For the last four years, Lidia Sandoval has escorted local senior citizens to appointments and escorted kids to school, as part of the city’s community ambassador program. On April 6, she — and all community ambassadors from the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs — was informed that her job was being eliminated. Her last day is May 6.
In areas of the Mission like Marshall Elementary, a public school that has struggled for years with spillover chaos from the drug use and fencing of stolen goods near the 16th Street BART plazas, the ambassadors have come to feel like a critical part of the community. They show up before the school’s security guard arrives at 10 am. They’ve distributed safety information during immigration scares. They file 311 requests to clean up the surrounding streets, and ask people who are drinking, using drugs, or otherwise behaving disruptively around the school to move along. They show up at the start and end of the day to help kids feel safe walking to or from the building. On a recent rainy Monday, an ambassador carrying an umbrella walked children from their parents’ cars into the school.
“They know kids by name. They’ll give a kid a hug when they come out of the car,” said Elaine Ellis, a social worker at Marshall Elementary. “We trust them.”
The abrupt layoffs are a U-turn for the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs, which runs the ambassador program. City officials decided last year to end the program as part of the city budget process, but the ambassadors had been told that they would stay on until their contracts expired
Two operational staffers and 14 ambassadors will be losing their jobs. Out of these, three had job agreements with the city until the end of 2026, nine that ended in 2027 and four until 2028.
Mayor Daniel Lurie made promised in February to add more ambassadors (as well as more police foot patrols) in the area near 16th and Mission streets. When asked how laying off the area’s current crew of ambassadors factored into promises to expand the program and if any new personnel or programs would be doing the work of the ambassadors who had been laid off, the mayor’s office referred Mission Local to the city administrator’s office for comment. A request sent to the city administrator’s office was met with a formal statement from the city’s Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs.
On a recent rainy Monday, community ambassadors from the Mission team walked around 16th and Mission streets informing those in the rain of nearby services. Photo by Oscar Palma.
The statement did not answer any of the questions on the list, but did state that the city was“working with ambassadors on ensuring they are prepared for their next opportunity, including connecting them to potential employers.”
It appears the city may be moving toward subcontracting ambassadors. In July 2025, Ahsing Solutions, a private firm, was contracted by the city to do similar work around the 16th St Bart plazas. In December 2025, the city announced a $21 million budget allocation to five nonprofits to hire “roaming ambassadors” that would be deployed across more territory throughout the city.
“I truly feel like it was a bait and switch,” said one ambassador, who said that their layoff notice provided no explanation as to why they were being let go with months remaining on their contract. “I feel like I’ve wasted the last couple of years because there’s no way I can, with this job experience, find something equivalent that will pay me at least as much, if not more, or give me the same kind of benefits.”
The ambassadors earn between $26.27 and $29.29 an hour (plus benefits).
The union representing the ambassadors, SEIU 1021, confirmed the layoffs, and said the ambassadors they had been in contact with had not received any offers to be reassigned.
“SEIU 1021 stands firmly opposed to the unethical and, in our view, illegal outsourcing of city work to private organizations that pay workers less to perform similar work,” read a statement from the union, which added that the union had documented several other layoff and reassignment actions that violate employment law regarding contractors hired to work for the city.
SEIU 1021 is, the statement added, filing unfair labor practice charges with the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).
Currently, community ambassadors are divided into three teams: Mid Market/Tenderloin, Bayview and the Mission. The Mission team was formed in 2014, began assisting Marshall Elementary in 2021. In August of 2025, community ambassador teams working in Chinatown, the Sunset and parts of District 5 ceased operations.
The program cost $2.03 million this fiscal year including salaries, benefits and equipment, said Jorge Rivas, the executive director of the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs.
The Mission’s ambassadors also provide support at food banks across the neighborhood and a safety presence at the Art Youth Exchange Program, the Boys and Girls Club, and at Ladies Night at the Mission Neighborhood Resource Center. They also escort seniors and people with disabilities who need assistance running errands or going to appointments.
For Carmen Garcia, who picks up her two grandkids every day at Marshall, the ambassadors’ presence was always pleasant.
“They’re so nice and kind. They say hi to you and they know, and take care of all the children,” said Garcia in Spanish.
For Sandoval, saying goodbye to the children at Marshall will be difficult.
“The kids’ hugs. That’s what I’m gonna miss the most. You can’t replace that.”