A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
My name is Tracey.
I am a peer organizer at the Coalition on Homelessness. And I am currently homeless.
I am a single parent of an 8 years old daughter.
My story is not unique. I was stably housed for several years but I was still considered homeless due to my not being on a lease.
When I lost my housing I was in an emergency shelter briefly,
TOP “NO ON C” CONTRIBUTORS
(as of Oct. 31, 2018, from SF Ethics Commission)
With 7500 people on the streets in San Francisco according to the 2017 San Francisco Point in Time Homeless Count, organizations are eager to create unique and innovative solutions to end the homelessness crisis in San Francisco. While some nonprofit organizations focus on advertising services available to homeless San Franciscans, ShelterTech believes in giving people access to technological tools which inform them of resources they can use to exit homelessness. ShelterTech is an all-volunteer organization founded in 2016 by Darcel Jackson,
San Joaquin Democratic Assemblymember Susan Eggman and Senator Scott Wiener, recently authored legislation championed emphatically by San Francisco mayor London Breed. Assembly Bill 186 was a bill that would have provided safe injection sites for the intravenous drug-using population of San Francisco. It began its uphill battle three years ago as a bill that would allow all 58 counties throughout California to independently run safe injection site programs, also referred to as safe consumption centers.
On October 19th, the United Nations Special Rapporteur to the Right to Adequate Housing, Lelani Farha, released her new report documenting the “global scandal” of homeless encampments. In January of 2017, Farha spent time in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California to meet with unhoused residents and housed advocates and described the conditions as “cruel and inhumane”. The only U.S. cities explicitly called out for violations in the UN’s report on global homelessness are San Francisco and Oakland.
One common issue for urban households is lack of leisure space. Often, urban development emphasizes car traffic over pedestrian accessibility, Los Angeles is a case in point; it’s very difficult to move around the city without a car. For kids, this often means more time spent indoors than exercising and spending time with their friends outside. This issue is compounded with kids who live in more dangerous neighborhoods, where parents may not feel comfortable letting their kids play outside alone.
The Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights announced on September 23 that it has sent a strong message to local governments about human rights violations. The action was taken following the presentation of a detailed report and resolution presented to the Commission by Homeless Action!, a homeless rights advocacy group in Santa Rosa. The report cited evidence of systematic and pervasive violations of at least seven articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which safeguards basic standards of living for the health and well-being of people in the event of unemployment,
In late September, Katy Tang, incumbent District 4 Supervisor, and Jim Lazarus, Senior Vice President on the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, held a press conference outside City Hall urging voters to vote no on Proposition C. Supervisor Tang told the press that the homeless population has been stabilized at roughly 7,000 people the past decade. Tang also said that she wants an analysis of Prop. C from the Office of the Controller before considering a yes vote.
The Street Sheet is a powerful newspaper not only because it tells the truth about poverty and provides a platform for homeless writers and artists, but also because it is a tool that on a daily basis tears down the thick walls often built between housed San Franciscans and unhoused vendors. The relationship between Street Sheet vendor Derek Williams and housed resident Marco Bass is a perfect illustration of the connections the paper can help forge.
The Proposition C campaign just took some interesting, if not altogether unexpected, turns. Just as three major San Francisco political figures announced their opposition to taxing multi-million dollar corporations to fund homeless services, a tech mogul whose company would be subject to it voiced his support.
San Francisco’s latest political spectacle was a headline Mayor London tried unsuccessfully to bury. On Oct. 5, just before a holiday weekend, Breed alongside state Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblymember David Chiu simultaneously announced their opposition to the local ballot measure which has the endorsement of eight city supervisors as well as broad public support.
