With love and grit and a whole lot of hope
November 13, 2024
To our dear SFCHC Family and Supporters—
I woke up last Wednesday morning and hoped I might still be dreaming as the results of the election settled in. As of now, I’m still processing my fright and disbelief. I’m sharing this because we need to brace for unprecedented times, when everything we care deeply about is in jeopardy. Health care as we know it. Gender-affirming care and reproductive care dismantled. Immigrant protections gone. Pathways to citizenship derailed.
I didn’t know what else to do other than to pen an email to my warriors at San Francisco Community Health Center—who I knew were hurting but still needed to get up out of bed and get to work to care for our communities. This is what we do. We roll our sleeves up when the going gets tough. Because our clients rely on us more than ever in these moments.
Here is a snippet of my email that we ended up posting on social media:
Our team at SFCHC has been the most dedicated and passionate group of people l've ever had the privilege to work with. I have no doubt that we will do everything in our power to continue to care, protect, and serve—to build community and client-driven power and to fight.
I imagine, as one of our long-standing supporters, you are going through your own process. I want to press you to be kind to yourselves today and every day moving forward. And I want you to know that SFCHC will continue to be on the front lines in fervent support of our communities who live in a constant state of fear and threat but I know are as resilient as ever.
I also reminded my team at SFCHC about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s prescience that grounds me—that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." We will be working day in and day out to ensure that the arc indeed bends toward justice.
If not us, donate or volunteer for a mission-aligned organization. My team and I promise you that we will never stop to ensure our communities are cared for and as safe as possible in our care.
With love and grit and a whole lot of hope,
Lance,
CEO, San Francisco Community Health Center