A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
Interview with General Dogon of the LA Community Action Network
by Cathleen Williams, Homeward Street Journal
General Dogon is an organizer at the Los Angeles Community Action Network, or LA CAN. This interview took place on April 13, 2024, at the headquarters of the organization, where visitors are greeted by a sunny reception area with comfortable chairs.
LA CAN’s sturdy cement block building is set back from East Sixth Street in the heart of Skid Row,
story and photos by Jeremiah Hayden, Street Roots
As the U.S. Supreme Court considers Grants Pass v. Johnson, there’s work to do to address homelessness, regardless of outcome
Cassy Leach woke up early on April 22, the day the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Grants Pass v. Johnson across the country in Washington, D.C.
That morning, Leach, Mobile Integrative Navigation Team, or MINT,
by the Western Regional Advocacy Project
On April 22, 2024 the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case of City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson. The case determines if the U.S. Constitution allows for local governments to fine, arrest, and jail people for living outside, when they have nowhere else to go. Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) members are planning a day of action on April 22, 2024 to speak out for the rights of unhoused people to exist,
by Jordan Davis
My name is Jordan. I have purple hair, a nose piercing, I sometimes curse off the Board of Supervisors, and I’ve flirted with cocaine use (though I never purchased it, never used it in my unit, and don’t do it anymore). I am also a Housing First success story, and it saved my life.
What is Housing First? It’s the idea that homeless people can best recover if they are rehoused with wraparound supportive services,
by Isidore Mika Székely Manes-Dragan
The Community Summit on Homelessness, held in September 2023, provided many ways to elevate the voices of the homeless community. The event was coordinated by the Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee (SHOC) and its many supporters and allies. Representatives from the Sacramento and Oakland homeless communities came together to attend. One of the functions of the event was listening booths,
by Felicia Mello, CalMatters
San Francisco provides all tenants facing eviction access to an attorney. Across the Bay, in Contra Costa County, it’s a different story. Two tenants’ stories show the difference a lawyer can make.
After years of living on the streets and in single-room-occupancy hotels, the cozy studio apartment in San Francisco’s Japantown felt like a sanctuary to Corey Lafayette. He’d moved with no furniture,
San Francisco’s response to unsheltered homelessness has long been on the radar of local and national media, and it’s pinging more frequently, partly because of a lawsuit that the Coalition on Homelessness has filed against the City.
Last year, a federal judge ruled that the City can not arrest or issue citations to people in homeless encampments without a real and specific offer of shelter while the case is in litigation.
by Jordan Davis
As many of our readers know, this year, the Homelessness Oversight Commission (HOC) was launched last spring to oversee the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH).Three advisory committees— the Local Homeless Coordinating Board, the Shelter Monitoring Committee, and the Shelter Grievance Advisory Committee—were placed under the commission that would appoint members who would report directly to the commission rather than the mayor or board of supervisors.
by tiny, daughter of Dee, mama of Tiburcio @povertyskola
The connections between our targeted, unhoused relatives in Gaza and our unhoused bodies on occupied Turtle Island
“WTF??? Three cops came up to me in succession, first cajoling, then demanding, then threatening arrest if I didn’t leave. This wasn’t just a sweep, this was terror.” Jonny X, longtime RoofLessRadio at POOR Magazine reporter from Occupied Yelamu, SF reported from under his tarp at 8th and Mission.
by Jordan Davis
In November of 2022, I voted no on the charter amendment to create a Homelessness Oversight Commission in San Francisco. But I am secretly glad it passed, because it is yet another forum where I can criticize the government. It is good that the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing is on the hot seat.
Every meeting, I enjoy reading the director’s report and highlighting various details of programs,
