One of San Francisco's most troubled neighborhoods brings a pumpkin patch to its children

Audio By Carbonatix

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Children from San Francisco's Tenderloin ate pizza, jumped in a bouncy house, got their faces painted and scooped up bags of candy Wednesday during the neighborhood's first ever pumpkin patch festival.

The Tenderloin neighborhood near City Hall is among San Francisco's most troubled, rife with open drug use and homelessness. But it also has the highest concentration of kids in San Francisco, an estimated 3,000 children from largely immigrant families.

The idea for the event came from parents served by nonprofit Compass Family Services. They suggested a field trip to a pumpkin patch for Halloween, said Erica Kisch, the group's CEO.

Kisch scrambled to put together an outing. Then she thought, why not bring the pumpkin patch to the children?

“The kids of the Tenderloin deserve something like this in their own neighborhood,” said Kisch, who was dressed in a green dinosaur costume. “They shouldn’t have to travel elsewhere.”

Laura Lugo, 7, held up two orange bags full of candy. Kit Kats are her favorite.

She wore a long black dress — not to be anyone in particular for Halloween, she said, but because she wanted to be fancy. Her family had been living in an RV and recently moved into an apartment with Compass' help.

“I love it,” her mother, Laura Clavijo, said in Spanish of the new home.

Children from neighborhood schools and child care programs came throughout the day, accompanied by teachers and other trusted adults who shepherd them safely along chaotic city streets. They sat on the ground in circles eating pizza, with some wearing pajamas for pajama day.

Lucy Vang accompanied her 11-year-old son, who was holding a pumpkin. She doesn't like that her children witness substance abuse and scary street behavior. But then there are events like the pumpkin patch.

"They have the luxury of attending these kinds of events in front of City Hall," she said. “It's amazing.”

Kisch said local businesses and groups were eager to donate to the event.

“There's so much stress and so much going on, it’s very difficult right now," she said. "And we wanted to kind of come out here with joy as a form of resilience.”