Locked Out: Supportive Housing Denies Tenants Access to Community Areas

by Contributing Author

In 2008, the Salvation Army opened a community center at 242 Turk St. in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. It’s a Ray & Joan Kroc Community Center, whose stated mission is to provide supportive health services and housing for formerly homeless adults, foster youth and veterans living with behavioral health conditions, and nurture a safe space for the community’s youth. Next to the center is Railton Place, an apartment complex owned by the Salvation Army and managed by the John Stewart Company,

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Op-ed: Supervisor’s Sobriety Plan Adds Roadblocks to Supportive Housing 

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Davis

Five years after tenants experienced a giant leap forward in permanent supportive housing (PSH), they could suffer a gigantic leap backwards if Supervisor Matt Dorsey’s proposed legislation for “recovery housing” passes. 

At a June 18 press conference, Dorsey formally asked the City Attorney’s office to draft legislation requiring that 25% of the City’s PSH units be dedicated to sober housing. It also would align with proposed state legislation allowing up to 25% of state funding to cities for such housing and related services—effectively placing a moratorium on new PSH.  

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Being Queer and on the Autism Spectrum

by Contributing Author
Planets of the solar system floating over the Golden Gate Bridge and a chain link fence. Caption over pink inverted triangle reads "Queer As In Homes For All"

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,

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Supervisor Dorsey Surprises All with Ask for PSH Hearing

by Contributing Author

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. 

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Op-ed: Supportive Housing Should Have Its Own Board

by Contributing Author

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. 

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Bogus PSH Safety Inspections, or How My Blue Hair Dye Became a Fire Hazard

by Contributing Author
Woman sitting with caption in background: "Hello there. We're Still Here"

by Jordan Davis

In late October, I dyed my hair blue as part of a Halloween costume: I was going as death metal singer (and vegan animal rights activist, friend of trans community, and all around girlboss) Alyssa White-Gluz of Arch Enemy. I decided that since I like the color blue, and I have connections to the ocean, I would keep my blue hair permanently. I use Arctic Fox hair dye,

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Advocating for Yourself

by Contributing Author

by Everett May

Most people can appreciate the value in having a good advocate on your side during life’s challenging moments. Almost everybody has experienced a situation when an advocate was either necessary or would have come in handy. In certain circumstances advocates are not hard to find—especially if there is money involved—but that’s not always the case. Sometimes your troubles have nothing to do with money, or they are something money just can’t fix.

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Op-ed: Budget Advocates Missed an Opportunity to Root Out SRO Collaborative’s Conflict of Interest

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Davis

It seems that every year, the budget process in San Francisco is a peculiar song and dance you will not find in any other county—or in very few cities— in California. We could have a professional city manager working with the Board of Supervisors and community to create a workable budget, but there ends up being unpleasant surprises on June 1, and we have to scramble,

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To PSH Providers and SF Government: Stay the F*** out of Our Lives

by Jordan Davis

On April 26, the San Francisco Chronicle published an exposé on the conditions in single-resident occupancy hotels (SROs) used as permanent supportive housing (PSH). Many of us took a calculated risk in speaking to the Chronicle over a multi-year period concerning the issues we face every day, and many tenants felt a sense of being on the precipice of victory; we were winning and felt on top of the world looking down on creation.

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Home — James Jefferson

by Robert Gumpert

Name: James Jefferson

Age: 39

Date: June 17, 2021

Place: Florida and Treat streets

Homeless: 12 to 13 years

“Does a tent afford privacy? I can do whatever I want within the four walls, but in this situation it feels like you’re an endangered species. Like you’re being hunted really slowly and silently. You never know when they’re going to come and uproot you.

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