A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
story and photos by Shakema Straker
Pancakes in the Park in San Francisco celebrated its 20th anniversary. Since 2006, members of the unhoused community gather every week for brunch at Golden Gate Park.
The smell reaches you before anything else. Warm batter on a hot griddle, drifting through the eucalyptus and fog of Golden Gate Park on a Tuesday morning. On March 17, near the Children’s Playground,
by Lukas Illa
San Francisco community based-organizations enter another city budget cycle with great uncertainty of whether their core programs will exist in four months time. With Mayor Daniel Lurie’s Austerity First budget (my words, not his), San Francisco is once again electing to siphon funding for working-class communities of color to pad law enforcement agencies’ already bloated budgets.
The People’s Budget Coalition has tracked a combination of $62 million expected cuts to the Department of Public Health (DPH),
by Jordan Wasilewski
In 2020, one of my earlier Street Sheet pieces focused on two material issues relating to permanent supportive housing (PSH) and SROs that were especially relevant at the moment: The lack of air conditioning or cooling systems for tenants during a heat wave and no WiFi during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic is over for a vast majority of people. Senior & Disability Action are still pushing for WiFi in SROs and permanent supportive housing,
by Marisa Kendall, CalMatters
Homelessness prevention shows promising results in California, as advocates push to spread it statewide and nationally.
Maybe the way out of California’s homelessness crisis is to prevent it in the first place, rather than focusing only on people who have already lost their housing.
That’s the thinking behind a program in Santa Clara County — and others like it around the state — that has gained traction and will soon test its strategy beyond California.
By Katie Doran and Annemarie Cuccia
Last summer, a DC resident was looking for apartments to rent with his newly received housing voucher. The man, who Street Sense is not identifying to protect his family’s privacy and the outreach organization that he worked with, was born in El Salvador. His parents brought him to the US more than 20 years ago,
by Lupe Velez
Proposed changes to decision-making and advisory bodies might tilt the balance of power in favor of the Mayor’s Office. Creative Commons image by Blaine A. White.
In the latest development regarding the future of the city’s commissions and committees, Mayor Daniel Lurie and Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman proposed three ballot propositions that boost executive power this month. If these measures pass,
by Jonathan Reichart
January 19, 1970–February 6, 2026
Adam John Reichart was born January 19, 1970 to John and Linda Reichart in Buffalo, New York. Adam passed on February 6, 2026 and is survived by his brothers, Aric Reichart and Allan Smith; sister Sophia Dahn; three children, Jonathan, Trevor and Kennedy Reichart; and eight grandchildren.
Adam was a happy individual who was always willing to help someone and give the shirt off his back,
by Michael Inman
San Francisco calls itself a “Sanctuary City.” In City Hall, that word is a shield. But on the corners of Sixth and Mission streets, or in the shadows of Dore Alley, “sanctuary” has a much darker meaning. If you ask the people living on the pavement, they’ll tell you the truth: San Francisco isn’t a sanctuary; it’s a city of enforcers.
The Refugees We Ignore
The biggest mistake we make is assuming everyone on the street is there by choice.
story and photo by Cathleen Williams
On February 12, six unhoused plaintiffs and Ktown for All, a community organization, scored a stunning win in federal court against the City of Los Angeles. In Garcia v. City of Los Angeles, the court entered judgment against the City because it had falsified hundreds, if not thousands, of records in order to conceal and justify its practice of trashing the belongings of unhoused people living in encampments across the City pursuant to LA Ordinance 57.11,
By Kristen Hwang/CalMatters
A majority of California’s roughly 180,000 people experiencing homelessness have health insurance through Medi-Cal. Providers predict that many will lose insurance under President Donald Trump’s upcoming work mandates even if they qualify for exemptions.
On a brisk January morning, physician assistant Brett Feldman searched the streets of Los Angeles for patients, knocking on car windows and peering into tents. It was the day after a winter storm had doused the city,
