Street Speak Interview with Apple and Josh

by TJ Johnston

This transcript of the Street Speak podcast was edited for brevity and clarity. Listen to this episode in its entirety at streetsheet.org/street-speak-podcast.

We welcome Apple Cronk along with her partner, Josh Donohoe, who are co-plaintiffs in the Coalition on Homelessness’s lawsuit against the City of San Francisco for their practices in encampment sweeps and the destruction of property belonging to unsheltered residents. That case was recently resolved and signed by Mayor Daniel Lurie on Friday,

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Rest in Power: Heather Lee

by TJ Johnston

photos by Leslie St. Dre

Heather’s testimonial highlighted injustices and cruelty toward unhoused people

Heather Lee, an unsheltered woman who was interviewed by the Stolen Belonging project that documented San Francisco’s theft of unhoused and unsheltered people’s possessions, died on July 26 at Laguna Honda Hospital after a long illness, Street Sheet has learned.

“Heather’s presence was more than friendship—she rocked exceptional strength and dignity,

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A Courageous Stand for the Marvel in the Mission

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Wasilewski

In 1956, then-Senator and future President John F. Kennedy released a book called “Profiles In Courage” about elected leaders who took on difficult decisions because they believed they were right, rather than popular.

Almost 70 years later, it still seems as if courage is too short in supply in all levels of government. But, during the July 29 Board of Supervisors meeting,

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Coalition on Homelessness v. San Francisco

by Contributing Author

UPDATE: On July 23, both sides agreed to settle the lawsuit out of court, pending approval by the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor’s office.

What’s at Stake: Coalition on Homelessness is a challenge to the City and County of San Francisco’s efforts to criminalize homelessness through an array of unconstitutional practices, including confiscating and destroying the personal property of unhoused people without adequate notice or due process,

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An Open Letter To Daniel Lurie On PSH, Corruption, the Drug Crisis, and Everything in Between

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Davis

Dear Mayor Lurie,

Congratulations on winning the mayor’s race. I certainly did not vote for you or anyone else for mayor, because I believe San Francisco’s strong mayor system needs to be scuttled. However, as you are now in office, there are some things you should know.

I know that you want to focus on shelters as a homelessness response.

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A Win for Youth Housing at 1174 Folsom St.

by Contributing Author

by River Beck

On December 4, a diverse coalition of housing advocates in San Francisco succeeded in toppling a series of obstacles facing a 42-unit housing project for transitional-age youth in the city’s South of Market neighborhood. The permanent supportive housing (PSH) project, which will support LGBTQ+ young adults, is a critical step towards solutions desperately needed to avoid chronic homelessness. 

The intergenerational and multi-racial bloc of residents,

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Wood Street Residents Trek on Bikes to Meet with State Lawmakers

by Contributing Author

 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.

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A Pissed Off Voter Guide, Briefly

by Contributing Author

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;

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Why Don’t People Experiencing Street Homelessness Accept Shelter?

by Contributing Author

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.

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Locked Out: Supportive Housing Denies Tenants Access to Community Areas

by Contributing Author

In 2008, the Salvation Army opened a community center at 242 Turk St. in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. It’s a Ray & Joan Kroc Community Center, whose stated mission is to provide supportive health services and housing for formerly homeless adults, foster youth and veterans living with behavioral health conditions, and nurture a safe space for the community’s youth. Next to the center is Railton Place, an apartment complex owned by the Salvation Army and managed by the John Stewart Company,

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