On the sidewalk outside Bill Graham Auditorium in San Francisco’s Civic Center, a volunteer confesses that she ditched work that day to participate in Mayor Newsom’s third Project Homeless Connect. She doesn’t want me to interview her, because she’s afraid if folks at the non-profit where she works found out she wasn’t actually sick that day, she might become jobless herself.

We share a moment of social awkwardness as I hand her my cigarette lighter (unconsciously marking that we’re standing at least 50 feet from the door), but soon I realize that we’ve created a draw ourselves outside the City of San Francisco’s biggest homeless handout: Cigarette Connect… entry-level access to substances of abuse for poor people compelled by guilty habits.

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Mayor Gavin Newsom has a problem—that much is clear. When he was elected, everyone seemed to agree that his problem was with homelessness. And these days, especially if you look to the Chronicle for the bulk of your San Francisco news coverage, you might get the impression that his problem is going away.

But if you dig down a little deeper, and look at what’s actually happening on this City’s streets and in its corridors of power, a far different story would begin to emerge. The fact is, our mayor still has a problem with homelessness—and it’s not just the fact that the streets of San Francisco remain home to numerous people on the margins. Newsom’s problem now is that he seems to feel that he has all the answers to ending homelessness in San Francisco and need pay attention neither to the input of the community nor the lessons of the past.

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Homelessness as we know it will end only when its root causes are attacked with the same vigor and financial investment with which we currently ensure our national defense. Advocates for poor and homeless people recognize the connection between military spending increases and the prospects for social reinvestments in programs ensuring affordable housing, universal health care, and reduced income disparity between the very rich and the very poor.

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On Monday April 25, 2005 the first official meeting of the new Shelter Monitoring Committee was held in City Hall Room 34. Twelve of the thirteen members were present as were four non-members, including two members of the public and two employees of the Department of Human Services. The only member not present was one of the Mayoral appointees that no one has been able to contact for several weeks. (Kendra, this is you. If you are reading this please call Mayor Gavin Newsom at 415/554.6141 or go by his office at City Hall Room 200 to let him know where you are!)

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A un año de la implementacion del Programa de Care Not Cash y despues de analizar todos los cabos sueltos, el fracaso y el desastroso efecto que ha tenido en la comunidad desamparada. Es nesesario pensar en alternativas mas viables y humanas que ayuden a mejorar la situacion de las personas, mas que criminalizarl a los no tienen un techo sobre su cabeza.

El hecho de que la ciudad haya creado una maquinaria publicitaria para hacer que el Mayor Newsom se vea bien a los ojos de el publico, repartiendo llaves de viviendas ha sido solo eso, un epejismo publicitario enfocado a hacer sentir que la ciudad esta verdaderamente preocupada por los que menos tienen.

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La Coalicion de Desamparados es una organizacion que consiste principalmente de personas desamparadasy personas que han sido desamparadas en el pasado, tambien forman parte personal de las agencias de servicios que atienden estas poblaciones desamparadas, muchos de nuestros miembros han sido impactadospor problemas de salud mental y de abuso de substancias.nosotros creemos que es critico que sean los consumidores mismos los que tengan una opinion en la creacion e impementacion de politicas que afectan sus vidas. La Coalicion esta emocionada sobre el potencial que presenta la iniciativa de salud mental por que atiende los sintomas de la enfermedad mental y los factores que contribuyen y causan los desordenes mentales.

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A number of recent events have brought back to light the need for creating a comprehensive, community-designed, long-term plan to fight homelessness in San Francisco. From the bogus process enacted by City officials who completely disregarded the community process and hijacked the Local Homeless Coordinating Board to redirect much needed funds from health care, employment training, legal services and other vital services to fund supportive housing for the narrowly-defined chronically homeless and a subsequent massively-attended hearing before the City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee of the Board of Supervisors, to the unanimous approval by the same Supervisors of a directive ordering a legislative analysis of the recent homeless count that claimed a reduction of 41% in the numbers of homeless people on the streets, there are many signs that behind the spin and upbeat photo-ops there is little more than a Three-Card Monte game in which numbers are thrown around until we are all dizzy and confused and ready to believe whatever the Chronicle chooses to print on its front page.

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The Coalition on Homelessness is an organization consisting largely of homeless and formerly homeless people, as well as front-line staff of homeless service agencies. Many of our members have been impacted by mental health and substance abuse issues. We feel that it is critical to have consumers themselves included in the creation and implementation of policy that affects their lives. The Coalition is excited about the potential the Mental Health Initiative presents for addressing both the symptoms of psychiatric disorders and the factors that cause and contribute to mental illness. Proposition 63 has the potential to transform the mental health system here in San Francisco and across the state.

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Forced mental health treatment in California may soon be getting a huge boost in funding, using a projected windfall of taxpayer money from recently passed ballot initiative Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA). In a move that has angered mental health clients and spurred mounting allegations of voter betrayal, state officials announced on April 5th that counties will likely be allowed to use taxpayer money from recently passed ballot measure Proposition 63 to fund involuntary treatment, including court-ordered outpatient commitment. In response, clients have launched a letter-writing campaign to demand that no Prop 63 funds will be used for force.

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The rich and powerful often have a close personal relationship with addictive substances. Every month or so, it seems, a famous Hollywood actor is caught with drugs. Neither media figures nor politicians are exempt. Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh recently entered rehab to dry out from addictive, illegally obtained pain pills.

America’s foremost born-again Christian, President George W. Bush, was known to have abused alcohol. His former sister-in-law, Sharon, tattled to tabloid biographer Kitty Kelly that, at Camp David during his father’s presidency, the younger Bush used the drug of choice in high social circles—cocaine.

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