A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
by Marisa Kendall/ CalMatters
In major cities and more rural areas, arrests and citations rose in the months following last summer’s Supreme Court decision. In some places, officials insist the events are unrelated.
Homeless residents of some of California’s biggest cities increasingly are facing criminal penalties for the actions they take to survive on the street, according to a first-of-its-kind CalMatters analysis of data throughout the state.
UPDATE: On July 23, both sides agreed to settle the lawsuit out of court, pending approval by the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor’s office.
What’s at Stake: Coalition on Homelessness is a challenge to the City and County of San Francisco’s efforts to criminalize homelessness through an array of unconstitutional practices, including confiscating and destroying the personal property of unhoused people without adequate notice or due process,
by Jordan Wasilewski
I am no fan of my new supervisor, Bilal Mahmood, whom I think cares more for his wealthier constituents in his district than Tenderloin residents. He just proposed legislation that affirms my viewpoint.
In May, he introduced an ordinance that would require the City to approve new health and homeless facilities in each supervisorial district by June 30, 2026. Those facilities would include new homeless shelters,
Despite important wins, People’s Budget Coalition stands in strong opposition to finalized budget that sacrifices key services and values in order to criminalize poverty
Early on Thursday, June 26, at 2 a.m., the Board of Supervisors Budget and Appropriation committee voted to approve a budget that balances an $800 million deficit on the backs of San Francisco’s poorest and most vulnerable residents while expanding funding for jail expansion, high-end police equipment purchases and Mayor’s Office staffing.
by Charlie Fisch and Azucena Hernandez
On Tuesday, June 17, the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) Board of Directors met to approve on a 6–1 vote a refuge permit program that would exempt oversize vehicles from a proposed two-hour parking limit for up to 12 months. Approval of the program is only the first step in Mayor Daniel Lurie’s two-phased RV ban. Members of the End Poverty Tows Coalition and their allies told the panel that this plan will lead to displacement and increased street homelessness while residents struggle to find shelter.
by Lupe Velez
Mayor Daniel Lurie unveiled a proposal for San Francisco’s city budget for the next two fiscal years in a May 30 video statement.
While funding for the San Francisco Police, Sheriff and Fire departments and the District Attorney’s office is preserved—or even increased—nonprofits with City contracts face $200 million in cuts in the next two years. These include several groups that deliver services like homelessness prevention,
On a bright Sunday afternoon on May 18, a group of transgender activists gathered at the corner of Turk and Taylor streets in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. The group, Compton’s x Coalition, invited local media, including Street Sheet, to the rally outside the 111 Taylor St. Apartments, which stands on the site of a historic riot over a half-century before.
The rally culminated in two members of a direct action group called Traction SF climbing a fire escape to the roof and dropping two vertical banners that displayed a single message: “Liberate Compton’s.”
The building at 111 Taylor St.
by Jordan Wasilewski
In springtime of 2025, the conversation around sober and recovery housing continues from San Francisco to Sacramento. Matt Haney’s Assembly Bill 255 allows cities and counties to set aside up to 25% of state homelessness funds for sober living quarters. The set-aside is not required: It’s merely an ask for permission to allocate funding for up to 25% of permanent supportive housing units of funds for sober living,
By Nicole Rowland and Lukas Illa
Banner hung at Lake Merritt in Oakland on April 22, 2025. Courtesy of Western Regional Advocacy Project.
The following speech was delivered at a teach-in sponsored by the Western Regional Advocacy Project and other organizations at Lake Merritt in Oakland, California on April 22, 2025. The teach-in was part of a nationwide effort to educate people about the impact of sweeps had on unsheltered people since last year’s Supreme Court ruling on Grants Pass v.
A group of San Francisco based public health practitioners and community members began organizing in January in response to the City’s attack on drug users and harm reduction services in San Francisco. The Underbelly Project, which symbolizes the under-represented communities of San Francisco, began collecting interviews from unhoused people who use drugs and access harm reduction services. On March 15, the group projected powerful quotes gathered from the transcripts of those interviews on walls at the 24th Street/Mission BART Station—as a way to engage and educate the public.
