San Francisco neighborhood prepares for the worst

In the Bayview, Providence Baptist Church and local partners are building community-level disaster readiness through training, supply caches, and planning. City programs such as the Neighborhood Empowerment Network support the Resilient Bayview effort and a planned neighborhood support center.

Providence Baptist Church in San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood has added disaster preparedness to its regular community services. The church runs after-school programs, a food bank, dinners, and a nightly 125-bed shelter. Administrator G.L. Hodge, who has long experience in crisis response, maintains detailed protocols, a two-way radio, and maps of neighborhood supply caches. City and nonprofit initiatives, including the Neighborhood Empowerment Network and Resilient Bayview, are coordinating community-led planning. Local preparations: - Providence Baptist Church's building is rated to withstand a magnitude 8.0 earthquake and stores emergency supplies — food, medicine, fuel — and a backup generator in an adjacent parking garage. - The generator can power the church's two kitchens and food bank for up to five days to provide hot meals and groceries. - Administrator G.L. Hodge keeps binders of disaster protocols, contact lists for neighborhood volunteers, a two-way radio, and maps showing potable water and other caches. - The Neighborhood Empowerment Network (NEN) and Resilient Bayview organize residents, city agencies, and nonprofits into a Resilience Action Plan with four working groups. - Preparedness activities include CPR and disaster training, kits and door-hangers for seniors and people with disabilities, and proposals such as the "Bayview Bolters" idea to combine seismic bolting with youth job training. Summary: Local efforts focus on enabling the Bayview to function independently in the immediate aftermath of an event by strengthening social networks, training residents, and pre-positioning supplies. NEN is planning a neighborhood support center at Providence Baptist Church that would activate after an event and be staffed and managed by community members. Residents and city staff say these local plans are influencing priorities inside City Hall and shaping how preparedness is implemented in the neighborhood.