On the rainy evening of January 25th, 250 municipal workers and volunteers were deployed to our city’s streets and alleys to achieve a tally of San Francisco’s homeless residents.

February 14th (after an interval longer than required to tabulate more than 8 million war-weary Iraqi’s votes), Mayor Gavin Newsom revealed to a singularly uncritical press that homelessness citywide decreased “precipitously” since the last such count in the fall of 2002. According to the new survey, overall homelessness in San Francisco declined from 2002’s 8,640 to 5,642, a 28% (actually, its 34%, but we’re citing the Mayor’s press release) reduction, while the numbers of people counted on the streets plummeted 41% from 2002’s 4,535, to 2,655.

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You may have seen the flyers around town, and wondered what they were all about:

One Accessible Storage Facility
In the Entire City

For Homeless People to Use

Up to 14,000 Homeless People with Personal Property

Do you think there’s a problem? (more…)

p>Six weeks after the U.S. Conference of Mayors released its State of Hunger and Homelessness in America report indicating that homelessness is increasing across the United States, HUD announced its annual McKinney-Vento homelessness assistance grants. This year, $1.4 billion was awarded through competitive and formula grants to HUD McKinney-Vento programs. These programs provide emergency and transitional shelter, permanent supportive housing, and support services to people experiencing homelessness. (more…)

p>Six weeks after the U.S. Conference of Mayors released its State of Hunger and Homelessness in America report indicating that homelessness is increasing across the United States, HUD announced its annual McKinney-Vento homelessness assistance grants. This year, $1.4 billion was awarded through competitive and formula grants to HUD McKinney-Vento programs. These programs provide emergency and transitional shelter, permanent supportive housing, and support services to people experiencing homelessness. (more…)

ANOTHER QUARTER, please.” The bus driver was glaring at me and my 17-month-old son as I fumbled for an additional quarter. My fingers clawed their way into the dark recesses of my backpack. Brushes, crumpled receipts, paper clips, pens, old address books intertwined with new address books, erasers, old watch bands, and … oh, ahhh, could it be true? A quarter? Clutching the sliver of metal, my fingers climbed back up through a hidden passage of Mt. Backpack. But alas, it was just a nickel. “Would a nickel be OK? It’s all I have right now?” I plead.

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Although you wouldn’t know with all the fanfare about how great San Francisco is doing on homeless issues, a major travesty was committed within San Francisco Mental Health System.

A major policy change resulted in 1,700 clients losing their treatment at the end of January. This was proposed by Department of Public Health with little input from community members as to its effect. The cuts passed swiftly through the Board and Mayor as part of the mid-year budget cuts.

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I don’t fear death; I fear life, in spite of the enormous professional success and moments of joy I have experienced in the last 24 years. Having the mental health community tell me I suffer from Panic Attacks (rapid heart rate, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath/hyperventilation, chills, hot flashes, nausea, abdominal cramping, chest pain, dizziness, tightness in throat, trouble swallowing, and a sense of impending death) and Agoraphobia causes an individual to avoid certain situations and jobs. The fear increases until the individual becomes depressed, housebound, and too fearful to come in for treatment. If this is the grand prize for the horrors of my personal history (they call it a predisposition or Borderline Personality Disorder), it seems hardly inspiring.

This disposition brings me to the Psychiatric Emergency Services at San Francisco General Hospital in October 2004. Living with an unrelenting fear of imminent danger 24/7 alone suffices as reason to take one’s life. Being subjected to verbal abuse for being mentally disabled simply nails the coffin shut. My son has been operating from a place of anger for so long now he doesn’t even remember what he got angry about. His father is simply a shadow of a man walking the paces of life void of any joy and delight. Forget about cognitive processes and problem-solving abilities. The idea of going from pillar to post conjures up the pain and suffering in my past of beatings, rape, torture and murder. I don’t fear death; I fear life.

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Nota del editor:

Este mes hemos decidido incluir este artículo sobre las dificultades que encuentran nuestros hermanos del continente africano que buscan mejorar sus vidas en Europa. Infelizmente, como podrán leer en este reportaje, la discriminación y represión en contra de los inmigrantes se va extendiendo por el mundo como consecuencia de la globalización capitalista. En este caso, de los inmigrantes africanos atrapados en Marruecos cuando intentan cruzar el Mar Mediterráneo para llegar a España y el resto de Europa.

Marruecos se ha convertido en una de las principales vías de tránsito de inmigrantes del África negra para entrar a Europa. De muy distintas maneras se accede a territorio marroquí, las vías y los métodos varían pero lo más importante es romper las líneas fronterizas que separan África de Europa.

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If the homelessness situation in California and the nation seems rather bleak now, a look toward the future does not show that the housing crisis for low-income Americans is going to disappear anytime soon. If anything, even more people will become homeless unless the nation’s housing policies drastically change course.

Since 2001, around 123,000 units of low-income public housing have already been demolished across the nation, with another 45,000 units or more expected to be demolished under current policies of the Bush Administration.

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On Tuesday March 8th, for the 6th Global Women’s Strike, in San Francisco, we are protesting the criminalization of survival. With welfare cuts and increasingly repressive laws, more and more people are finding themselves on the wrong side of the law, just for trying to make ends meet. Most women in prison are there for non-violent offences and crimes of poverty. 85% of women prisoners are mothers, most lose custody of their children so, imprisoning women destroys families. (more…)