A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
Still, the new law caught many who live in large vehicles off guard
At the same time that advocates for San Francisco’s vehicle-dwelling residents charged the City to protect RV and large vehicle residents from displacement by a parking enforcement program, City workers were removing trailers about five miles away.
On November 5, at a plaza on 16th and Harrison streets in the Mission District, members of the End Poverty Tows Coalition,
by Jordan Wasilewski
I am a millenial, and one of the defining moments of my generation was 9/11. There are many takes on this issue, but one thing I gleaned from the aftermath is that, despite the supposed “unity” that crises bring, there are people out there who will weaponize collective pain to push policies that are wrongheaded and cruel. I find the same holds true for San Francisco’s overdose crisis.
by Lupe Velez
On October 15, a new City-created delegation called the Commission Streamlining Task Force held its first meeting to make recommendations on several advisory and policy groups that are focused on children and youth, homelessness and human rights, among other bodies. The Task Force reflected that the homelessness crisis is one of the biggest issues that San Francisco faces, one that Mayor Daniel Lurie has centered during his time in office.
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,
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,
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),
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,
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,
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.
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.
