A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
by Akir Jackson
Each morning I wake up invisible, just another faceless black body people avoid seeing on San Francisco’s streets. As a transgender homeless man who hasn’t medically transitioned, the world interacts with the gender assigned to me at birth, not my true male identity. This erasure compounded with anti-Blackness leaves me dehumanized and rejected by all sides.
When seeking shelter, I’m turned away from men’s quarters and told to sleep with women based on my sex assigned at birth.
by Jordan Davis
As you might already know, I write mostly about permanent supportive housing and how San Francisco’s government stands in the way of delivering effective services on time, under budget, and in a manner that works for everybody. I don’t like to talk much about my past, but since it’s Pride month, I’d like to share how being a neurodivergent, non-binary trans femme who began transitioning nine years ago has impacted me,
by Billy Thomas
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is adapted from multiple pieces of correspondence by Billy Thomas, an inmate at the John Wynne Unit of Texas State Prison in Huntsville to A.B.O. Comix in Oakland, California throughout 2022 and 2023. It has been edited for brevity and clarity.
I am a 51-year-old person, a two-spirited transgender. I am a survivor of mental and sexual abuse from my time in the care of Texas Child Protective Services,
by Tatiana Lyulkin
Your eyes
Are the color of the sea
After the storm.
You and I,
Explorers and fearless voyagers
At one
With the nature and the night,
Seeking safety and comfort
In each other’s arms.
We share
What little we have
With each other
And with the world.
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,
Aftereffects of a global pandemic are causing fallout for San Francisco’s budget. A deficit of over $780 million—a combination of falling business tax revenue caused by remote work, and tourism that hasn’t reached pre-pandemic levels—could fall on the backs of the poorest San Franciscans. Meanwhile, San Francisco is trapped in a “doom loop” media cycle furthered by tech doomer billionaires like Garry Tan and aligned elected officials. Their push for an austerity budget will place the rising cost of housing,
by Isidore Mika Székely Manes-Dragan
Here’s an all-too common scenario: You just lost your job, your landlord has evicted you from your own bedroom apartment, and now you’re on the streets. Whatever your story may be, you ask yourself this question: What’s my next step?
You want to be housed again, but before that, you need to find stability. That means food and water, shelter, and hopefully facilities with running water.
by Jack Bragen
My support system includes a mental health agency and my family, yet mostly I am in charge of meeting my essential needs. I’m proud of this independence—but at the same time, I find it frightening and lonely. .
My level of independence is unusual for mental health consumers with a serious condition, as people who have disabilities like mine are not known for doing what I do.
by Cathleen Williams, Homeward Street Journal
“Without mass investment by the government to fund affordable housing at scale, more Californians living one paycheck away from homelessness will end up on the streets with no affordable housing options available.” – Housing Now!
On a bright and breezy spring day in Sacramento, hundreds of outraged families traveled from across the state in the midst of California’s housing crisis to meet with the lawmakers
by American Civil Liberties Union
The following transcript is an interview with Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, on At Liberty, the podcast of the ACLU. The episode dropped on April 18, before the U.S. Supreme Court started hearing the case of Grants Pass v. Johnson. It has been edited for brevity, clarity and style.
