A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
by Marisa Kendall/ CalMatters
When Sacramento changed its plan to demolish a homeless encampment on a vacant lot on Colfax Street, instead offering the homeless occupants a lease, activists and camp residents celebrated it as a win.
The first-of-its-kind deal, which allows the camp to remain in place and govern itself without city interference, was held up as a model Sacramento could replicate at future sites. Other cities, including San Jose,
Proposition F, the measure that requires welfare recipients to be referred to drug screening if suspected of drug use, was approved by 58% of San Francisco voters in the March 5 primary election.
Prop. F passed with less than half of the City’s registered voters casting a ballot, and did so despite opposition from various political and advocacy organizations, medical providers, media outlets and labor unions.
Two days after the election,
by Jordan Davis
On February 6, I was at the Board of Supervisors meeting, getting ready to make moderate supervisors wince with my acerbic comments once again, when I heard District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey introduce a hearing on permanent supportive housing (PSH). The hearing was to focus on security procedures and safety inside and outside such housing. He cited neighborhood concerns about conditions around these sites as a reason to schedule this hearing.
In what has to be one of the dumbest, most desperate yet conniving pre-election moves this publication has seen in years, Mayor London Breed put an initiative on the March ballot that will dramatically drive up homelessness while wasting valuable public resources.
This brain fart has been labeled Proposition F. While the Mayor has failed in addressing the overdose crisis, with more people dying from accidental overdoses than ever, she has come up with a plan to cut those suspected of drug use off of welfare.
by Nathan Sheard
San Francisco voters have a lot to consider before the March 5 election. Voting No on Proposition E should be an easy choice for anyone who is concerned with addressing our city’s challenges, rather than benefiting from them. If passed, Prop. E would significantly weaken measures meant to protect the rights and safety of San Francisco residents and visitors. If Prop. E passes, it would strip accountability for the use of dubious surveillance tools,
by Jordan Davis
This year, I made a New Year’s resolution: No longer will I go on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. Many of my peers have done so as well, since the rebranding has been accompanied by so much toxicity. X is starting to resemble an infamous website where trolls stalk transgender and autistic people.
If you have never been homeless without friends or family to house you,
San Francisco’s response to unsheltered homelessness has long been on the radar of local and national media, and it’s pinging more frequently, partly because of a lawsuit that the Coalition on Homelessness has filed against the City.
Last year, a federal judge ruled that the City can not arrest or issue citations to people in homeless encampments without a real and specific offer of shelter while the case is in litigation.
by Jordan Davis
As many of our readers know, this year, the Homelessness Oversight Commission (HOC) was launched last spring to oversee the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH).Three advisory committees— the Local Homeless Coordinating Board, the Shelter Monitoring Committee, and the Shelter Grievance Advisory Committee—were placed under the commission that would appoint members who would report directly to the commission rather than the mayor or board of supervisors.
by Bradley Penner
As mounting pressure from the City of Berkeley brings Eighth and Harrison to its breaking point, one resident sheds light through the cracks
Clarence “OG” Galtney, 65, spent the morning of November 6 bagging possessions and clearing the perimeter of his tent on Harrison Street, a process he says he’s gone through over twenty times in Berkeley over the past ten years.
The sweep Galtney was preparing for had been a long time coming.
Sahra Nawabi (Youth Lead, Alameda County’s Youth Advisory Board) & Hannah Moore (Youth
Services Program Manager, Alameda County Office of Homelessness Coordination
Introduction:
Sahra (pronounced SAH- RO) Nawabi is Alameda County’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB) youth lead. The YAB is a body of youth who have experienced or are currently experiencing homelessness. The group advises on policy, programs and funding in Alameda County’s homeless response system.
