A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
By Mirjam Washuus
In September, housed residents of Clinton Park sparked disorder in the community by attempting to rid their street of drug dealers and homeless people living in encampments. They decided to do so by crowdfunding the installation of boulders onto the sidewalk.
Clearly, someone among the residents have read Albert Camus’ philosophical essay, “The Myth of Sisyphus.” Here, Camus contemplates the purpose of living in a universe devoid of order and meaning,
By TJ Johnston
As Street Sheet goes to press, a ballot initiative that could put unsheltered people with mental challenges under further scrutiny from law enforcement and court system has been introduced.
On October 10, a proposal called the California Compassionate Intervention Act was submitted to the state attorney general’s office. Under the plan, police would be further empowered to arrest homeless people under existing state codes — including those for illegal lodging and drug-related offenses — and divert them to a special behavioral court in their county.
by America Greenfield-Peterson
My whole life money has been something I have worried about. After my parents got divorced me, my mom and my brother lived for a while either on the couches in my grandparents’ house or in a trailer in the driveway for a few years off and on. My parents had to sell the house they bought prior to the divorce so at my dad’s house me, my dad and my brother moved in with his brother and shared their extra bedroom.
By J de Salvo
Food or drugs? Yes, you. I’m talking to you. Well, which is it? Food or drugs? What? You need to do laundry? You want a cup of coffee? I’m sorry. Your choice is simple: food or drugs.
That would get annoying after a while, wouldn’t it? Suppose you weren’t hungry, or you didn’t do drugs. Suppose there was something you really needed to get done in order to move forward with your life,
From the Coalition on Homelessness
On the tails of the Trump Administration blasting California cities including San Francisco and Los Angeles for the homelessness crisis, and calling for the creation of camps, members of the Trump administration, including Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson visited San Francisco’s Potrero Hill housing development.
According to Jennifer Friedenbach, Coalition on Homelessness Executive Director, “Look around any major United States city and one can see people who are suffering as a result of the Trump government’s indifference to poverty and homelessness.
by Mirjam Washuus
“The San Francisco Department of Public Health’s top priority is patient care. (…) We share the urgency to improve the lives of San Franciscans who are experiencing homelessness, mental illness and substance use disorder.”
These were the opening lines of a September 20 statement from Public Health director Grant Colfax in the wake of a prematurely adjourned Health Commission meeting three days earlier. It was shut down by a coalition of activists and nursing professionals who showed up with signs,
Millions March Globally To Protest Unsustainable Environmental Practices and Policies
by Quiver Watts
Young children crouched with paintbrushes over brightly painted murals as Food Not Bombs volunteers wandered around offering cups of water or slices of watermelon to beat back the scorching heat. An ATM machine was blocked by a banner bearing a menacing depiction of Brazilian authoritarian Jair Bolsonaro while hand painted signs carried strident demands for climate action. Crowds swayed to the beat as musicians strummed and sang,
State law gives new protections, but there’s still more to be done
By Sasha Perigo
originally published by the SF Examiner, reprinted with permission
Starting this January, San Francisco renters will see an unprecedented expansion in their rights thanks to statewide legislation.
Well, some of us will.
Thankfully, our Board of Supervisors has the power to fill in some gaps.
On Wednesday housing justice organization ACCE celebrated the legislature’s passage of AB 1482 on Twitter:
“We still can’t believe it.
GLIDE Harm Reduction Services director Paul Harkin demystifies fentanyl and shares the known solutions to the opioid crisis
Reprinted from Glide, https://www.glide.org/facts-on-fentanyl/
Friday, August 30, is Overdose Awareness Day, dedicated to remembering lives lost and lives saved in the opioid crisis, as well as to informing the public about humane and evidence-based ways to mitigate the risks and fatalities associated with drug use. Here in the TL, we’ll be gathering from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at the Tenderloin National Forest (511 Ellis Street) to honor the lives lost,
by Darnell Boyd
I heard that 50% of the homeless population is over 50 years of age.
How could this be? You mean to tell me that the seventh-largest economy on Earth will allow elderly people to sleep under a bridge in dirt with rats running around?
I’ve even witnessed amputees sleeping in their wheelchairs. We have marathons for this disease and walkathons for that disease, but for homeless people with mental health issues and elderly,
