San Francisco

Elderly Teacher Attacked in SF While Walking to Work

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A 78-year-old teacher was attacked in San Francisco last week as she was walking to work, according to Mission District community leaders.

Yolanda Melara was leaving BART and walking toward her workplace, MNC Inspiring Success Head Start Program, when she was attacked only half a block away at 16th and Mission streets.

When Melaria saw her students after the attack, they asked lots of questions about her sprained wrist, bruised eye, and three stitches after being pushed face down on the ground by her attacker.

“We saw you, you had a lot of blood,” her students told her. “Those things aren’t good for kids.”

She says children seeing someone they know become the victim of a mugging is not a lesson they should have to learn. 

Melara suffered major injuries to her face and hands, and on Wednesday, community leaders were calling on Mayor London Breed to step in.

A 78-year-old teacher was attacked in San Francisco this week as she was walking to work, according to Mission District community leaders. Abbey Fernandez reports.

“For over the past year we have begged and pleaded for better conditions, yet the situation only worsens day by day,” said Ryen Motzek of the Mission Merchants Association. 

Business and community members say tents on the streets, open air drug use, and markets at 16th and 24th street BART stations selling stolen items, are all parts of the problem.

“All we want is for the city departments and our elected officials to do your job!” said Will Cartagena, Small Business Commissioner.

But the threat of violence, especially for young people and elders, is the most troubling.

Sequoya Waukazoo Nakai described having to always be on alert for trouble for something as simple as the length of her skirt.  

“I don't want people to stare, and since there are so many people on the street who are lying down and sitting down, I'm scared that they can look up my skirt,” she said. “I don't, I don't really feel safe.”

The group is asking Breed to declare a state of emergency in the Mission District. They point to all the resources the city sent to Union Square this Christmas season in order to make shoppers there feel safe.

Supervisor Hilary Ronen was not invited to this event, but one of her aides said they understand the frustration and they're trying to help.

“We want to see greater coordination with cleaning, with the police, MTA. In fact Capp Street is an example where we had good coordination, the mayor's office got involved,” said  Santiago Lerma, aide to Ronen.

Last weekend, concrete barriers were installed along capp street to disrupt what residents say has been a huge spike in street prostitution. 

Members of the community say they want more solutions like that for other problems in the Mission.

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