Immigration and Homelessness

by Anonymous

Only those affected by immigration and homelessness can understand what it is like. Seeking greener pastures in an attempt to survive has led to both positive and negative outcomes. Difficulties in life have led low-income African families to take more risks and seek greener pastures in an attempt to survive. My case was no different—times were too difficult to bear. I tried so many other things to make a living and support my mother, but economic challenges and high taxation rates made it impossible for me.

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My Mother’s San Francisco

by Lisa Willis

I was born in 1969 in the San Fernando Valley, and grew up in Pasadena, so what the hell do I know about San Francisco? I moved here last September, it’s the most beautiful city in the world! But the ugliness of inequality and poverty can be seen everywhere, and it’s heartbreaking! Just this morning, one homeless person died, and three were injured in an encampment fire. It was freezing last night! I was in my safe,

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It’s Time

by Delia Horwitz

Seeing the mother with a young child in her arms broke my heart.  They were standing on a street corner on a cold early December day holding a cardboard sign that said, “Please help.”  

I stopped my car, rolled the passenger window down and asked, “What do you need?”  “Money for a motel room for tonight,” she said, looking into my eyes. Her young daughter’s eyes were dim above her runny nose. I gave the Mom $20 and said,

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A Life I Never Dreamt of Living

by Anonymous

From Gender-Based Violence to Homelessness

San Francisco, The Bay Area, my home. My well-furnished house that I felt I would never leave, not even in my worst thoughts. Little did I know this comfort of having a nice home, family and even cars would be short-lived. In October of 2013, I got married to my sweetheart—let’s call him Michael for privacy reasons. I was filled with happiness and expectations of a long-term marriage. Months later,

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Are We Going to Be Able to Vaccinate Everyone?

by Rupal Ramesh Shah

Trying to protect those who are most vulnerable to COVID-19

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) people experiencing homelessness may have difficulty accessing basic medical services. Hence, the CDC has developed several guidelines to ensure homeless people are prioritized during vaccine implementation. One of them is to work with “continuum of care” programs, which promote community-wide efforts to end homelessness and directly address the needs of unhoused people.

In the city of San Francisco,

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BART Restrooms Reopen After Two Decades

by TJ Johnston

Last month, public restrooms reopened in two underground BART stations after more than 20 years, having been closed after the September 11 attacks in 2001. Powell Street Station’s two public restrooms reopened on Feb. 2, while bathrooms reopened at Oakland’s 19th Street station on Feb. 25. 

Advocates applauded the reopening but faulted the Bay Area-wide transit agency for shutting public bathrooms in the first place, which has denied the human right to accessing water for drinking,

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How Housing Choice Vouchers Saved My Family

by Dempsey "Sunbear" Jackson

In 2011, I was homeless and addicted to methamphetamines. That year, I found out that my girlfriend of 10 years, Amy, was pregnant with our son, Marley. We went to Jelani House, a rehabilitation program, to try to prepare for our son’s arrival. But when we showed up, the shelter wouldn’t let me bring my service dog inside. Instead, I had to stay on the street and try to get clean alone while taking care of our dogs,

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Vendor Profile: Stanley Michael Jackson

by Quiver Watts

How long have you been selling STREET SHEET? 

Over 20 years—started when I saw my niece selling them. I couldn’t believe it: People would just give me money for this paper! It makes me feel good because I like talking to people, and they’ll actually listen to you. You can tell them what’s happening in the Bay Area, you know what I’m saying. I tell them stories about my life. 

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Separating Facts from False Narratives of Shellenberger’s “San Fransicko”

by Jennifer Friedenbach
A cop with an evil grin points a gun as bodies and tents go flying, and a figure in the foreground stares at their phone looking distressed.

On February 3, the author Michael Shellenberger climbed the fence of the City’s new Tenderloin Linkage Center to try and take photos of clients seeking services there. It was an attempt to “expose” the City for providing an outdoor space that allows drug use. Overdose rates have been skyrocketing, many attributed to the availability of fentanyl, combined with the deep despair the pandemic brought to unhoused San Franciscans who have been suffering through a lack of shelter,

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I Need My Own

by Aaone Enosa
A cop with an evil grin points a gun as bodies and tents go flying, and a figure in the foreground stares at their phone looking distressed.

I arrived in San Francisco from Anchorage, Alaska on Feb. 20, 2008. I stayed with the father of my children and my two sons. We stayed in my mother-in-law’s apartment in the Alemany projects. It was there I conceived my second son. I drank and did drugs during this time, while working for my brothers-in-law and my kids’ father through In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS). I went to jail due to domestic violence incidents between me and my partner at the time,

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