Who We Are

We are front-line activists who live in the communities we serve. CLAER employs a dynamic multi-generational staff of Team Leaders who engage in a peer-to-peer empowerment model. As residents of the communities we serve, we understand the needs as well as the inherent strengths of our families, and the toll that violence has taken on our neighborhoods.


Key Staff

Sharen Hewitt, CLAER's Founder and Executive Director, has led the organization for the past eight years. Ms. Hewitt is one of the leading voices calling for a citywide response to violence. Her advocacy brings heightened attention to San Francisco's burgeoning homicide rate and the impact it has on families. Ms. Hewitt also helped direct the city's First Source Hiring Program, with a special emphasis on Southeast Sector projects and workforce development. She served as Special Assistant to Mayor Willie Brown, the San Francisco Department of Human Services, San Francisco Housing Authority and Executive Member of the San Francisco NAACP Chapter. She is currently a board member of the San Francisco Housing Development Corporation, Inside Out, and the San Francisco State University Institute for Civic and Community Engagement (ICCE). As founder of the Coalition of an African American Community Agenda, she has worked extensively on increasing political access and the voting participation of low-income communities and public housing residents citywide. Ms. Hewitt is currently an Executive Producer at the Bay Area Video Coalition, and was recently recognized by the Public Defender's Clean Slate program for her work to help thousands of individuals overcome barriers to employment.

Laurel Moeslein recently graduated cum laude from the University of San Francisco (USF). During her educational career there, she was involved in a number of activities--both academic and extra-curricular--that pertained to community politics. Laurel was member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Politics Honor Society, and the The University of San Francisco (USF) San Quentin TRUST Alliance. Upon graduating, she was awarded the Priscilla A. Scotlan Award for outstanding public service and leadership. Laurel has worked and interned at a number of organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Organizing Department of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the San Francisco District Office of United States Senator Barbara Boxer. During her senior year at the University of San Francisco, Laurel completed an honors thesis seminar on the subject of African American outmigration from San Francisco; it was during the research phase of the thesis that she met Sharen Hewitt and became acquainted with the C.L.A.E.R. Project.


What We Do

CLAER is San Francisco's leading organization providing immediate crisis stabilization for victims of violence. We are there in the moments after a violent crime occurs, assessing needs and helping families navigate through a wide variety of appropriate support services.

Our three anchoring activities are:
  • Direct Services
  • San Francisco Mayor's Office of Community Development
  • San Francisco's Department of Children, Youth and Their Families
  • Crisis Response Network
  • Community Capacity-Building
  • Educational support
  • Monthly "brown bags" and events
  • Media engagement
  • Public Policy Advocacy
  • Local, state and federal policy development
CLAER provides individuals and families with the support they need to survive the impacts of violence and to thrive in San Francisco. During daily, weekly or monthly peer-to-peer empowerment sessions, CLAER participants learn to confront persistent violence in their communities, pursue economic self-sufficiency and to increase their knowledge of the developmental needs of their children.

CLAER has provided families with job opportunities, safe housing, food, healthcare and immediate and long-term support.

We help neighbors change their neighborhoods for the better.


Programs

Peer-to-peer empowerment:
The bedrock of CLAER's mission is the peer-to-peer empowerment model, which is designed to increase personal strength, provide opportunities for reflection and heighten civic awareness and engagement.

Thanksgiving support:
Each Thanksgiving CLAER provides Safeway gift cards to at least 50 families. We've also traditionally given gift baskets filled with a pot, a pan, a box of stuffing and a can of cranberries.

Christmas support:
The Adopt-a-Family/Angel program matches our client families with community partners, government agencies and people of goodwill throughout the city. The "angels" provide gifts of money or items like toys or clothes to their family. The Family Photo program brings client families together for a holiday Polaroid portrait. The Gift Card program provides gift cards to client families for Target or Safeway stores to help put food on the table and gifts under the tree.

Mother's Day:
For Mother's Day, CLAER hosts an annual event to honor the mothers, grandmothers and other caretakers who have lost a loved one to homicide. These events encourage mothers connect on a human level and go beyond their victimization, taking action to change the conditions in their community.

Grandma Sharen's Tea Party:
Parents and caregivers of children attend a workshop on nutrition, heath, leadership or children's developmental needs while enjoying refreshments and tea. During the workshops, a community physician assesses the children for services needs, including services to help with emotional or social issues, therapeutic services and other needs related to community violence.

Everlasting Arms:
Senior women attend sewing circles that provide meaningful social engagement and opportunities for policy development and advocacy.

MANN:
A program for young, at-risk men that helps them gain access to mental health, employment, education and civic engagement opportunities.

WOMANS:
Women heads-of-households in Sunnydale attend social networking events to improve civic engagement opportunities.


Partners

CLAER has developed important relationships with six key city agencies in order to provide seamless service access for our client families.

The agencies include:
San Francisco Housing Authority
San Francisco Police Department
San Francisco District Attorney
Department of Human Services/Welfare Department
San Francisco Unified School District
Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development

Other Key Partners:
San Francisco State University, Institute for Civic & Community Engagement
Lennar Corp
Singer and Associates


Advisory Board

Rita Pellette, Sunnydale Resident, founding member of Women Organized Making A Neighborhood Safe (WOMANS) Program

Eva Shepard, Senior, Heritage Homes Resident, former CLAER Team Leader, organizer at Bethel Church, Founding organizer of Everlasting Arms Program

Brian Cahill, Executive Director, Catholic Charities CYO

Rene Cazeneva, Housing Advocate, Community Housing Collaborative

Jason Chandra, Film Producer, Systems Administrator, SF State Institute for Civic and Community Engagement

Sybil Christopher, Tenant Activist

Corey Cook, Professor of Politics, University of San Francisco

Majid Crawford, Board Member, San Francisco People's Organization

Roma Guy, Commissioner, San Francisco Health Commission

Ken Nim, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Citybuild

Steve Phillips, President, PowerPAC.org

Lateefah Simon, Director of Re-Entry Programs, San Francisco District Attorney's Office

Laura Barber, Visitacion Valley homeowner (30+ years), breast cancer survivor, advocate for increased mental health money for Visitacion Valley, Advisory board member on Men Achieving Non-Violent Neighborhoods (MANN) Program, Executive Board member of SF NAACP.

Patsy Tito, Executive Director, Samoan Community Development Center


 WHO WE ARE
KEY STAFF
WHAT WE DO
PROGRAMS
PARTNERS
ADVISORY BOARD
MEDIA