On November 6 from 7-9 p.m. at the Eureka Valley Rec Center, several neighborhood organizations, including Castro Community on Patrol, DTNA, Eureka Valley Promotional Association, and Merchants of Upper Market and Castro, will co-sponsor a Community Safety Forum focusing on the Castro and Duboce Triangle. Our neighborhood is an amazing one – vibrant, fun, diverse, and tightly knit – and we have been fortunate not to have some of the crime and violence problems that other neighborhoods have experienced. But, that doesn’t mean that our neighborhood is a bubble or that we shouldn’t be aware of, or respond to, the crime and violence problems that are part of living in San Francisco.

Almost two years ago, we formed Castro Community on Patrol after a rash of sexual assaults in the Castro. During the time since then, the organization has tried to raise awareness in the neighborhood of all sorts of community safety issues, from violent crime to auto break-ins, etc. The goal has been not to scare people but rather to educate the community about how to make sure that our neighborhood remains a safe place for everyone who lives, works, and/or plays here.

As Castro Community on Patrol celebrates its second anniversary, we believe it is important to take stock of where we are, where we should be going, and what we can all do to move in that direction. The forum will focus on a wide variety of issues, from street crime, to the role of SFPD versus the role of community policing, to hate crimes, to emergency preparedness during natural catastrophes, to homelessness. It will be a fluid discussion of the many issues that we, as a neighborhood, need to focus on in order to ensure that this amazing neighborhood remains the unique, diverse, and safe place that it has been for so many years.

We will have a terrific panel of experts in different areas, each of whom will give his or her perspective on community safety in the neighborhood. We encourage people with a stake in the neighborhood to come out, listen, and participate in the discussion. It will be an interesting and productive evening, and we look forward to seeing you there.

For more information, contact Scott Wiener at 437-9414.