With a vest and a voice, helpers escort kids through San Francisco’s broken Tenderloin streets

By JANIE HAR
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood is notorious for its open-air drug use and congested sidewalks. But it’s also home to thousands of laughing, playful school children and parents working toward a better life. Mothers in 2008 launched a program to safely shepherd their children from school through dangerous streets. The Safe Passage program is still going strong today. People in safety vests staff select corners so children and seniors can cross safely. They escort children to after-school programs in the afternoons. The Tenderloin has a rich and diverse history of residents fighting back to shape their neighborhood.