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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WRAP Approach to Artwork as a Key Organizing Tool

by Contributing Author

by the Western Regional Advocacy Project

From the time WRAP created Without Housing, we have used art as a fundamental organizing tool. Our goal in “Without Housing” was to show data with more appeal than a bar chart. We gave artists the charts and asked them to come up with imagery that showed the real effects of that data on people’s lives. An image can quickly capture and communicate a vital statistic and help reinforce the meaning of those numbers.

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America’s Latest War Target: The Truth

by Contributing Author

by Jack Bragen

The U.S. is at war. Our government has been lying to us. 

This war exists despite the absence of a specific external enemy. This is a war being waged from the inside out, on multiple fronts, with no physical line that could be drawn on a map. Our nation is fighting a war on truth. 

The weapons of this war are words. And this doesn’t mean the weapons are soft or lack impact.

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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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In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cashless

by Contributing Author

by Justice

Cashless society can be harmful to low-income and homeless people. It makes basic needs more inaccessible, increases surveillance and gives government and private companies more control over people. As society moves in an increasingly technologically dependent direction, people are relying on cashless payments for convenience and ease. But this current wave of invisible currency, which stands in the shadow as the pandemic’s primary use, becomes a gaping hole when it comes to homeless and low-income people of the city.

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For Disabled People, Things Will Get Ugly Under “Big, Beautiful” Act 

by Contributing Author

by Jack Bragen

Donald Trump just signed his big bill. It isn’t a “beautiful bill.” It is a crime against the American middle class and poor. And we are in a war of misinformation—but that’s beside the point. This will impact me as a disabled writer, and it won’t be “beautiful” at all.

I am at the bottom, and I can attest from that perspective to all of the power-hungry politicians who want in on the political and monetary pie.

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D5 Supervisor Wants a Shelter in Each District, But Where’s the Housing?

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Wasilewski

I am no fan of my new supervisor, Bilal Mahmood, whom I think cares more for his wealthier constituents in his district than Tenderloin residents. He just proposed legislation that affirms my viewpoint.  

In May, he introduced an ordinance that would require the City to approve new health and homeless facilities in each supervisorial district by June 30, 2026. Those facilities would include new homeless shelters,

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When a Doctor’s Exam is Part of a Cosmic Test

by Contributing Author

by Jack Bragen

Recently, I went to see a doctor in my new neighborhood, one where most of the population is high-income. When I got to the waiting room, I happened to spot a couple of people who are likely on Medicare as I am. It was comforting to realize that I would not stand out as the only economic misfit. 

Everyone seems to be ahead of me in life and can handle a faster pace than I can.

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A Day in the Life of a Psychiatric Patient

by Contributing Author

by Jack Bragen

The treatment system has always been a “frenemy” to me as a mental health treatment recipient. I need these services, partly because of how the socioeconomic part of our infrastructure functions. I could not live without having money from Social Security, and having my medical care and psychiatric treatment paid for. In a “utopian” society, this might not be the case, but unfortunately we don’t live in Utopia. 

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