It’s Time for a PSH Tenant Convention

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Wasilewski

I want to share something I learned in high school, a parable from South Asia about the blind men and the elephant. Several blind men touched the elephant in different parts of their body and came back with various different descriptions of the animal, which, although accurate, was incomplete. Together, the blind men could have painted a picture of the elephant and all its multitudes. I am also reminded of a quote by deaf-blind disability advocate and socialist Helen Keller,

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Scenes from Tenant Empowerment Week, Part 2

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Wasilewski

In June of this year, I participated in a Tenant Empowerment Week, which was organized by the Supportive Housing Providers Network (SHPN). I wrote about my first two days at the event last month, and continue here. 

On Wednesday, Day 3, I once again got up early, put on some clothing that could be considered “gothic professional,” printed off the PSH Tenant Bill Of Rights Proposal,

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Majority Conservative Board of Supervisors Vote to Increase Homelessness, Refuse Eviction Protections In Dorsey’s Drug-Free PSH Policy

by Contributing Author

by Lupe Velez

On Tuesday, July 14, the Board of Supervisors voted 7–4 to pass Supervisor Matt Dorsey’s Drug-Free PSH legislation. The passage was expected because five supervisors joined Dorsey as co-sponsors. 

First drafted in late 2025, the policy called for the creation of drug-free permanent supportive housing from which tenants with a history of substance use disorder would be evicted if they relapse twice. The controversial policy has concerned substance use experts,

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The Cost of Homelessness: Subsidies and Social Housing

by Contributing Author

by Zach Bollinger

In the final two weeks of June, organizations, nonprofits, activists and concerned citizens assembled at City Hall, largely under the banner of The People’s Budget Coalition, to demand, well, a budget for the people, not a budget for the billionaires, speculators, and landlords. This coalition lobbied for a variety of interests, including funding for arts programs, women’s safety and rights organizations, maintaining Free City College,

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Advocates Call for End to War on Homeless People at San Francisco City Hall

by TJ Johnston

photos by Zach Bollinger

On the same day that Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office announced “record-low number of tent encampments and large vehicles on San Francisco streets,” advocates for homeless people gathered on the steps of City Hall to demand more services and an end to criminalization.

Three organizations, including the Coalition on Homelessness (COH), which publishes Street Sheet, hosted the rally on June 9 to protest what they call a futile and cruel response to homelessness. 

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America, the New Banana Republic

by Contributing Author

by Paul Boden/Western Regional Advocacy Project

Let’s be real about what’s happening. The U.S. Government is endeavoring to solidify its long time quest of a fascist dictatorship rule. It’s moving incredibly fast because the structures needed to pull this off have been getting implemented piecemeal and with purpose since the Reagan Revolution in 1980. So now they are ready to rock and roll.

Dictatorships always rely on a militarized police force to rain hell on a scapegoated minority that are “blamed” as the cause of whatever the authorities decide is going to put fear into their base and use that fear to stoke division and prejudice amongst people.

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Blast from the Past: The Gender-Neutral Bathroom Law That Could Only Happen In San Francisco

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Wasilewski

If you told me when I was a little and in the closet that I would eventually get a first-of-its-kind law passed that would help transgender and disabled people, I would have laughed in your face. However, that is what happened.

In 2015, I was placed into a permanent supportive housing SRO. I spent three months in a unit without a bathroom.

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A History of Homelessness: This Was Never Inevitable, and We Still Have a Chance to End It

by Contributing Author

Modern homelessness has unfolded in two chapters in the United States. The first chapter was of course the Great Depression, a period of displacement and poverty that was corrected for by a mass investment in housing and the passage of  the Housing Act of 1949that guaranteed decent housing for impoverished people. The second chapter opened in 1983, when Ronald Reagan eliminated 76% of the federal housing budget and abandoned the commitment made by that same Housing Act. 

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An Emergency Voucher Keeps This Mother Housed. Without It, She Might Face Homelessness Again. Q and A with Jessica Boykins

by Contributing Author

interview by Christian Jiminez

Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV) are federal rental assistance vouchers authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to help individuals and families who are homeless, at-risk of homelessness, or fleeing domestic violence. Administered by the department of Housing and urban Development (HUD)through local housing authorities, these vouchers provide long-term, tenant-based rental subsidies for private market housing. The program was intended to run through 2030.

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No Displacement Without Real Replacement

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Wasilewski

When I served on the SRO Task Force as a tenant representative for two years, I was charged with the duty of meeting SRO tenants where they are at and making their lives better. However, I have come to realize over the last few years that the City needs to move on from housing formerly homeless people in ramshackle SROs, and many would agree with me. However, in mid-April,

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