Fiery and compassionate activist monitors gentrification in the Mission

By Jorn Anderson

As the executive director of Mission Neighborhood Centers, Santiago Ruiz knows all too well that funding for non-profit organizations like his is hard to come by in this economic climate.

So when Ruiz was informed by the San Francisco Neighborhood Centers that the food and apparel services firm Aramark was looking to volunteer at a local non-profit organization, he jumped at the opportunity.

“When a group like Aramark engages in something like the (MNC) Capp Street project, those are dollars that would be impossible to secure otherwise,” Ruiz said.

Over 100 employees and volunteers from the Aramark Corporation and the volunteer organization City Year landscaped the grounds, painted railings, designed murals and built planter boxes at the MNC Capp Street Center’s courtyard.

“We do it because we love volunteering,” said Alice Newman, a volunteer for City Year. “Our goal is to supplement a healthy lifestyle in a healthy community.”

The refurbishing comes at no cost to MNC, which is crucial at a time where state and federal funding is tightening.

Ruiz, who is known by friends and colleagues as “Sam,” has been executive director at the MNC for 25 years. He has a fiery and compassionate spirit that allows him to put the Mission community’s needs before all else, and he strives to provide services that make the community better as a whole.

During his career at the center, Ruiz has been a mentor to many, and is well noted for his leadership and teaching skills.

“He’s a very collaborative leader,” said Maria Bermudez, director of operations at the Capp Street center who has worked with Ruiz for two years. “He’s taught me how to look for funding and collaborate with others.”

Ruiz, along with the rest of MNC, aims to provide social services to low-income families in the Mission, and have 15 locations in San Francisco. Services include early childhood, youth and senior programs.

“We are representatives of what and who we stand for as a community,” Ruiz said. “We are responsible and accountable to everyone else in the community.”

MNC’s Head Start, which reaches over 340 children of local parents, provides a safe daycare option for parents who are forced to work or have other pressing responsibilities during the day.

“It gives me time for me,” said Mission resident and mother Maria Campos. “It’s better than him (her child) staying at home alone when his brother’s at school.”

Forced to move from San Francisco to Oakland 15 years ago due to the rising rents in the Mission, Ruiz cites gentrification as being one of the community’s biggest issues. However, he pleads residents to educate newcomers, rather than be hostile towards them.

“I think if we educate the newcomers and engage them, I think they’ll join us and step up to the plate,” Ruiz said.

Born in El Salvador, Ruiz moved to San Francisco with his mother at age 9, where they stayed with relatives living in the city. Ruiz attended San Francisco State University, but was forced to drop out after fathering a child two years into college.

“It was unfortunate, but I feel like I’ve gained enough experiences through life and my activity in the community to more than make up for it,” Ruiz said.

Winner of the Daniel E. Koshland Civic Unity Award, Ruiz’s first major accomplishment as a Mission community activist was working with the Mission Youth Council, providing 35 full-time jobs for local youth at Sears in by picketing and boycotting the store.

“I felt so charged,” Ruiz Said. “I was finally learning how to give back to my community.”

After over 40 years of working in the community, Ruiz admits he would like to retire in a few years and help to groom and train new talent, so they can take up the fight to preserve the mission.