A Publication of the Coalition on Homelessness
by Volker Macke
According to a new British study, people experiencing homelessness have, by the age of 43, an average state of health equivalent to that of an 85-year-old with a home. Common health complaints include heart disease, respiratory issues, organ damage and infections caused by poorly healing wounds. Heat waves can also be as fatal for people sleeping rough as they are for elderly people.
For years,
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,
Mayor London Breed released a statement on March 1 reporting on a reduction in the number of tents in San Francisco due to sweeps. While the Mayor’s office credits the Healthy Streets Operation Center (HSOC), which conducts encampment removals, conflicting data indicates that revenue from the November 2018 Proposition C—”Our City, Our Home”—is in fact responsible. On the same day, the Mayor submitted an amicus brief in support of overturning the Grants Pass case,
Hello San Francisco! Hello Sacramento!
The Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee (SHOC)_ is now publishing news and views from the capital city in San Francisco’s Street Sheet. SHOC has published Homeward Street Journal, our local homeless paper, for over 20 years, providing thousands of issues for distribution on our city’s street corners and in its encampments, supporting unhoused vendors and uplifting the movement for housing for all.
Now we are moving in a new direction.
by Jack Bragen
The media has taught Americans to associate “mentally ill” with “homeless,” and vice-versa. Politicians and authorities have brainwashed Americans to believe homelessness is caused by untreated mental disorders or a drug addiction. This is a sadly mistaken way of thinking, and it is promoted so that society can continue subjugating and otherwise mistreating those who are different.
But it is a half-truth. Some people are homeless and have a mental condition or drug addiction,
by Vinay Pai
This excerpt from “The Eviction Machine” was originally published by our allies in Street Spirit. It tells the story of the life of the man known as 300, a life-long Berkeley resident who died in 2019 after being evicted from his home.
I met 300 sleeping on a bench outside Au Coquelet Café on University Avenue one late night in the summer of 2013.
by Akir Jackson
To most people, I’m invisible. Just another nameless Black man blending into the urban background. People avoid making eye contact as they walk past me on the sidewalk. Pretend not to notice me shivering on the street corner. But if you look closely at the worn lines on my face, you’ll see the story of how I wound up here.
I’ve been homeless on and off for the past decade since losing my job as a machinist.
by Jack Bragen
We live in challenging times. Those who have power over others are waging a detestable war against the innocent, against those who merely want to make things better for themselves and their families, and those who make sacrifices to help others.
But those who have power over others cannot win—it is physically impossible. They could destroy all life and everything else, but they can not ultimately maintain a malicious dominance over the innocent.
by Anita Carlos
In the heart of San Francisco, where the glittering skyline meets the harsh reality of urban poverty, I find myself caught in a relentless struggle for survival. The city’s iconic landmarks mask the silent struggles of those living in its shadows. My journey through the underbelly of San Francisco began with the realization that beneath the surface of prosperity, a poignant narrative of poverty unfolded.
The city’s streets,
