Youth Are Paying Attention, Are Awake to Their Surroundings, and Spark Interest and Curiosity in One Another: We Are the City Spotlight on Grrrl Brigade
By Fredrika Keefer, Grrrl Brigade Director
Every Monday over the next few weeks, DCYF will publish weekly ‘We Are the City Spotlights’ featuring stories from our grantees about how they supported the children, youth, and families in their communities during the pandemic, and how they are beginning to emerge out of nearly two years of the most extreme upheaval any of them have ever experienced. Our first Spotlight features Grrrl Brigade, a program of Dance Mission Theater. We hope you enjoy it, and we hope you will tune in every Monday for the entire We Are the City series.
Our youth programming consisted of an in-person Learning Hub, outdoor and online dance classes, and performances outdoors. Our in-person Hub operated from 8:30am-3:30pm every weekday during the full school year. We offered each child who was participating in remote learning at our Hub a fast wifi connection, an individual seating area with a desk, and one-on-one help and support from staff. We also offered an afternoon Dance Mission Hub that featured art activities such as dance, taiko drumming, and social justice themed art projects. Our afterschool dance programming consisted of outdoor dance classes from 4–6pm.
We had to undergo changes and shifts during the pandemic, including cutting back on staffing for some programs and expanding staffing for others. For many classes, we had to cap attendance in order to be in accordance with rules created by the City & County of San Francisco. One of our strengths as an organization is to adapt to critical times and adjust quickly to what the times call for. The abundance of physical space we have also proved to be a huge asset, and was critical for us to be able to produce a safe and healthy environment for our students. One of the best parts was our break-out room: when the students were not on Zoom, they used the room to choreograph dances to show each other during talent shows and holiday events.
We heard from many parents and guardians, especially single mothers, that if they would not have been able to send their children to our Learning Hub while the schools were closed due to the pandemic, they would have lost their jobs. For the single mothers in our community, our Hub allowed them to keep their careers intact. Our Hub supported children’s educational and mental health stability, and, just as importantly, it also helped ensure that family structures remained secure and single mothers and working parents did not have to uproot their lives.
As we continue to work our way out of the pandemic, easy access to testing and vaccinations is crucial. In the Mission, vaccination and COVID testing sites have been available 7 days a week for quite a while. We are located right across the street from one of the largest COVID testing sites in the Mission, and it is busy all the time. Easy access to these sites throughout the City is crucial, as is offering nonprofit organizations more resources such as masks, testing, and safe and clean spaces to serve youth and their families.
In our programs, students were given assignments by our staff to write and present speeches as if they were at demonstrations. The topics that they chose to talk about were immigration rights, Black Lives Matter, global warming, and homelessness. This was definitely a highlight in our cohort, as it was so apparent that these children and youth are paying attention to current events, are awake to their surroundings, and have an amazing ability to spark interest and curiosity in one another.
Our cohort of students created a bond with each other that was very intimate and important. During such a harsh year for so many, these friendships and connections inspired teamwork, and the relationships became very important for them. In fact, one of our students in the cohort decided to change gender, and chose a new name and gender identity. The student’s transition was immediately accepted by all the students, and proved to be a very unique experience for our staff and youth.
San Francisco is a great place to raise children. The connective tissue that exists between the arts, politics, and dedication for equality are all apparent. Being able to keep extending our programming to more Mission District youth is an honor, and organizations like DCYF help us maintain and offer the structure and quality of our services to our diverse students. However, programs like ours and support from City departments does not erase the fact that families are fighting avoid displacement in our neighborhood, and that San Francisco has a homelessness crisis that is out of control. If San Francisco can maintain its allure for cross-cultural experiences and begin to address these very serious issues, then this is the place to be!
