A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
by Pete White
Today we gather, not in shock, but in a profound sense of sorrow.
Many of us are standing here with a calm face, but beneath it runs a river of despair. Our deepest fears have been laid bare for the world to see. This was never a battle of right versus wrong. This was never just another election. The wound we carry—the wound our nation carries—now lies open and raw,
The 2024 election is likely to be recorded in history as the year of the billionaires. Their money has influenced this year’s ballot from presidential contests to state and local races.
But even people with ten-figure net worth didn’t get everything they wanted.
Daniel Lurie prevailed in San Francisco’s mayoral race. Lurie is an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, and spent over $8 million in his largely self-financed campaign.
San Francisco elected Daniel Lurie mayor. On January 3, 2025, he will assume office and inherit a homelessness crisis that has long bedeviled previous administrations.
The City’s approach to homelessness was a key issue of Lurie’s campaign—as well as those of his opponents. Since the Supreme Court’s ruling on Grants Pass v. Johnson, incumbent Mayor London Breed called for a “get tough” approach—or get even tougher,
by Jack Bragen
There is a trapdoor at the bottom of society’s mechanisms, that throws out people onto the street who can’t perform well enough to mind the details or keep pace with the rat race. A person can fall through it due to a massive amount of bad luck.
For people with disabilities, the system of benefits as it currently exists makes it very hard to work and earn enough money to survive without losing your benefits.
by Jordan Davis
At the September 24 Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Matt Dorsey pulled yet another policy out of his rear end that sounds reasonable on the surface, but in reality further stigmatizes permanent supportive housing (PSH) residents.
Hot off the heels of his proposed legislation to stifle PSH development unless a certain percentage is dedicated to drug recovery housing, Dorsey announced that he was requesting that legislation be drafted that would require that PSH disclose so-called “drug-tolerant”
by Madeleine Matz
Proposition D, a San Francisco ballot measure that would scrap the City’s system of oversight boards, commissions and committees, is antithetical to our local democracy. It should be an easy ‘no’ vote.
First, Prop. D’s origin is sticky with the right wing’s fingerprints. As SPUR notes, Prop. D was drafted by TogetherSF, a political action committee heavily financed by the billionaire Michael Moritz,
by Cathleen Williams, Homeward Street Journal
“With California dealing with such a serious housing crisis—actually I would say beyond a crisis, we are living through a housing disaster—the idea of re-introducing tens if not hundreds of thousands of felonies into families across California [through Prop. 36] will make that problem not only worse, but it will make it unimaginably worse. It’s not about fixing anything or making anyone safer. Instead,
by Jack Bragen
Years ago, I was in a public place, and I was approached by a man wanting me to sign a petition to amend the U.S. Constitution. The amendment would have defined a corporation as not a person. Caught by surprise, I couldn’t think through the idea, so I declined. It is unfortunate.
To an extent, I feel that I’ve been cheated by people in government and corporations,
by Jack Bragen
Most psychiatrists might agree that if you have a “psychiatric impairment” you could be locked out of the use of your own perceptual and mental faculties. Some would argue that those faculties are absent, while others could say we have potential of mind that is blocked by an impairment.
Psychiatrists tend to medicate; they believe that’s what works. I can’t argue with that. When I was started on medication,
by Jack Bragen
Some fundamental changes in how we do things in the U.S. are going to be necessary, irrespective of how much the rich people and the militant ultraconservatives might oppose this. The general public must have a reasonable ability to acceptably live, or else the entire fabric of society will disintegrate.The poor people need to have an acceptable means of existing. The disabled and/or unemployable people must not be put to death,
