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Stop by ATA to see the artists at work during the day, then join in the Receptions + Dialogs October 29 & 30, 7PMFor Better Homes & Gardens Today Artists Christopher Statton and Megan Wilson have partnered with the Gubbio Project, the Coalition On Homelessness, and At The Crossroads to: 1) Heighten awareness around “home” and the realities of homelessness; 2) Cultivate a dialog within communities and amongst disparate groups; and 3) Raise money to benefit each of these critical organizations that work to address homelessness in San Francisco.Statton and Wilson, will spend October painting “Home” signs in different languages in the window space of ATA. The single word for “Home” will be painted in black against a color background. Within the first letter of each sign a flower will be painted. The signs will be painted on 1⁄4″ plywood and range in size from 12″x18″ to 16″x30″.The signs will be available for purchase for $100/pair. The purchasers will get one sign for his/herself and the other sign will be donated to one of the three partner organizations to use as they see best fit (e.g. the Gubbio Project will be hanging the signs on the pews at St. Boniface Church during their hours of operation). Purchasers will also be provided with more information on each of the organizations and how they can further help. All of the proceeds and the signs purchased for the organizations will be divided evenly and go to the three partners (Gubbio Project, Coalition On Homelessness, and At The Crossroads).On October 29th and 30th Statton and Wilson will host evening events at ATA for tech corporations and their employees, such as Twitter, Zendesk, Yammer, Google, and Salesforce who have expressed interest in helping to make a difference to ease the suffering experienced by those living on the street. The evenings will include presentations by the participating organizations and a facilitated discussion to learn about:1. The realities of being homeless;
2. What the culture and climate of homelessness is like in San Francisco; and
3. What is truly needed to address this crisis – funding and policy change.The November venue for the project is TBA.

Attendees will also be asked to make a donation and to participate in the project by purchasing a set of “Home” signs for $100.

Statton and Wilson are available to personally install any single purchases of 100 signs ($10,000) or more at individual residences or corporate offices.

The goal of the Better Homes & Gardens Today is to introduce people to these critical organizations that are working to address the needs of those who are struggling to survive and need support, as well as help to provide insight to the causes, which are systemic and far more complex than most people are aware.

Christopher Statton has been an organizer with Clarion Alley Mural Project since 2012 and was one of the collaborators on “The Wall of Shame and Solutions”. Statton is the former Executive Director of San Francisco’s Roxie Theater (2010 – 2013). In 2013 he was awarded the Marlon Riggs Award by the San Francisco Film Critics Circle for “his significant contribution to San Francisco’s film community through the Roxie over the past four years.” In 2013 Statton was also awarded a Certificate of Honor by SF Supervisor David Campos for his “important and tireless work with the Roxie.” Statton was a founding member of the Sidewalk Sideshow, a project of the Marin Interfaith Council, which produced music shows with San Rafael’s street and homeless community. In addition, he is actively involved with the Gubbio Project in the Tenderloin as well as an Advisory Board member of the Tom Steel Clinic, which provides medical services for the HIV positive community in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Megan Wilson is an artist, writer, and non-profit consultant. She moved to the Bay Area in 1994 to attend the San Francisco Art Institute. In 2000 Wilson co-organized the performance/protest series Art Strikes Back in response to the extreme wave of gentrification displacement in San Francisco during the first “dotcom boom.” In 2003 she curated and co-organized the international mural exchange and residency Sama-sama/ Together, a collaboration between artists from San Francisco and Yogyakarta Indonesia designed to foster understanding of Muslim and non-Muslim cultures following 9/11. From 2004 – 2008 she transformed her 1,600 sq. ft. living space into an installation that explored and challenged the meanings of “home” and “homelessness” through her project Home 1996-2008. Wilson has been a core organizer of the Clarion Alley Mural Project since 1998 and is one of the organizers of CAPITALISM IS OVER! If You Want It, a series of interruptions/actions launched in 2010 that has included artists from around the world, responding to the negative impacts of capitalism. Wilson’s article The Gentrification of Our Livelihoods was published on Stretcher.org in June 2014.

The Gubbio Project
Since its founding in 2004 The Gubbio Project has offered refuge for thousands of people in the heart of the Tenderloin and encouraged connection between the housed and unhoused. For nine hours each weekday, 6am-3pm, the doors of the sanctuary of St. Boniface are open to all. The mission of The Gubbio Project is to provide a sacred space to sleep or rest and care services for those in need of a safe, compassionate respite that places dignity and respect in the highest regard. Each day, 250 people on average, enter the project, with 95 folks sleeping at any given time in the pews of St. Boniface and others accessing care services. We invite you to visit St. Boniface and see The Gubbio Project firsthand. www.thegubbioproject.org

Coaliton on Homelessness, San Francisco
26 Years of Resistance, Resilience and Re-Building
For decades, the Coalition on Homelessness has developed the leadership skills of homeless San Franciscans to forge true solutions to the housing crisis and beat back mean-spirited attacks against them. The Coalition on Homelessness is comprised of homeless people and allies who have been organizing together since 1987 to expand access to housing in one of the richest cities in the country, to protect the rights of the poorest people in our society, and to create real solutions to contemporary homelessness. http://www.cohsf.org/

At The Crossroads
The mission of At The Crossroads (ATC) is to reach out to homeless youth and young adults at their point of need, and work with them to build healthy and fulfilling lives. Their innovative model focuses on young people who do not access traditional services and are disconnected from any type of consistent support. ATC remove common barriers to service by bringing our counselors onto the streets and shaping our support services around the needs of each individual client. http://atthecrossroads.org/