Mayor Signs Settlement with Coalition on Homelessness–Winning Significant Protections for San Francisco’s Unhoused People’s Property Rights

by Contributing Author

On Friday, September 19, 2025, Mayor Daniel Lurie signed a settlement that requires the City to follow its bag-and-tag policy and establish strong accountability and oversight measures. This marks a significant hard fought victory for all unhoused people across San Francisco.  The lawsuit was brought by  the Coalition on Homelessness, its members, plaintiffs, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. 

In 2022,

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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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PSH Evictions: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Wasilewski

On September 2, the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) sent its report on evictions from Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH), as required by City law. For background, the ordinance requiring annual reports was pushed by then-Supervisor Mark Farrell in 2015 with little stakeholder engagement. 

The report indicates the number of written notices (notifications of a landlord’s intent to initiate eviction process),

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“Todos Somos Samara–We Are All Samara” 

by Contributing Author

Homeless Activist and Mother Fights for Housing as Disabled Daughter Leaves Hospital

by Lupe Velez

On Tuesday August 27, Faith in Action, in collaboration with United Educators of San Francisco and the Coalition on Homelessness, held a press conference, rally and march, starting at Cesar Chavez Elementary School in the Mission District and continuing to Catholic Charities. The event was held in support of a houseless family, Maria Zavala and her daughter Samara,

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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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Rules of the Road: RV Dwellers Deserve Answers on SF’s New Permit Program

by Contributing Author

by Charlie Fisch 

When I work with vulnerable populations at risk of further marginalization, I often don’t have answers to people’s pressing questions. When RV residents ask whether or not they will be able to stay in their homes for another year, it feels almost irresponsible to answer without concrete information. I’ve spent the last three months knocking on RV doors, trying to give RV residents access to local government and warn them of just how little the City has to offer.

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I’ve Buried 17 Friends. Sweeps Won’t  Stop the Next Funeral.

by Contributing Author

By Sister ’Nita House

I have buried 17 friends in two years. Fentanyl stole their breath. If punishment or shame could end addiction, they would still be here. But San Francisco’s new “drug-free sidewalks” plan does only that: punishes the poor, shames people in crisis, and hides suffering instead of healing it. 

Mayor Daniel Lurie’s “Recovery First” law makes abstinence the City’s guiding star. Nonprofits that once handed out clean syringes or pipes are now forced to attach treatment counseling or else lose funding.

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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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835 Turk Dilemma Raises Questions

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Wasilewski

In May, Mission Local broke the story that 835 Turk St., a new permanent supportive housing complex that I vocally supported in early 2022 will have to undergo extensive repairs which will require tenants to (supposedly) temporarily move out. The article, which has been the only to cover this story so far, focused heavily on how tenants rightfully distrust the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) to ensure  a just transition and a right of return once the building’s rehab is completed.

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Homeless-related Arrests, Citations Soared in These California Cities After Supreme Court Case

by Contributing Author

by Marisa Kendall/ CalMatters

In major cities and more rural areas, arrests and citations rose in the months following last summer’s Supreme Court decision. In some places, officials insist the events are unrelated.

Homeless residents of some of California’s biggest cities increasingly are facing criminal penalties for the actions they take to survive on the street, according to a first-of-its-kind CalMatters analysis of data throughout the state.

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