The stream of moonlight that poured through the cracks between the venetian blinds aided my fingers as I tuned in 810 AM on my radio station.
“I think The City is ready for a more compassionate approach to homelessness,” were words uttered by Supervisor Gavin Newsom that rang with hope as he spoke with Bernie Ward on KGO Newstalk. (more…)
Vagabonds, waifs, strays, beggars, loafers or “loafters,” gamins, drifters, rovers, wanderers, waywards, transients, gypsies, bawdy-baskets, tinkers, rogues, itinerants, hobos, tramps, the people out of doors, vagrants, cony-catchers, the mudsill class, street people, downand- outers, ne’er do-wells. The string of names that have been attached to those who find themselves temporarily unhoused is long. They tell us a lot about how homeless people have been seen throughout history.
This month (July), programs for people who are homeless in San Francisco are going to be hit hard. State and city budget cuts require many of our local social service departments to cut back. Consequently, we see staff laid off, drop-in services cancelled, and mental health departments at various clinics closed down.
In November of 2002, voters passed Proposition N, a piece of legislation that slashes homeless adult public assistance checks by 85%. Voters were promised that homeless people would get a whole host of new services such as substance abuse treatment, and housing in its place. The General Assistance portion of the initiative was overturned in court over seven months later. The Board of Supervisors is now considering identical legislation to fully implement the initiative.
El Gobierno y los grandes negocios nos declaran la guerra, es una guerra sin tregua para toda la gente pobre desamparada y de bajos ingresos, recortando casi todo tipo de asistencia social. No se quedan satisfechos con la aniquilación de todos los beneficios sino que empiezan con una ola de desplazamientos de personas desamparadas en los refugios conocidos como shelters.
Nosotros, los firmantes de esta petición, somos inmigrantes, latinos desamparados y trabajadores comunitarios de la ciudad de San Francisco. Nos presentamos ante ustedes, Supervisores de la Ciudad y Condado de San Francisco, para pedirles que como representantes elegidos de la voluntad popular, no permitan que se cierre el Tenderloin Self Help Center (TSHC).
When this 800-page novel about civil disobedience protests came across my desk, I browsed the photo sections, then set it in my “paperweight” stack. It was the photos that got me to pick it up again. Any novelist could invent a rambling story about a bunch of activists in Berkeley and San Francisco who conspire to change the world, organize civil disobedience protests in which thousands of people are arrested, and spend days or weeks in jail. An imaginative writer might even add sub-plots concerning a “nukecycle,” pagan rituals, elaborate graffitti actions, and one activist’s obsession with an Air Force base. (more…)
Over the past few months, there has been a lot of controversy about two developments in San Francisco. One, the planned Continental Hotel 5th and Howard, has spurred accusations and counter-accusations of gentrification in the 6th Street area, and the role of community organizations who have signed off on it. Just a hop, skip and a jump away, at 4th and Freelon, a well-connected developer got a special zoning permit in order to build luxury condominiums. (more…)
You are currently browsing the STREET SHEET weblog archives for July, 2003.