A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
“Since I’ve been in office, one of the things that has been hardest for me to deal with is what is going on in the Castro,” Sheehy said, referencing the issues of homelessness in the area. “Our response is always to call the police or the DPW (Department of Public Works) to find them a place to stay. We cannot solve the problem until we find places.”
— Supervisor Jeff Sheehy,
Chad Mitchell, a young tech transplant from Boise, Iowa was cruelly forced to spend Saturday night wandering the streets of San Francisco with no way home, and suddenly understood what it is likely to experience chronic homelessness in the city.
Chad had one too many Manhattans at the cocktail bar on Valencia Street and stumbled out at closing, ready to head home to his condo and his girlfriend Rebecca. As he bent at the waist to hurl he noticed a sticker on the pavement that read “Queers Hate Techies”and,
SROs, or single room occupancy hotels, have long formed the backbone of San Francisco housing. SROs traditionally serve low-income individuals and are often owned privately, but operated by nonprofits or leased by the city. According to the Department of Building Inspection, there are 404 privately owned SROs in San Francisco with around 13,190 residential rooms available for rental.
As the housing crisis in San Francisco shows no signs of abating,
This neighbourhood comes together to
Serve the community,
Long-time community,
Form bonds
Among themselves,
Feed the people,
North Oakland people
Free home-made
And donated food
On bowls & plates,
Free rides
To the hospital,
Free legal advice
Teaching the poor
About rights they
Never knew they had,
This June voters will be asked to vote on an initiative put forward by the Police Officers Association (POA) that would arm every police officer with Tasers,, a lethal weapon that has long been controversial in San Francisco. The Police Commission, a body meant to enforce police accountability, approved the implementation of Tasers in SFPD in November but has undergone an extensive community process to decide when Tasers can or cannot be used. The ballot initiative would set that policy for them.
Two ballot measures are rushing to the June ballot this year that aim to recuperate taxes from businesses and put them to work for poor people. Both are new gross receipts taxes, or taxes on the revenue receipts taken in by businesses in San Francisco. Measure C, introduced by Norman Yee and Jane Kim, is a 3 percent tax meant to fund pay increases for child care workers. Measure D, introduced by Asha Safai, is a 1.7 percent tax meant to generate $60 million for shelter and housing for homeless people (potentially 400 units),
hands tied — behind my back,
swinging loose, but purposeless
my footfalls are hamster wheels,
same tread ground, around and around
nowhere.
like Hades, no trees,
only bare bones and screams
no roses, no moon, no suns
solitary.
my soul – detached from humanity
it turns,
After meeting with District Attorney George Gascón, advocates for the family of a slain homeless man learned that a decision whether to charge two San Francisco police officers who shot him would come in six to eight weeks.
But recent figures published by an activist organization suggest that the cops might go scot free.
On February 28, Gascón met with friends and family of Luis Góngora Pat to update them on his office’s investigation of the fatal shooting of Góngora Pat at a Mission District encampment in 2016.
