Are We Going to Be Able to Vaccinate Everyone?

by Rupal Ramesh Shah

Trying to protect those who are most vulnerable to COVID-19

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) people experiencing homelessness may have difficulty accessing basic medical services. Hence, the CDC has developed several guidelines to ensure homeless people are prioritized during vaccine implementation. One of them is to work with “continuum of care” programs, which promote community-wide efforts to end homelessness and directly address the needs of unhoused people.

In the city of San Francisco,

… READ MORE

Share this:

BART Restrooms Reopen After Two Decades

by TJ Johnston

Last month, public restrooms reopened in two underground BART stations after more than 20 years, having been closed after the September 11 attacks in 2001. Powell Street Station’s two public restrooms reopened on Feb. 2, while bathrooms reopened at Oakland’s 19th Street station on Feb. 25. 

Advocates applauded the reopening but faulted the Bay Area-wide transit agency for shutting public bathrooms in the first place, which has denied the human right to accessing water for drinking,

… READ MORE

Share this:

How Housing Choice Vouchers Saved My Family

by Dempsey "Sunbear" Jackson

In 2011, I was homeless and addicted to methamphetamines. That year, I found out that my girlfriend of 10 years, Amy, was pregnant with our son, Marley. We went to Jelani House, a rehabilitation program, to try to prepare for our son’s arrival. But when we showed up, the shelter wouldn’t let me bring my service dog inside. Instead, I had to stay on the street and try to get clean alone while taking care of our dogs,

… READ MORE

Share this:

Vendor Profile: Stanley Michael Jackson

by Quiver Watts

How long have you been selling STREET SHEET? 

Over 20 years—started when I saw my niece selling them. I couldn’t believe it: People would just give me money for this paper! It makes me feel good because I like talking to people, and they’ll actually listen to you. You can tell them what’s happening in the Bay Area, you know what I’m saying. I tell them stories about my life. 

… READ MORE

Share this:

Separating Facts from False Narratives of Shellenberger’s “San Fransicko”

by Jennifer Friedenbach
A cop with an evil grin points a gun as bodies and tents go flying, and a figure in the foreground stares at their phone looking distressed.

On February 3, the author Michael Shellenberger climbed the fence of the City’s new Tenderloin Linkage Center to try and take photos of clients seeking services there. It was an attempt to “expose” the City for providing an outdoor space that allows drug use. Overdose rates have been skyrocketing, many attributed to the availability of fentanyl, combined with the deep despair the pandemic brought to unhoused San Franciscans who have been suffering through a lack of shelter,

… READ MORE

Share this: