A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
Within the past month, San Francisco made an important stride toward providing water to more unhoused San Franciscans. Yet as the City makes improvements to water access, it has taken significant steps backward when it comes to access to sanitation and hygiene. Just this month, the City’s plan to substantially reduce access to public toilets across San Francisco, targeting locations with high concentrations of unhoused San Franciscans, was unveiled.
Water,
A punk with spiky hair in the foreground sits in a wheelchair raising their fist. Behind them hands gesture in sign language. There is a brain with the symbol for dopamine and a heart drawn underneath. A figure wearing glasses uses a white cane and walks with a dog, who is smiling.
Street Sheet is accepting submissions for our first ever Disability Issue!
We are seeking articles, narratives, poems, artwork, comics, etc focusing on the intersections of disability,
Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said “the budget is a moral document,” and that is certainly the case in San Francisco. Decisions about how we prioritize our spending can be a matter of life and death; whether we are investing money in law enforcement or health care or housing has real life consequences. The Coalition on Homelessness (COH) has several budget campaigns operating simultaneously this year. If they are not included in the Mayor’s budget we will fight for that funding at the Board.
Imagine not knowing that you’ve been freed from slavery because nobody told you. That’s how the Juneteenth holiday got started.
Juneteenth is celebrated in the African American community on June 19 every year. It began as a commemoration of the emancipation of slaves in Texas. It was first recognized in Galveston, Texas, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Even after Texan slaveholders knew of the proclamation,
This month, before Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 9, the Coalition took to the streets to honor poor and homeless mothers. We gathered at City Hall alongside dozens of families, and held a rally where mothers and service providers alike advocated for housing for families. Our homeless families made numerous demands on what to include in the City’s budget: over 500 housing new subsidies for families experiencing homelessness, direct cash aid assistance to immigrant families who were excluded from the stimulus packages and an emergency family shelter.
“Instead of a War on Poverty, they have a War on Drugs, so the police can bother me.”
2pac, from Changes
San Francisco can be a bit of a bubble. In no other moment has this felt more true than during the social and political turmoil of recent times. This is a city that has always thought of itself as liberal and open-minded, and many of our local officials seem to shine in comparison with the previous White House administration.
The City of San Francisco is set to “reopen” in June, while the temporary shelter at Moscone Center West will close at the end of that month. But where some 100 otherwise unsheltered residents will go afterward, or how they will get there, is not yet clear.
The state has announced one hard deadline, though: June 15, when California will lift most of its COVID-19 restrictions.
As the City sees nearly 7 of 10 adult San Franciscans complete their vaccinations and the weekly average number of COVID-19 cases drops to its lowest level since the emergency order in March 2020,
On Wednesday, April 21, District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman brought his “A Place For All” legislation before the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee. It was met with negative reactions from members of the committee and many of the dozens of people who gave public comment on the topic. While that reception and the decision of committee chair Matt Haney to not pass the legislation on to the full board mean that the legislation has no clear path to being passed,
On April 20, the COVID-19 Command Center told the roughly 150 residents sheltering at the Moscone Center West emergency shelter location that they would soon have to find new accommodations, as Moscone Center plans to reopen for regular business. The projected date for the site to fully shut down to shelter guests is June 30.
Since last spring, hundreds of otherwise homeless residents have been sheltering at the Moscone Center. The site houses people who were referred by the Homeless Outreach Team or Guest Placement Team,
The Our City, Our Home Oversight Committee released its first big disbursement including funding for exits out of homelessness for over 3,200 households. Included in the plan is funding to acquire over 1,000 units, to prevent homelessness for an estimated 21,000 San Franciscans, and to add over 1,000 new beds to the shelter system. The Oversight Committee is appointed by the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor, and charged with recommending how Prop C funding should be used.
