DAS approves $4.26 million grant to create Disability Community Cultural Center

The San Francisco Department of Disability and Aging Services on Oct. 4 approved a grant to Haven of Hope to establish a Disability Community Cultural Center (DCCC), authorizing up to $4,264,985 including a 10% contingency.

Maceo Person, DAS special projects manager, said the three-phase project will begin with planning immediately and launch a virtual phase in July 2024 ahead of an anticipated spring 2025 brick-and-mortar opening. “This grant will create the nation's first municipally funded community cultural center led by and centering deaf and disabled community,” Person said, framing the center as both a service hub and a cultural space.

The grant will fund planning, virtual programming and eventual operations at a ground-floor site at 165 Grove Street (Kelsey Civic Center), adjacent to new affordable housing developed by the Kelsey and Mercy Housing. Person told commissioners the center will provide referrals to services, cultural and educational programming, and an advisory council to guide programming and evaluation.

Emily Batex, interim director at the Longmore Institute (the project’s subcontractor), praised the partnership and said the institute’s prior community planning work informed the center’s design. “I could not think of a better partner than Haven of Hope to be carrying out those dreams,” Batex said.

Commissioners expressed broad support during the discussion and asked about coordination with Mercy Housing and construction timelines; DAS staff said they are meeting weekly with partners and will serve as the department’s point of contact for the project. The commission voted unanimously to approve the grant.

Next steps: the grantee will complete a project plan during the planning phase, launch virtual programming in mid-2024, and return to commission meetings with updates and opportunities for site visits as the project advances.