A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
by Robbie Powelson
Joel died on or around April 20, 2022 in a gutter in San Rafael.
I received the news, like most everyone from our encampment in Sausalito, around noon while about a quarter of our camp attended a court ordered settlement conference with the City of Sausalito.
Joel was 24 years old, with a big goofy grin. The last time I saw him, he was catching a pigeon in the center of the city-operated camp in Sausalito.
by Jack Bragen
There is something to be said for not being afraid to get your hands dirty, for not being afraid to compete, including when things aren’t friendly, for being on the bottom and clawing your way to the top, and, to sum it up, living in the soup. And the soup might be distasteful, its meat could be foul, and its veggies and noodles could be overdone to the point of mushy.
by Tony Inglis
With the 2023 Homeless World Cup set to take place in Sacramento, California from July 8 to 15, the International Network of Street Papers is celebrating the crossover between street soccer and street papers. Street papers in seven countries—Argentina, Australia, Greece, Japan, Portugal, South Korea and Switzerland—either have street soccer projects connected to them, or work under the same parent organisation. In some cases, a street paper was borne out of a street soccer team,
by Zach
Pop the champagne corks—or the apple Martinelli’s! It’s been five long years of struggle to access buses in my wheelchair and reach a settlement with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and the City and County of San Francisco. The ink is dry, and it’s time to celebrate!
What has this long and arduous litigation accomplished? Actual changes to SFMTA rules, training, website access, disability discrimination reporting process,
by Zach
Throughout the years of work I put into my lawsuit against the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA), my most unlikely ally was Roger Marenco—a man who was brave enough to look beyond his immediate needs, to see the struggle of the vulnerable and disenfranchised. While currently on the outs with the Transit Workers Union (TWU) Local 250A, the union he was elected president of from 2018 to 2022,
by Jennifer Friedenbach
Mayor London Breed announced plans last month to fund shelter for unhoused San Franciscans. What the mayor did not mention was where that funding would come from. The Coalition on Homelessness supports the plans to replace and continue the announced 594 beds, not just for two years but permanently, and at the same time vehemently opposes that same plan to pay for some of these adult beds by gutting housing for homeless youth and families in Proposition C.
by Quiver Watts and TJ Johnston
So much is changing here at Street Sheet that we are running a rare Editor’s Note to keep you all informed about what is new with the paper!
Starting with this issue, we are so pleased to introduce TJ Johnston as the new editor-in-chief of Street Sheet. TJ is a seasoned, San Francisco-based journalist whose written work has been featured in this newspaper—as well as 48 Hills,
by Jazzie O. Gray
Juneteenth—also known as Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Black Independence Day, Emancipation Day and Juneteenth National Independence Day—is the annual commemoration on June 19 of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. President Biden first officially recognized the federal holiday in 2021, but Juneteenth has been celebrated since 1865. So why did it take so long to acknowledge the freedom of all African Americans in this country nationally?
by Jordan Davis
In early August of 2022, I wrote a piece for Street Sheet on the eviction crisis in permanent supportive housing—or PSH. Later that month, the Chronicle published their second article for the Broken Homes series, focusing on issues around PSH evictions. The main focus of the story was Robert Bowman, a Black disabled queer man who was evicted from an SRO run by Episcopal Community Services for non-violent visitor policy violations.
by Johanna Elattar
As I stand in line at the supermarket, there are two women ahead of me. They’re talking about the pandemic. The two women are discussing the end of the emergency food stamps that were given to everyone who’s on public assistance during quarantine, and for several months after. Now, communities are lifting requirements to wear masks in most public places, and social distancing has become a thing of the recent past.
