Help Build Meaningful, Compassionate Connections in Your Community

Juanita’s List housing agency for queer folks,” referring to the online housing group created by the drag artist Juanita MORE!

“By providing a Juanita’s List styled place that lends resources, information, and support to LGBTQ+ persons and aids them in securing a safe place to live, the Castro can go even further in its institution as an LGBTQ+ haven,” Calderon said.

MORE! told the B.A.R. that there are over 12,000 members of the Facebook group, which seeks to connect queer people with supportive rental options.

“The group has become a vital community service,” MORE! stated. “Across the United States, many queer people still dream of leaving home to follow the rainbow that glows over San Francisco. Though, the cost of living is so high that it’s becoming more and more difficult to survive here. So many people flee rejection from their families, unsupportive schools, and communities due to homophobia and transphobia.

“So many of them are arriving without employment, housing, or a supportive network and face incredible hardship in finding affordable housing,” MORE! added. “Because of this list, they are finding housing not just in the Castro district; but throughout the entire city.”

Calderon also suggested the Castro could benefit from more “social spaces without alcohol.”

“I think being gay in San Francisco can include much more than three vodka sodas and sloppy tongue touching,” Calderon said.

The Castro Country Club is located in the neighborhood and provides a sober space for people, as well as Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step meetings.

Calderon, who is Latino, also stated that the neighborhood needs more “BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and people of color] representation,” a theme that comes up time and again in relation to the Castro specifically over the years. Sixty-eight percent of Castro residents are non-Hispanic whites, according to 2021 census estimates.

“By cementing a presence, there is a comfort and coziness afforded to the Castro that people from all walks of life deserve when they visit this space,” Calderon said.

Bullish on Castro

Terrance Alan, a gay man who is president of the merchants group, was bullish on the neighborhood’s future. Having recently turned Cafe Flore over to new restaurant proprietor Serhat Zorlu, Alan said a Castro renais-

See page 12 >>

Obituaries >>

Shanti’s LGBTQ+ Aging & Abilities Support Network (LAASN)

Since 1974, Shanti has trained over 20,000 Bay Area volunteers to offer emotional and practical support to some of our most marginalized neighbors. LAASN offers emotional and practical support to LGBTQ+ older adults and adults with disabilities who face isolation and need greater social support and connection.

Shanti LAASN peer support volunteers: Go through the internationally recognized training on the Shanti Model of Peer SupportTM

Make a commitment of 2-4 hours a week for a minimum of 6 months Get matched with one client, for whom they serve as a non-judgmental source of emotional support and reliable practical help Have one of the most rewarding volunteer experiences of their lives!

To learn more about how you can be a Shanti volunteer, contact Volunteer Services at 415-674-4751 or email acone@shanti.org. For more information about LAASN services, call 415-979-9950 or email djohnson@shanti.org.

January 18, 1938 – January 14, 2023

Richard (Dick) Allen passed away in the early morning hours on January 14, 2023, after a brief illness and only four days before his 85th birthday. Born and raised on the East Coast, Dick came to California in the early 1970s and immediately became involved in the gay liberation movement. After receiving his nursing degree from City College of San Francisco, he went to work at California Pacific Medical Center and became a charge nurse on the AIDS unit throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He lived in the Castro for many years. He made numerous friends through walking his dog Pepper, playing and teaching bridge, as well as enjoying happy hour at Twin Peaks Tavern. He was an excellent chef and loved traveling, musical theater, and going to the movies.

He will be sorely missed by his chosen family and his many friends in his beloved Castro neighborhood. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.