A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
by Joanna Piercers
I remember forcing open my simple blanket. It is light—maybe too light. But you know what they say: Beggars can’t be choosers, and I was not going to be one, not ever. I was taught better and I was not gonna forget that. And anyway, it was a small gift from a stranger, one I was not ashamed to appreciate.
One year and two days. One whole year and for some reason it feels like always,
by Leslie Dreyer
The biggest thief and abuser in San Francisco, by far, is the City itself. Mayor London Breed’s administration—including the Healthy Streets Operations Center (HSOC), the police department, and the Department of Public Works—enacts violence against unhoused folks daily by sweeping encampments.
Photo montage by Leslie Dreyer
Stolen Belonging, a project of the Coalition on Homelessness,
https://www.stolenbelonging.org
TJ Johnston and Leslie Dreyer conducted this interview for the Stolen Belonging Project. It was recorded by Jin Zhu.
Photo by Jin Zhu of interviewee’s hands and her official City and County of San Francisco DPW badge.
For the past two decades, San Francisco’s Department of Public Works (DPW) has largely ignored incidents of their employees committing acts of abuse,
https://www.stolenbelonging.org
With encampment sweeps in San Francisco becoming as common a sight as street dwellings themselves, some things are easily observed: large Public Works trucks pulling up, police officers enforcing the operations and unhoused residents scrambling to hold onto what’s left of their possessions that isn’t already thrown in the trucks.
Video still of Diana Valentine by Jin Zhu
What’s less visible are the traumatic effects unsheltered San Franciscans suffer long after the streets are cleared of sidewalk habitation.
Interview with Lisa Mahmoud by the Stolen Belonging Team, Bayview District, San Francisco
https://www.stolenbelonging.org
San Francisco resident Lisa Mahmoud gestures as if she’s holding one of the most beloved and irreplaceable items stolen from her in the sweeps: a basket woven by her grandmother who has passed. Photo by Leslie Dreyer
My name is Lisa Mahmoud. I was born in Ethiopia but I came here when I was five.
An Interview with Meghan “Roadkill” Johnson, conducted by the Stolen Belonging team
https://www.stolenbelonging.org
Photo of Roadkill by Leslie Dreyer
Meghan “Roadkill” Johnson is a shelter client advocate who was homeless for 10 years, on and off the streets of San Francisco and throughout California. Her cherished and vital belongings were taken by employees of the City’s Department of Public works and the police department during the sweeps.
by Quinn Hailey
Sunday night, family dinner as usual. It was all fun stories, chatting, and TV –until normal programming was interrupted for some breaking news. Something was definitely happening.
“Reporting live from California, we interrupt normal programming to bring you some terrible news,” the reporter began. “There has been an outbreak of an unknown infectious disease that’s killing people in a matter of hours. The dead bodies have also been waking up within a few minutes with bloodshot eyes and an urge for blood.
by Terry Johnson
CONTENT WARNING: VIOLENCE AGAINST GAY MEN, BODY HORROR
Here is evil, the pure poison of the soul, the darkness we are all afraid lurks within ourselves. We are afraid of it, and of what we are capable of doing if we lose control. Afraid, but also tempted, because there is freedom in doing exactly what we want. Freedom for a time and a price.
The fear,
by Alina Catubig, Leenz
Make the change
Give your change
Lend a helping hand
Buy a meal
Feed the soul
Don’t feed me the processed
Feed me the organic truth
The fiber, the greens
The antioxidants to give me life
Make the change
Give your change
Read me a lyric,a story
What’s your story?
Can you smile that it makes me want to dance and sing To perform art, to express change
Loud & … READ MORE
by Christina Munene
I love traveling, that’s a fact! On this day, our school planned an international trip to Paris. I was excited as this would be my first trip on a plane. My classmates and I even formed research groups on places to visit while on the trip. We devised a list of some incredible places, and shared it with the teacher responsible for the trip planning. Later that evening, I went home after school and shared the exciting news with my family.
