Beloved Glide Community,  

As we close out Latinx Heritage Month, we express gratitude and reverence for the Latinx immigrants, workers, trailblazers and activists who have persevered to create an America where all of us belong. The month is uniquely observed from September 15 to October 15, coinciding with national independence days in several Latin American countries, and honoring the contributions, cultures and histories of those among us whose ancestors hail from Africa, Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. 

In our own state of California, the Latinx community is the single largest ethnic group constituting 39% of the state’s population. These communities serve as the genesis of renowned social justice and civil rights movements that changed the landscape of America. In San Francisco, they are the fabric of our communities and have influenced our values, our politics, our business, our sense of community, and the way we celebrate.  

Despite the rich history and success of so many Latinx people, our country still has work to do to atone for the damage that has been wrought on those communities. Latinx people are disproportionately plagued by chronic and epidemic public health crises and still face the deep-seeded, crippling effects of xenophobia, bias and racial discrimination. Because of these systemic injustices, Latinx households experience food insecurity at much higher rates, earn an average of $40,000 less income per year than white households, experience increasing rates of homelessness, and have the lowest educational attainment levels of any racial group. And, as the Supreme Court turns back the hands of time with the upheaval of reproductive rights, Latinx and Black women stand to bear the brunt of the health and socioeconomic repercussions in a post-Roe v Wade era. 

At GLIDE, 15% of the clients we serve identify as Latinx, including 64% of the participants at our Family, Youth and Childcare Center (FYCC). GLIDE’s FYCC continues its intergenerational, stabilizing work by providing Latinx families a holistic set of resources and education in a safe environment. Just during the pandemic alone, we prevented hundreds of families from falling into homelessness. We continue to work hard for our Latinx community, dismantling systemic roadblocks to food access, public health, and housing, while challenging the embedded racism and xenophobia that permeates local, state, and national policy. 

GLIDE would not be GLIDE without our Latinx brothers and sisters. We are honored to work side by side to ease hunger, support women in the workforce, prevent homelessness, and expand our reach with transformative programs and services throughout the city. It is with pride and gratitude that GLIDE serves the Latinx community, as it looks toward the future with hope for what lies ahead.  

In solidarity,