A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
by Cathleen Williams, Homeward Street Journal
In May 2024, the police got a call reporting that a man was lying outside an EV charging station with his head on the curb. When the police officers pulled up and got out of their car, they tried to get the man to move. He whispered, “Help me, help me…ambulance.” The man’s voice was so weak it is barely audible on the officer’s body-cam footage,
by Marisa Kendall and Katie Anastas, CalMatters
It’s been eight months since the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed how cities in California and beyond can respond to homeless encampments, allowing them to clear camps and arrest people for sleeping outside — even when there’s nowhere else to sleep.
The July ruling in the case Grants Pass v. Johnson upended six years of protections for unhoused people.
by Lupe Velez
Mayor Daniel Lurie is delivering on his promise to address the overdose crisis through well coordinated criminalization efforts, much to the worry of drug policy reformers and harm reduction advocates. Throughout his campaign last year, he was vocal about the fentanyl crisis, framing overdoses as the most pressing issue his administration would confront. He stated during his inaugural speech, “Widespread drug dealing, public drug use and constantly seeing people in crisis has robbed us of our sense of decency and security.” He has since passed the Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance through the Board of Supervisors,
by Jack Bragen
My first psychotic episode was a risk to life and limb, my biggest test up to that point, my family’s big test and a precursor to what was to come in the succeeding 43 years and running.
In some respects, a second or third psychotic break isn’t as hard as the first. When I had my first extreme psychotic episode, I had no notion of what was happening to me.
by Andrea Bulnes Huane, Maritza Salinas, Helen Merlo, Maria Zavala and Veronica Aguilar
Contine desplazándose hacid abajo para ver en Español
Our hearts felt sad and very sorry to hear so many cases of homeless families with various problems of depression, anxiety and even mental imbalance. This situation is terrible, so many children with worry in their souls and hearts so fragile and innocent that instead of thinking about playing or socializing at school,
by Lauren Hepler, CalMatters
The records catalog the chaos inside California homeless shelters.
In Salinas, internal emails say the staff at one brand-new shelter grabbed the best donations for themselves and helped friends and family jump the line for housing. In Los Angeles, court records show a leading nonprofit hired a man who was convicted of attempted murder to work security at a shelter, where he committed three sex crimes in one day.
By Byrhonda Lyons, CalMatters
In California, there isn’t a central, statewide agency that oversees homeless shelters. Shelters that receive public funding are monitored by local officials, who often handle complaints from residents. In some cases, state officials can also step in if residents report problems.
A new CalMatters investigation has documented chaos and scandal inside California’s homeless shelters and found that fewer than 1 in 4 people cycle through shelters find permanent housing.
Shelter Monitoring Committee – The committee tracks the conditions of City-funded shelters. Staff take and investigate complaints.
Drop-in times at 440 Turk St.: Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Committee meetings typically take place on the third Wednesdays of each month at SF City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl., Room 408.
To report concerns about a shelter:
Phone: (628) 652-8080.
by Justice Dumlao
The following is a letter submitted by email to the San Francisco Police Commission.
Dear President Elias and Commission Members,
On behalf of the Safer Inside and Treatment on Demand Coalitions — two coalitions dedicated to enhancing the health and well-being of San Francisco’s most vulnerable residents — we write to express serious concerns about the San Francisco Police Department’s (SFPD) project at the parking lot on Jessie Street.
by Jordan Davis
Lately, a surprising subject has been coming up at tenant meetings of the Central City SRO Collaborative, one that’s near and dear to my heart: Grab bars in showers.
A tenant organizer at the collaborative has been encouraging tenants to fill out forms requesting grab bars in their single-resident occupancy (SRO) hotels and persuade their doctors to write them a note requesting reasonable accommodation.
It took a tremendous push over several years to reach this point..
