By Jenn Bowman
(Editor’s Note: Teacher Jenn Bowman of San Francisco’s Mission High School is teaching LGBTQ Studies. In this column, Bowman’s students share their thoughts about LGBTQ-related matters, including their concerns, what they have learned in class and more.)
Our LGBTQ+ class recently learned that UCSF plans to stop funding the New Generation Health Center, the only free, reproductive health center that primarily serves youth and young adults of color from the most under-served neighborhoods in San Francisco.
Sadly, we just learned that UCSF has told New Gen that they need to raise one million dollars by May 9 to keep the clinic open. Some students worked with our nurse to have a soup fundraiser, and more fundraisers are planned before the May 9 deadline. However, our community does not have a lot of money; the fact that so many students in the Mission are low-income is exactly the reason as to why this clinic needs to stay open. Please go to http://savenewgen.org/ to donate or find out what else you can do.
The following are several student voices expressing the importance of New Generation.
I support New Generation because we are the community it serves. It is a special place for everyone, especially young women of color. If New Generation is taken away, where can its patients go? New Generation offers same day appointments for birth control and STD screenings. We can’t lose a safe place for important members of our community. Yes, we are important!
—Isabela, 10th grade
We need to save New Generation because it is a strong, accepting community for the most underserved youth in our city. They have created a family, and taking that away would leave young people, including many Mission students, with no clinic or family.
—Fiona, 10th grade
New Generation is a wonderful clinic that provides birth control, and it is completely confidential. It is where many people of color go. As a young woman of color, it frustrates me that I didn’t know that UCSF was going to take away the funding and close New Generation. If this happens, many people will go without services for reproductive health and the check-ups they need.
—Angelina 10th grade
Mission High School: https://mhs-sfusd-ca.schoolloop.com/
LGBTQ Scholarship Opportunities: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52c7dc91e4b0c06fbd156f6b/t/53b63fb8e4b079c1947dbdfa/1404452792563/LGBTQ.pdf
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