A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
by Benjamin F. Henwood
Can giving homeless people US$750 a month to use any way they choose help them move into long-term housing?
I am the director of the University of Southern California Homelessness Policy Research Institute. My research team, in partnership with Miracle Messages, a San Francisco social services nonprofit, set out to answer that question in a study that will be published in an upcoming peer-reviewed issue of Social Work Research.
by Tiny
Police car outside 71st Avenue safe parking sites in Oakland, which has since closed down.
Closure of small house community forces several previously unhoused residents back to the streets
“They said we have to leave … today … I’ve been here for four years and I’ve never received help or resources or even a referral of someone to talk to about housing” said Dennis houseless resident of Third and Peralta tiny home community.
by Lukas Illa
San Francisco community based-organizations enter another city budget cycle with great uncertainty of whether their core programs will exist in four months time. With Mayor Daniel Lurie’s Austerity First budget (my words, not his), San Francisco is once again electing to siphon funding for working-class communities of color to pad law enforcement agencies’ already bloated budgets.
The People’s Budget Coalition has tracked a combination of $62 million expected cuts to the Department of Public Health (DPH),
by Michael Inman
San Francisco calls itself a “Sanctuary City.” In City Hall, that word is a shield. But on the corners of Sixth and Mission streets, or in the shadows of Dore Alley, “sanctuary” has a much darker meaning. If you ask the people living on the pavement, they’ll tell you the truth: San Francisco isn’t a sanctuary; it’s a city of enforcers.
The Refugees We Ignore
The biggest mistake we make is assuming everyone on the street is there by choice.
story and photos by Sarah Menefee
It’s the only moral solution
A woman is harassed by cops during the sweep of a San Francisco alley
Today as more and more of us find ourselves ‘a paycheck away’ from the streets, homelessness is a death sentence for many and a glaring and appalling absurdity in this richest and most powerful nation in the world – one that has lost its heart and soul as the billionaire class plays royalty and as millions struggle and fall.
Homelessness affects all of us, whether we have housing or not, but of course it hurts those living without homes worst of all. Having thousands of people without housing, without sanitation, without privacy, living outside and having thousands more in shelter in a small city like San Francisco is a humanitarian crisis. Unlike many crises, this one is a crisis that is man-made through poor policy decisions, and lack of corrective action. This crisis does have true solutions.
The Trump Administration just released their Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Homeless McKinney funds out of the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD). It is as batshit as you can imagine. Really you can’t make these things up.
First of all, for years 90% of the dollars had to go to permanent supportive housing, because there are around 50 evidence-based studies supporting this practice. But these folks don’t believe in science. So now no more than 30% of the funds can go to supportive housing.
by Jordan Wasilewski
As of mid-October this year, I have been stably housed in San Francisco for 10 years. For the first time in my adult life, I became a tenant with my name on the lease and am living alone, instead of subletting with others.
That was also my 10th anniversary in permanent supportive housing, my 10th anniversary in a single-resident occupancy hotel, and also my 10th anniversary of permanent supportive housing and SRO activism.
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
The Trump Administration, during its short time in power, has waged strategic attacks on nearly every marginalized group in the country. It has slashed funds for health care, education, environmental protections and more. President Trump’s direct attack on the homeless population began in August of 2025, when he deployed the National Guard to clear homeless encampments in Washington, D.C. This followed his executive order on July 24, when he outlined his plan in a press conference to increase sweeps,
