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History
The Bayview Hunters Point Foundation for Community Improvement, Inc. was conceived by citizens of the Bayview Hunters Point community, led by the late Ernest Mitchell, Jr., the Foundation's first Executive Director. The organizers had identified a need for high quality, community-based and affordable legal services for residents arrested on criminal charges. (At the time, overworked Public defenders were making a habit of plea-bargaining clients' rights away, even where there was a strong chance of acquittal). In 1971, Ernest Mitchell persuaded a number of attorneys to donate their time, and obtained funding from HUD's Model Cities Program, to create the Foundation's first program: the Community Defender. Today, the Community Defender continues to provide high quality legal representation to low income residents of the City. Clients are often channeled into substance abuse treatment, or other supportive services provided by the Foundation.

In 1972 the Foundation obtained additional funding from the Model Cities. Recognizing that the increase in criminal activities in the Bayview was directly related to heroin addiction, Mitchell and the co-founders implemented a drug therapy program. It was the only drug outreach and counseling program operating in Bayview at the time. Today the Substance Abuse and Treatment Program provides methadone maintenance and detoxification, alcohol prevention and rehabilitation, acupuncture for help in drug rehabilitation, family planning and parenting classes, and certified on-site HIV testing.

Substantial numbers of young people were among the Foundation's first clients, many of whom had drug abuse problems. In 1973 the Bayview was awarded funds from the San Francisco Foundation to start a drug prevention unity for young people. Today the Youth Services staff continues to provide daily support and specialized counseling for youth overcoming academic, legal and drug abuse troubles. In order to further serve the needs of youth and their families, the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) was created in September of 1991. The goal of CIRT is to provide mental health counseling, crisis intervention, grief counseling, and social service referrals to individuals ages 24 years and younger who are experiencing emotional stress and/or trauma due to acts of violence. CIRT also provides support to the families and survivors of young victims of violence, as well as community outreach and education in a variety of arenas ranging from schools to community groups. CIRT works to assist the client and the family to help prevent further acts of violence addressing the root causes and offering viable solutions.

The Foundation has expanded substantially in its thirty-two years of operation. It now encompasses a wide variety of programs, including: AIDS services, extensive Mental Health Services, school-based health services and health care for the homeless.

Program Managers

Jacob Moody
Executive Director

Moises Flores
Controller

Kim Shine
Human Resources Director

Alfredta Nesbitt
Substance Abuse Services

Debberra Burrell
Mental Health Services

Dodie Chaney-Fernandes
Mental Health Services Operations

James McElroy
Youth Services
Violence Prevention and Intervention Program

Over Thirty Years of Community Service
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