A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
by Lukas Illa
In San Francisco, the richest and most powerful industries in the world are spurring a devastating affordability crisis, where a median one-bedroom apartment is going for $4,000 per month and pre-IPO stock is being used as a bartering chip when touring rental units. We are in desperate need of affordable housing for the working people of this city that are consistently at the whims of the ever-greedy speculative real estate market.
by Christin Evans
There are four so-called “Charter Reform” ballot measures on the November ballot that we should all oppose: Propositions A, D, E and F. While each measure does something slightly different, they all have the same effect: silencing the voice of everyday San Franciscans at City Hall.
The Clean Up City Hall campaign spent over $5 million from a couple of wealthy billionaires to put Propositions D,
by Jordan Wasilewski
On September 3, I rolled out of bed, went to the Homelessness Oversight Commission (HOC), saw that the director’s report did not include the annual report of evictions from permanent supportive housing, and, as is my style, called them out on it in the loudest and most profane way possible. I had a copy of the FY2025-2026 eviction data in my hands, but after channeling my best Peter Finch from the movie “Network,”
by Cathleen Williams
The introduction to the film “Unhoused Neighbors” asks us to consider “what it means” to live in extreme poverty in America’s wealthiest state. At the close of the film, on a black screen, the numbers scroll: upwards of 770,000 people unhoused in the U.S.
“These are just seven of them,” the final sentence reads.
It’s a quiet film. Seven unhoused people face the camera,
by Kidest Yigezu
infographic via schoolhouseconnection.org
In late August, the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization Housing Up released an article that highlighted the hidden homelessness in our K-12 education system. Under the McKinney-Vento Act, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines a student experiencing homelessness “as one who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.”
But a significant part of the issue is the huge discrepancy in the representation of homeless students in national datasets like the the point-in-time count that happens every other year on a single night in January and focuses on visible homelessness,
by Eliza Macaluso and Kalevi Kaukonen
Mayor Daniel Lurie’s administration has terminated its contract with the Sixth Street Self-Help Center, forcing the Center to close by December 31, 2026. The closure comes as City leaders attempt to “revitalize” the Sixth Street corridor.
Hospitality House, a nonprofit that has served San Francisco’s housed and unhoused residents since 1967, operates the Sixth Street Self-Help Center and six other programs.
by Joe Wilson
As Hospitality House approaches its 60th year, we reflect on hard-won victories, some difficult losses, and important lessons learned. Friendships and bonds forged in struggle. Champions in our midst. Resilience. Despite the odds, we’re surrounded by ordinary individuals accomplishing extraordinary things, summoning up the best of humanity. Every day. And always, relationships and community matter. People matter.
For nearly 20 years, our Sixth Street Self-Help Center has had at its heart,
by Anonymous
San Francisco has long been a city where technological change arrives before the rest of the country. The latest transformation is artificial intelligence. AI is creating enormous wealth and attracting investment, but it is also beginning to change the labor market in ways that could have profound consequences for housing and homelessness.
The central question is no longer simply whether artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs. The more important question is: What happens to people when their jobs disappear faster than they can find new ones—and when housing remains unaffordable?
by Jordan Wasilewski
I want to share something I learned in high school, a parable from South Asia about the blind men and the elephant. Several blind men touched the elephant in different parts of their body and came back with various different descriptions of the animal, which, although accurate, was incomplete. Together, the blind men could have painted a picture of the elephant and all its multitudes. I am also reminded of a quote by deaf-blind disability advocate and socialist Helen Keller,
By Veera Vehkasalo
Content about helping people experiencing poverty and homelessness is trending on social media. But is that a good thing?
“I feel like a horrible mom.” A young woman with a stroller wrapped in blankets is crying in the video. They are standing in front of a store on a street in Minnesota, US. It is winter. There is a one-year-old child in the stroller,
