The San Francisco District Attorney's Office is trying to make contact with victims of violent crimes even if they may not have reported the incident to police.
The effort is a collaboration with two community organizations in the city which say they've seen an uptick in random crimes against people who live in their neighborhoods.
One victim, Jose Martin Chan, was attacked in a Tenderloin laundromat last year. He said he was hit in the face. Police made an arrest, but the alleged attacker was released, and the case is pending.
He is one of about 15 people who have been connected to one of the district attorney's office's victims advocates.
La Voz Latina program manager Gloria Del Mar said they noticed a need in the Tenderloin over the last couple years after hearing increasing reports of people being attacked in the streets.
"Many of those tenants get off of work at night late," she said. "Walking home at night and unfortunately they get attacked."
Del Mar and her colleagues at the Central City SRO Collaborative are involved in housing and tenants' rights.
Local
Some people who have contacted them were having trouble paying rent after being injured and didn't know what to do next.
Del Mar and her colleagues reached out to the district attorney's office for help, and that became the start of a new collaboration.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Since January, the Central City SRO Collaborative and La Voz Latina have been hosting a district attorney's office victims advocate on Fridays.
During a rollout event Wednesday, the district attorney's office announced two victims advocates office hours: one at La Voz in the Tenderloin and another in Visitation Valley at the Samoan Community Development Center.
The program takes existing resources offered by the district attorney's office and makes them more accessible to certain vulnerable communities.
"We have always provided these services in uncharged cases. That is not new," District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said. "But most people just are unaware that that's available to them. We've had to do more outreach to the public so that they are aware."
The victims advocates can help people track their cases and can even help with small emergency grants for anything from rent to money for transportation to court.
Chan said he was able to get help with food, some emergency expenses and updates on his case.
The district attorney's office said even someone who may not have filed a police report and was a victim of violence can contact the victims advocates for help.
