A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
This fall, the Coalition on Homeless has been working hard to pass Proposition C and finally make systemic changes to address homelessness. Now that it has passed, I reflect on the years of work our collective put in to finally get here.
The history of Proposition C can go back decades, representing years of struggle, failure, victories, learning, building, crying until there were no tears to shed, of trying a new path.
On September 11th, the day before the Global Climate Action Summit conference brought world leaders together to strategize around climate change, Department of Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru sent an email to his entire staff to prepare them for a long weekend of hard work.
“Our city will be in the the spotlight and our crews have been working around the clock to make sure that people have a good, positive experience here,” Nuru wrote.
The city is currently in court to resolve whether two voter initiative taxes on the June 2018 ballot required approval by simple majority or two-thirds of voters (Prop C/childcare and Prop G/teacher salaries). Proposition C, Our City Our Home, passed in November and received 60 percent of voter support but did not reach the two-thirds threshold. Its fate rests on the fate of the other two measures.
The California Supreme Court made a ruling that based on constitutional wording,
Wildfire smoke is hazardous and contains pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter. When structures are burned one must account for incinerated plastics, chemicals, and other particulates as well. Adults with respiratory problems (such as asthma), diabetes, heart/lung problems, as well as small children and the elderly are especially vulnerable. Symptoms of smoke inhalation include headaches, sore throat, burning eyes, irritated sinus, runny nose, and cough.
Individuals should stay indoors whenever possible,
I was overjoyed to see that school board member and eviction defense attorney Matt Haney defeated Sonja Trauss and Christine Johnson (who, fun fact, accepted money from single-resident occupancy hotel owners suing the city to stop an ordinance that would prevent SRO conversion from going into effect) in the District 6 supervisor race.
Trauss and Johnson were backed by big money, and were endorsed by none other than Randy Shaw, executive director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic and a non-profiteer who has benefited from Care Not Cash.
Too often those with homes walk by those without, with no acknowledgement, eye contact, or offer of support. The Street Sheet hopes to address this disconnect by providing a point of engagement between homeless individuals and their housed neighbors, who can also learn through the newspaper about ways to support the struggle to house all San Franciscans.
Charles Davis is a Street Sheet vendor who has really been able to use the Street Sheet to build bridges with the broader community.
We have seen what’s possible, and we can never go back to what was.
One could say that Proposition C – Our City, Our Home, began as a kind of quixotic imagining of possibilities, and, hopefully, if things worked out, much-needed increased funds for tackling the City’s homelessness crisis. A crucial ruling by the CA Supreme Court presented a window of opportunity that might not come again.
On a sunny winter day early in this century’s second decade, Jack Dawe locked his mountain bike outside a Financial District skyscraper and sauntered into the neo-Gothic building, so familiar to him from his messenger days.
He strolled through the lobby, nodded toward the security guard who acknowledged Dawe who then tapped the “Up” button next to one of fifteen elevators.
Soon Dawe was in the conference room of the City’s Chamber of Commerce,
Proposition 10 is the most important piece of renter legislation to hit ballots in decades. It is an indispensable step in relieving the affordability crisis which has fueled a statewide wave of no-fault evictions, displacement, and homelessness as prices have skyrocketed from speculative development. Prop 10 is the canary in the coal mine, signaling who is for a progressive agenda to create lasting housing security, and who is profiting from a broken system fueled by class-based exclusion and the commodification of housing.
On Monday, October 22, a crowd of a hundred or more advocates representing dozens of local community groups gathered at City Hall in San Francisco with a common (though singular) goal: to close the San Francisco Jail. Those same demonstrators were back again on Wednesday, October 24th to speak at a public hearing and make their case.
After a successful campaign to prevent a new jail from opening several years back, the No New SF Jail Coalition is advancing its plan to decarcerate the city and move away from policing and toward healing and community support.
