When Academy Award–winning director Francis Ford Coppola took the stage at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts earlier this month, the audience expected to hear stories from a legendary career — The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and his latest epic, Megalopolis. And he delivered: candid anecdotes about Hollywood history, reflections on the creative process, and warnings about the fragility of civilization.
But amid the film lore and philosophical insights, Coppola spoke about something closer to home — and to the heart of our mission at North Beach Citizens.
“I used to walk to work and see these homeless people sleeping, and people would call them human garbage. What, are we crazy?” he told the crowd. It was this deep sense of empathy and outrage that led him to found North Beach Citizens in 2001, determined to create a community-based solution to homelessness in his own neighborhood.
Coppola’s belief — that solutions to society’s biggest challenges must begin at the community level — remains at the core of our work today. For over two decades, North Beach Citizens has been committed to helping our unhoused and low-income neighbors access housing, food, and essential services, guided by the principle that everyone deserves dignity, respect, and a place to call home.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s coverage of Coppola’s remarks serves as a reminder that the issues we face in San Francisco are deeply intertwined with larger societal challenges — and that local action is both possible and powerful.
From the creation of The Godfather to his ambitious self-financed Megalopolis, Coppola’s career has been defined by taking risks, challenging norms, and holding true to a personal vision. His founding of North Beach Citizens came from that same spirit: seeing a problem others ignored, and working to create change.
As Coppola himself said during the event, “The solution to most of society’s problems has to be addressed first at the community level.” We couldn’t agree more.
You can read the full San Francisco Chronicle article here and learn more about our ongoing work to support our neighbors here.