridan Avenue. The Main Post landscape slopes uphill from the north end of the parade ground to the bowling alley and Building 100. As a result, Building 100 has one of the best views in the area; visitors can see the bay, Crissy Field and parts of Russian and Telegraph hills. The building has yet to be fully restored, so the move may not happen for a year or so. According to Presidio Spokesman Clay Harrell, FVPF would “…be a great tenant.” The Main Post’s seven acre parking lot is slated to be replaced with a green area. The safe, clean environment would allow visitors to experience the Center’s message in a non-threatening, scenic setting. |
This Month's StoriesResidential Areas Exempt from Parking Meter Plan, According to MTA Official City Hopes America’s Cup Runneth Over Starr King Elementary Leads SF Schools in Improved Test Scores Southside a Center for Metal Harvesting History Lives on Wisconsin Street San Francisco Breweries Chug Water Dogpatch Hosts Design Residency Project Monte Cristo Club Serves-Up Salty Fish UCSF - Mission Bay’s Scientist Dave Morgan Studies Segregation Foreclosure Crises Lingers in Bayview Black Population Continues to Dwindle Bayview Foreclosure Fighters Take a Stand Radio Africa & Kitchen Puts Down Roots in Bayview Downtown High School Teaches Environmental Lessons San Francisco Firefighters Distribute Toys, Just Not Through Chimneys Hill Resident Publishes Book About Apple’s Post-Jobs Future Henry Joseph Judnick 1927 ~ 2011 On-going FeaturesCrime & Safety Report: Potrero Hill Resident Works Cases at District Attorney’s Office
 |