Safe Parking Site opens: Community Raises Questions About Implementation

By Ben Baczkowski

On December 11, 2019, San Francisco city officials officially announced the opening of the Vehicle Triage Center (VTC) located on San Jose Avenue near Balboa Park BART station. The yearlong pilot program will provide a secure parking location and targeted services for folks living in their vehicles, and is the first safe parking facility of its kind in San Francisco’s history. The site includes up to 30 parking spaces with mobile blackwater pumping services,

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One Day Hunger Strike at Notorious Santa Rita Jail

by Ella Rose-Kessler

On October 30, over 400 individuals locked up in Santa Rita Jail staged a one-day hunger and work stopage strike to fight back against the inhumane conditions they’re subjected to. The group had a list of 26 demands relating to their inhumane treatment, such the jail providing more cleaning supplies to maintain sanitary conditions, access to lawyers, better and more nutritious food, daily exercise and recreation time, and an end to price gouging for commissary items and phone calls.

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Stolen Belonging: “My Dad’s Ashes …”

Thief: The City of SF – DPW, SFPD and Caltrans

Interview with Crystal by the Stolen Belonging team, January 31, 2019, Bayview District, San Francisco.

Crystal: My name is Crystal and I’ve been here since 2002, but I grew up in the North Bay. I’ve been in every district and neighborhood in the city at one point or another.

The sweeps really suck. It’s happened a few times in the last month or two.

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TRANSIT SYSTEM’S DETERRENT TO PANHANDLERS A BAD SIGN

BART advertisement reads “Say no to panhandling. There’s a better way to give.” with a hand forming a heart around words reading “Have a HEART but GIVE SMART”

By TJ Johnston

July 25, 2019

As this paper goes to print the president of BART’s Board of Directors, Bevan Dufty, wrote on Twitter that BART will be removing the anti-panhandling signs and that the campaign “happened w/out considering broader messaging”. 

Here we go again: another anti-panhandling campaign.

To be specific, another plea for housed people to avoid giving money to usually unhoused or unsheltered people.

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