A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
by Jennifer Friedenbach
It was a record add-back year, even though there was a decrease in General Fund revenue and we had a Mayor’s proposed budget that cut many community programs including $60 million from housing for homeless youth and families and $30 million from child care in two voter initiatives (from 2018). In total the add-back pot for an overall $14.6 billion budget was $80 million over two years.
The latest study of unhoused Californians made headlines, even though its findings are already considered common knowledge among people engaged with the issue. However, what was unusual about the research team investigating homelessness in California is that the team are formerly or currently unhoused residents of the Golden State—and similar groups are emerging around the state.
Call them lived experience boards, lived expertise boards or community advisory boards—bodies with formerly and presently unhoused folk are becoming commonplace in nonprofit organizations and municipal agencies,
by Zach
Pop the champagne corks—or the apple Martinelli’s! It’s been five long years of struggle to access buses in my wheelchair and reach a settlement with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and the City and County of San Francisco. The ink is dry, and it’s time to celebrate!
What has this long and arduous litigation accomplished? Actual changes to SFMTA rules, training, website access, disability discrimination reporting process,
by Zach
Throughout the years of work I put into my lawsuit against the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA), my most unlikely ally was Roger Marenco—a man who was brave enough to look beyond his immediate needs, to see the struggle of the vulnerable and disenfranchised. While currently on the outs with the Transit Workers Union (TWU) Local 250A, the union he was elected president of from 2018 to 2022,
The New Lynchings of the 21st Century
Updated on May 16th to reflect current developments
What does Walgreens carry on its shelves that could be worth a human life? Banko Brown was a young Black trans activist who had been unhoused in San Francisco for a decade. In his volunteer work and community organizing with the Young Women’s Freedom Center, he consistently advocated for basic access to services, and was beloved by his community.
What We’re Looking For as Prop C Funds Roll Out
BellaRoze Nelson
San Francisco is OUR home. No matter where we came from or how we ended up here, we are here. We are human, we too reminisce about the good old days, and wonder when the line between right and wrong got so hazy. The streets of San Francisco tell a brutal story of wealth, poverty and the pursuit of profit over the housing needs of human beings.
By: Carlos Wadkins
On Tuesday, March 21 San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors convened a special hearing for the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) to present its “A Place For All” report. The department released this report last December as required by Supervisor Rafael Mandelman’s legislation of the same name. Since then Mandelman has been a vocal critic of the report, claiming on Twitter that it “is not a serious or feasible effort to end unsheltered homelessness” because of the high price tag attached and HSH’s insistence on an investment package which includes shelter,
by Ian James, Yessica Hernandez and Migeul Carrera
The Oasis Inn family shelter once again sits empty, after the building’s owners decided to allow its lease with the City of San Francisco to expire at the end of January. The Oasis Inn provided shelter to dozens of unhoused pregnant people and families, including families fleeing domestic violence.
The City’s lease was originally scheduled to expire at the end of December.
by Javier Bremond
The Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco has documented numerous violations of the preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge in their lawsuit against the City of San Francisco for violating the constitutional rights of unhoused San Franciscans.
In September 2022, the Coalition filed a lawsuit stating that the City has been unjustly sweeping homeless individuals by displacing them with no alternatives to adequate shelter,
by Anonymous
Few people believe disability rights is a racial justice issue. On face value, it isn’t. But did you know, although less than 3% of the total population, Black San Franciscans are twice as likely to be disabled than white San Franciscans?
How is this possible? How can somebody’s race make them more likely to be disabled or not?
While I don’t have all the answers to that question,
