Post-Grants Pass, Sweeps Lawsuit Against San Francisco to Continue. Here’s Why.

by TJ Johnston
A tent is in the center of the frame. In front of it is what looks like a white dollhouse, laying flat on the ground. The image is in Black and White

Arresting and ticketing people for sleeping outdoors, even when no shelter is available, is not unconstitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 28.

In doing so, the court’s conservative majority overturned previous decisions maintaining that Martin v. Boise, a case that removed such criminal penalties for acts of homelessness in the absence of shelter and protected unhoused people’s constitutional rights against cruel and unusual punishment. 

So does that mean the arguments made by the Coalition on Homelessness and seven unhoused plaintiffs in their lawsuit against the City and County of San Francisco are gone,

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Safe Ground’s Camp Ends Lease Over Lack of Support Amid Record Heat Wave

by Contributing Author

Story and photos by Isidore Mika Székely Manes-Dragan

Residents of Camp Resolution stand behind Anthony Prince in front of the gate (photo by Isidore Mika Székely Manes-Dragan)

Three weeks after the City of Sacramento stopped water delivery to Camp Resolution, and one week after camp residents announced that they would resist an unwanted inspection, camp members are now being forced to terminate their lease.

The residents at the self-governing homeless encampment,

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PSH Tenants See Another Policy Change Without Their Input

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Davis

Last year, I joined several former and current permanent supportive housing tenants, as well as an attorney from the Eviction Defense Collaborative, in presenting possible solutions to the eviction crisis in PSH to the Homelessness Oversight Commission. We worked off a draft of a document that detailed best practices from the Department Of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH),  which consulted only PSH providers. This was only one example where tenants were never “in the room where it happens.”  

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Supreme Court Allows Criminalization of Homelessness

by Contributing Author

story and photos by Jeremiah Hayden

The United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson on June 28. The case out of Oregon will broadly impact how local governments write homelessness policy across the nation.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson on June 28, reversing the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals injunction barring the southern Oregon city of Grants Pass from enforcing ordinances banning sleeping in public spaces.

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Locked Out: Supportive Housing Denies Tenants Access to Community Areas

by Contributing Author

In 2008, the Salvation Army opened a community center at 242 Turk St. in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. It’s a Ray & Joan Kroc Community Center, whose stated mission is to provide supportive health services and housing for formerly homeless adults, foster youth and veterans living with behavioral health conditions, and nurture a safe space for the community’s youth. Next to the center is Railton Place, an apartment complex owned by the Salvation Army and managed by the John Stewart Company,

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U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson Guts Civil Rights Protections of Unhoused People Nationwide; Lawsuit Against the City of San Francisco Will Proceed

by Contributing Author

joint statement from the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights in the San Francisco Bay Area and American Civil Liberties Union-Northern California

San Francisco, Calif. – Today, in a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Grants Pass v. Johnson, a case that had barred cities from citing and arresting people simply for being homeless. This ruling is a stark departure from established legal precedent regarding the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

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San Francisco’s Budget Battle: Balancing Safety and Social Services in Mayor Breed’s Proposal

by Contributing Author

by Solinna Ven, Renee Tian and Eliza Cieutat

Mayor London Breed’s budget proposal for fiscal years 2024-25 and 2025-26 has sparked significant controversy and is raising important questions about the city’s direction in addressing public safety, social services, and community well-being.

At the heart of Mayor Breed’s budget proposal is a notable increase in funding for law enforcement agencies, including the Police and Fire departments, District Attorney’s office and the Department of Emergency Management.

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Op-ed: Supervisor’s Sobriety Plan Adds Roadblocks to Supportive Housing 

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Davis

Five years after tenants experienced a giant leap forward in permanent supportive housing (PSH), they could suffer a gigantic leap backwards if Supervisor Matt Dorsey’s proposed legislation for “recovery housing” passes. 

At a June 18 press conference, Dorsey formally asked the City Attorney’s office to draft legislation requiring that 25% of the City’s PSH units be dedicated to sober housing. It also would align with proposed state legislation allowing up to 25% of state funding to cities for such housing and related services—effectively placing a moratorium on new PSH.  

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Behind the Curtain of San Francisco’s Sweep Operations

by Contributing Author

by Lukas Illa

Every weekday morning, somewhere in San Francisco, well-coordinated teams of City workers destroy people’s homes. Unhoused residents beneath freeway overpasses, tucked in Tenderloin side alleys, and living in recreational vehicles in the Bayview know the horror of this near-daily operation, where they have mere minutes to collect their belongings and escape the City teams intent on seizing as much of their property as they can.

The Healthy Streets Operation Center,

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Dramatic Rise in Vehicular and Family Homelessness

by Contributing Author

a statement from the Coalition on Homelessness

San Francisco — Despite a marked improvement in housing placements, underlying socioeconomic disparities combined with a lack of significant federal and state investment in affordable housing have driven homeless rates up 7% in San Francisco.  In particular,  the Point in Time Count showed a 94% increase in family homelessness, and a 90% increase in vehicularly housed.  Increased shelter and housing availability has led to a 13% decrease in street homelessness.  

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