STOP THE EVICTION OF the SOMA COMMUNITY FROM ITS ONLY FREE REC SPACE!!!! We, the undersigned, members of the South of Market community and other concerned individuals, demand justice around the detrimental changes by the Recreation and Park Department (RPD) to the Gene Friend Recreation Center. These changes will be detrimental to the youth, families, seniors and SRO residents. Recently, we learned that RPD is implementing a “Latchkey Afterschool Program,” which will cost parents $300 for enrollment per child, and is only open to children ages 6-12 years old. Also, the changes have resulted in the eviction of at least 3 youth and senior organizations that provide free services to the community’s most vulnerable populations. The Recreation and Park Department is claiming that these changes are being made on behalf of the South of Market community but there have been no publicly announced meetings about these changes to either engage community input or inform the community of this “new direction.” In response, WE DEMAND THE FOLLOWING: 1. Keep the Gene Friend Recreation Center free and open to the entire SoMa community 2. Require RPD to work more closely with the SoMa community, especially with youth and family serving organizations that want to be engaged 3. Maintain and improve the Gene Friend Recreation Center as well as VMD Park for SoMa youth, families, seniors and SRO residents 4. Implement an evalua

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