In response to the alarming rise in family homelessness, Supervisor Hilary Ronen, with support from the Coalition on Homelessness, introduced new legislation at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting on October 22 to extend critical housing subsidies for families in need. The proposed ordinance amends the City’s Administrative Code to provide up to five years of rapid rehousing assistance for eligible families, addressing the increasing number of families at risk of returning to homelessness due to short-term housing subsidies.
PSH Proposal Shames One Drug Culture While Ignoring Another
by Jordan Davis
At the September 24 Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Matt Dorsey pulled yet another policy out of his rear end that sounds reasonable on the surface, but in reality further stigmatizes permanent supportive housing (PSH) residents.
Hot off the heels of his proposed legislation to stifle PSH development unless a certain percentage is dedicated to drug recovery housing, Dorsey announced that he was requesting that legislation be drafted that would require that PSH disclose so-called “drug-tolerant”
Wood Street Residents Trek on Bikes to Meet with State Lawmakers
by Isidore Mika Székely Manes-Dragan
Image courtesy of Wood Street Commons via Instagram
For the third straight year, a group of former Wood Street encampment residents bicycled some 80 miles from Oakland to Sacramento in a show of solidarity with unhoused Californians.
In their annual caravan to the state capitol, the Wood Street Commons residents rode for three days in October to lobby their lawmakers.
Neurodivergent People Have Limited Options for Supportive Care
by Jack Bragen
Years ago, while I sat in a waiting room at a mental health clinic, I observed an old man who might have had dementia being brought in to get his shot of medication. He was grumpy and complaining at first, but said he felt better after the shot. It is plausible that the person administering it was to the man’s liking. It seems more doubtful to me that the medication,
California pledged $500 million to help tenants preserve affordable housing. They didn’t get a dime.
by Felicia Mello/CalMatters
Luke Johnson and his neighbors thought they had found the perfect solution to avoid being displaced from their Silver Lake, Los Angeles fourplex: A state program was offering $500 million to help tenants, community land trusts and other affordable housing developers buy buildings at risk of foreclosure.
With their longtime landlords set on selling the building, Johnson and his neighbors persuaded them to sell to a community land trust that pledged to keep rents low.
No on Prop. D, a Danger to Our Democracy
by Madeleine Matz
Proposition D, a San Francisco ballot measure that would scrap the City’s system of oversight boards, commissions and committees, is antithetical to our local democracy. It should be an easy ‘no’ vote.
First, Prop. D’s origin is sticky with the right wing’s fingerprints. As SPUR notes, Prop. D was drafted by TogetherSF, a political action committee heavily financed by the billionaire Michael Moritz,
Stop Prop. 36, California’s Latest Prison-Industrial Scam
by Cathleen Williams, Homeward Street Journal
“With California dealing with such a serious housing crisis—actually I would say beyond a crisis, we are living through a housing disaster—the idea of re-introducing tens if not hundreds of thousands of felonies into families across California [through Prop. 36] will make that problem not only worse, but it will make it unimaginably worse. It’s not about fixing anything or making anyone safer. Instead,
A Pissed Off Voter Guide, Briefly
by the SF League of Pissed Off Voters
Our friends at The San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters recently released its periodic guide with recommendations on important ballot propositions. In this edition, Street Sheet reprints an abbreviated version focusing on housing and local governance.
Prop. D: No! (see accompanying opinion in this issue) It’s San Francisco’s very own Project 2025. It was put on the ballot by MAGA Mark Farrell for three reasons: as a slush fund to launder money from his sleazy Republican donors;
The Unseen Toll of Homeless Encampment Sweeps
by Hollie Garrett
I watched the correctional officers from the sliver of the cell door window as they strapped on their rubber gloves and set up their metal detectors in preparation of the mass search. I had known this would be coming for days, but that did not simmer the anxiety and stress I felt in my chest and stomach as I watched them prepare to shatter any sense of privacy I may have developed during my stay in this prison.
Why Don’t People Experiencing Street Homelessness Accept Shelter?
by Stop the Sweeps
We know one main thing: shelter is not being offered to most people being swept from street encampments in the US. There are hardly ever enough shelter spaces available.
According to a decision upheld by the Supreme Court in the case Martin v. Boise — a decision currently at risk of being struck down in the case Grants Pass v. Johnson — cities cannot legally sweep people if they are not able to offer every individual shelter.