In 1966, a police raid on Gene Compton’s, an after-hours cafeteria here in the Tenderloin lit a fuse and the LGBTQ+ world exploded in a riotous battle over space and survival. Pushed to the margins of society by segregation within the LGBT community, anti-gay laws, and the constant threat of violence, transgender women fought back against the officers with what was at their fingertips: coffee, trays, and chairs. Their brave resistance set the stage for the Stonewall Riots and fed the flame of a growing Gay Liberation movement.

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The Mayor’s proposed budget allocates less than 2.5% of funding for the Dept. of Homelessness

Three months ago, a team of homeless service providers sent to the City a proposal for housing San Francisco residents without a home and keeping others housed.

On June 1, Mayor Ed Lee replied. The response was essentially, “yes to some, no to others.”

As reported in the last issue of Street Sheet,

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Senior Daniel McHugh won’t be getting fined for eating at a bus stop.

It’s a citation that most have never heard of: Under California’s criminal code, eating at a bus shelter is illegal and can produce a fine of up to $250. McHugh, who was sharing a slice of pizza with a friend for her birthday, was cited by a San Francisco police officer in early March while waiting for the bus on Market and Seventh streets and fined $234.

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For the past five and one half years, I have been a Shelter Client Advocate. The San Francisco Shelter Grievance Policy states that Shelter Client Advocates “monitor shelter conditions and the application of shelter rules, act as informal conflict resolvers between shelters and their clients, and assist clients in appealing denials of service.” And for four years prior to this, I worked in a family shelter in the City.

Over this nine and a half years,

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350 Jones St. has a small and unassuming storefront, with a small door sandwiched between two glass display window. Inside, a small room is lined with metal shelves piled high with bulging black garbage bags. In fact, on any given day, you can find over 320 of those black garbage bags at 350 Jones.

Run by the Providence Foundation of San Francisco, the barely 700 square foot room is the only free storage space for more than 7,000 homeless people in San Francisco.

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My nickname is Action Jackson because I like action. I was born in Oakland, CA. I had eight brothers and five sisters. I learned how to hustle at the early age of 5. I learned how to go talk for money. My mother couldn’t keep track of all the kids. I went to school at Oakland Tech High School, and then I quit high school and I started hustling pool at 16 and it took me all around the U.S.,

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If you’re a regular reader of Street Sheet by Coalition on Homelessness, you might be surprised to hear that the paper’s recent upgrades — full color front pages and a new website — were sponsored by the same people who brought you AirBnB: Silicon Valley’s preeminent startup incubator, Y Combinator.

But donating to the Coalition on Homelessness was definitely not Y Combinator’s idea. They were compelled  to give a $20,000 donation to an organization that actively helps homeless and low income people,

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During the City’s budget process, service providers fight hard for funding to keep San Franciscans housed and to house San Franciscans. 

As the City’s budget process draws near, San Francisco’s homeless service providers and advocates have come together to call on the City to increase funding for housing and services for homeless populations. The Homeless Emergency Service Providers Association, or HESPA, is a group of 27 nonprofits that includes some of the biggest players in providing homeless services,

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The Coalition on Homelessness was invited to be part of the World Meeting of Popular Movements, an event in Modesto, California, meant to bring together Catholic leadership and grassroots organizers to address inequality and exclusion. When we first got there it was really crowded, with so many people greeting us and welcoming us. I was so excited to be there, surrounded by people who really wanted to step up and do something,

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