No State Execution by COVID-19

by Press release

Press release: SAN QUENTIN PRISON PROTEST West Gate, Saturday May 9 @ 11AM

A car caravan demonstration to demand protection from the deadly COVID-19 virus for prisoners is set for Saturday, May 9th. Cars will assemble at the Larkspur Ferry Terminal parking lot at 10AM. The caravan will begin at 11AM driving up Sir Francis Drake Blvd. to the West Gate of San Quentin State Prison. They will be protesting prison authorities who are leaving the most vulnerable people—prison inmates in overcrowded conditions—in danger without basic protections and unable to enact physical distancing.

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SROs Are a Symptom of the Disease Called Poverty

by Anakh Sul Rama 

I am Anakh Sul Rama. I am formerly homeless and I live with and community-organize with formerly homeless people in single resident occupancy hotels, or SROs.

I don’t think that people know what they are saying when they say that “We are ALL in this together.” We are not all in this together. Similar to how the phrase “ALL lives matter” whitewashes the implications of police violence on black people, “we are all in this together” minimizes the incredible struggle disparity that exists in our day-to-day from a race and class context. 

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Unhoused, Sheltered in Place: Homelessness in Pandemic Times

by TJ Johnston

San Francisco is being held as an exemplar in its approach to “flattening the curve” during the COVID—19 pandemic. But unhoused people and their advocates are saying the City is actually behind the curve when it comes to halting the spread among the homeless population.

As of April 24, the SF Department of Public Health has reported 134 positive cases among people with no fixed residence, which comprises exactly 10% of 1,340 cases citywide.

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In the Time of COVID-19: Addressing LGBTQ Needs

by Rupal Ramesh Shah

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic due to COVID—19, the viral disease that is affecting many countries throughout the world. As a result, LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning) communities all over the United States are facing challenges, especially those who are homeless. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation published a research brief recently that indicates that 17% of LGBTQ people lack health coverage, 1 in 5 LGBTQ people live in poverty,

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An Open Letter to Mayor London Breed

by Quiver Watts

Dear Mayor London Breed, 

On Tuesday, April 14, all eleven members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to pass the Emergency Ordinance – Limiting COVID-19 Impacts through Safe Shelter Options. The Ordinance calls for the City to secure 8,250 private rooms by April 26, 2020, including 7000 rooms for homeless San Franciscans. This would allow us to quickly meet the needs for thousands of homeless residents in our streets and shelters who currently have no way of sheltering-in-place.

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Under Pressure, City Shifts Plan for Moscone West

by Quiver Watts, Street Sheet editor

A partial victory, but congregate shelters are still being used to house the majority of homeless people

Less than 24 hours after our story “Mayor Breed Opts for Mass Indoor Camps” broke, the City announced a change of approach for addressing the pandemic in shelters. But don’t be misled by the headlines!

The real change, which is significant, is that the city has abandoned its plan to move shelter residents into the Moscone Center,

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Mayor Breed Opts for Mass Indoor Camps

by Quiver Watts, Street Sheet editor

UPDATE: Our coverage of this outrageous plan prompted a shift for the city. Get the latest coverage HERE

A look inside the new Moscone Center congregate “Shelter”

While hundreds of advocates have been desperately contacting Mayor London Breed imploring her to place homeless people in hotel rooms and vacant units, it seems she has her own plan for addressing poverty during the pandemic: opening indoor camps to further concentrate vulnerable people.

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COVID-19 Weekly Top Shelf Policy Recommendations Coalition on Homelessness | April 1, 2020

by Quiver Watts

HOUSE HOMELESS PERSONS IN VACANT HOTEL ROOMS NOW.

The Current Situation: The  City is only placing homeless people being discharged or diverted from SFGH beds who test positive or who are symptomatic into hotel rooms. The city announced today they are prioritizing hotel rooms for vulnerable people on streets, in shelters and in SRO’s but they have not moved any of them into a hotel room.  

What We Want: We are calling on the City to shelter all homeless people and those in congregate settings  into vacant units as a preventative measure, … READ MORE

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COVID-19: Homelessness & Faith Communities in San Francisco

by Kelley Cutler, Human Rights Organizer

Unfortunately we will not be publishing a print version of our April 1st edition because of the risk to our vendors and readers. In the midst of this pandemic, our Street Sheet vendors need your support more than ever. Please consider making a donation to our EMERGENCY VENDOR SUPPORT FUND to help vendors cover essential costs while they are unable to sell the newspaper.

Today we spent time figuring out how to organize collecting and distributing tents across the City for folks who have no place to ‘shelter in place’ during the pandemic.

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Former Foster Youth and Homelessness

by Quiver Watts

As information regarding the coronavirus and its potential threat of becoming a pandemic permeate every media outlet arising in pandemonium, prolonged homelessness as a social problem continues to fall through the cracks. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness in 2018, a total of 552,830 people experienced homelessness. This is an estimate calculated by using the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department’s annual Point-in-Time (PIT) count which is collected through Continuum of Care (COC) communities who self-report the homeless population.

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