Activists Seek “Liberation” of Trans Resistance Site from Private Prison Contract

by TJ Johnston

On a bright Sunday afternoon on May 18, a group of transgender activists gathered at the corner of Turk and Taylor streets in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. The group, Compton’s x Coalition, invited local media, including Street Sheet, to the rally outside the 111 Taylor St. Apartments, which stands on the site of a historic riot over a half-century before.

The rally culminated in two members of a direct action group called Traction SF climbing a fire escape to the roof and dropping two vertical banners that displayed a single message: “Liberate Compton’s.”

The building at 111 Taylor St.

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“I Could See Pieces of the Puzzle But Not the Big Picture”

by Contributing Author

By Adriane Dietrich

Lea’s transition began four years ago. After more than four decades, it had become clear to her what had been bubbling under the surface all that time. She offers insights into her own development and society’s responsibility towards members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Trott-war: I’m very excited to hear what you have to say. Before we get started, a simple but very important question: How are you?

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Notes from a Texas Prison: Billy’s Story

by Contributing Author

by Billy Thomas

EDITOR’S NOTE: Street Sheet is reprinting this piece from the 2024 Pride issue. Billy Thomas, an inmate at the John Wynne Unit of Texas State Prison in Huntsville sent multiple letters to ABO Comix in Oakland, California throughout 2022 and 2023. Street Sheet adapted these letters into a single piece, editing for brevity and clarity.

I am a 51-year-old person, a two-spirited transgender. I am a survivor of mental and sexual abuse from my time in the care of Texas Child Protective Services,

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WRAP Hits a Milestone: 20 Years of Unhoused People Fighting for Dignity and Respect

by Contributing Author

by the Western Regional Advocacy Project

When the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) says “we,” we literally mean every single group and person that built and sustained our community organization for the past 20 years!

In 2005, representatives from seven organizations along the West Coast began strategizing around how to address the root causes of homelessness, starting with the actual day-to-day realities people experience in the streets.

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Dorsey’s “Recovery First” Policy Amended Significantly Thanks to Treatment on Demand Coalition’s Advocacy

by Contributing Author

by Lupe Velez

The Board of Supervisors Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee sent Supervisor Matt Dorsey’s proposed “Recovery First” ordinance to the full board at its April 24 meeting. But not before the measure went through redefining the term “recovery” from substance use disorder and dozens of members from the Treatment on Demand (TOD) coalition sounded off during public comment.

For several months, several public health organizations and advocacy groups comprising Treatment on Demand fought the policy over its definition of recovery—an abstinence-only model—and its potentially dangerous impacts on drug users. 

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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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Staying Connected: Homelessness and the Digital Divide

by Contributing Author

story and photo by Hollie Garrett

I can remember the empty feeling of being disconnected from society while I was in prison. Every day it was a pressing issue to get on the pay phone. Not knowing if we would get out the cell, if there was going to be another lock down, if the phone line was going to be extra long, or if someone was even going to answer the call.

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Organize Like Our Lives Depend on It Because They Do

by Contributing Author

by Pete White

Today we gather, not in shock, but in a profound sense of sorrow.

Many of us are standing here with a calm face, but beneath it runs a river of despair. Our deepest fears have been laid bare for the world to see. This was never a battle of right versus wrong. This was never just another election. The wound we carry—the wound our nation carries—now lies open and raw,

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Cash Ruled Everything Around Us This Election Season

by TJ Johnston

The 2024 election is likely to be recorded in history as the year of the billionaires. Their money has influenced this year’s ballot from presidential contests to state and local races. 

But even people with ten-figure net worth didn’t get everything they wanted. 

Daniel Lurie prevailed in San Francisco’s mayoral race. Lurie is an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, and spent over $8 million in his largely self-financed campaign.

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Coalition to SF Mayor-Elect: Act on Homelessness Solutions in First 100 Days

by TJ Johnston

San Francisco elected Daniel Lurie mayor. On January 3, 2025, he will assume office and inherit a homelessness crisis that has long bedeviled previous administrations. 

The City’s approach to homelessness was a key issue of Lurie’s campaign—as well as those of his opponents. Since the Supreme Court’s ruling on Grants Pass v. Johnson, incumbent Mayor London Breed called for a “get tough” approach—or get even tougher,

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