It appears that Proposition M is beginning to claim some of its first casualties. A San Francisco man spent four days in jail for panhandling.

San Francisco superior court judge Kathleen Kelly refused to release the man on his own recognizance before his trial date for three panhandling charges.

Proposition M, an “anti-panhandling” ordinance on the November 4, 2003 ballot made it illegal to panhandle in a large number of public spaces and broadly defines aggressive panhandling to include asking quietly for help twice. Prop M punishes offenders by creating an un-funded and redundant “diversion” program for offenders, expensive fines and jail time.

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This year was my first time participating in the creation of the annual document known as the People’s Budget. For nine consecutive years the Coalition on Homelessness, as well as a number of other community groups, have pulled together to form the People’s Budget Collaborative. They produce an alternative budget that details ways the City can raise revenue and preserve vital services to poor people. Public Health cuts are analyzed and detailed, with emphasis on making the effect of the proposed cuts apparent to ordinary people who may not be used to deciphering the complex lexicon of handsomely paid bureaucrats.

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On June 21, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approved a HUD funding bill for fiscal year 2006. The United States Senate is expected to draft its own version of the bill in mid July, and following the August summer recess the House and Senate will negotiate a final bill. So, what’s the damage at this point?

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Working with District Attorney Kamala Harris and Assistant District Attorney Mke Menesini, the leaders of Religious Witness with Homeless People have secured amnesty for thousands of poor and homeless individuals burdened with bench warrants resulting from “quality of life” citations issued in San Francisco between June 5, 2000 and March 31, 2003.

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A couple of years ago, incensed by the blatancy of Brown’s second-term pandering to big business and development, San Francisco’s political left managed an unprecedented level of unity that came “this close” to sweeping Matt Gonzalez into office as San Francisco’s first Green mayor.

Since then, virtually anyone with any interest whatsoever in local politics has been looking to the left with either trepidation or excitement, anticipating the advent of “the next big thing:” the candidate or cause capable of again motivating San Francisco’s impressively numerous and exceedingly disparate progressives to get behind it en masse-to forsake their familiar factionalism in favor of presenting a unified front.

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Homeless Advocates of the Mission (HAM), a group of residents and organizations advocated for just and effective homeless policies in the Mission District, is pressuring City officials to consider a “Community Connect” policy as a neighborhood alternative to Project Homeless Connect and the Homeless Outreach Team. HAM is keeping a close eye on these two new Mayoral homeless programs as they make plans for expansion to the Mission and Castro neighborhoods. The community is frustrated that they haven’t been included in the planning discussions and there is also a growing concern that while the Mayor is creating exciting new programs, the existing fabric of services is being neglected or dismantled. HAM wants the City to ensure that these new programs reflect the assets, needs, and wants of the Mission community and are used to strengthen existing services.

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Homeless Advocates of the Mission (HAM), un grupo de residents y organizaciones que propusieron políticas justas y efectivas para tratar con los desamparados de la Misión, está presionando a los gobernantes de la ciudad para que consideren crear una “Conexión Comunitaria” como alternativa al “Proyecto Conexión con los Desamparados” (Homeless Connect) y el “Equipo de Alcance a los Desamparados” (Homeless Outreach Team). HAM está centrando su atención en estos nuevos proyectos del alcalde, ya que la ciudad está empezando a expandirlos a la Misión y Castro. La comunidad está frustrada porque no se les ha incluido en las discusiones de planificación y existe una creciente preocupación con el hecho de que mientras el alcalde crea nuevos programas, el tejido de servicios que ya existen se ve negligenciado o desmantelado. HAM quiere que la ciudad asegure que esos nuevos programas reflejen el patrimonio, necesidades y deseos de la comunidad de la Misión y que sean usados para reforzar servicios ya existentes.

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The large scale, systematic use of psychiatric punishment began in the late 1930’s in the Soviet Union, and greatly expanded under Khrushchev. No Westerner was allowed to visit a Soviet Special Psychiatric Hospital, but reports from former prisoners showed a stark resemblance to the experimental prison-clinics run by Himmler’s SS doctors, both in cruelties practiced and type of doctor in charge.

As with most past systems of totalitarian control, psychiatric punishment of homeless people was a precursor to labeling political dissent as a mental illness. On May 24, 1959, Pravda, the official Soviet newspaper, quoted Khrushchev as saying “To those who might start calling for opposition to Communism… clearly the mental state of such people is not normal.” In Germany Hitler popularized American eugenic psychiatry in his book “Mein Kampf.”

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In the early morning of Monday May 23rd I was suffering from and attempting to recover from an unknown infection. I had run out of the medication prescribed by the wound care clinic and was in severe pain.

I called urology as they were still in the process of investigating my illness. Urology had prescribed for me vicodin and cyproco (an antibiotic). I advised the doctor I was broke and S.S.I. Pending. He felt since the other medications had failed this would be the best combination for me until I was seen by urology again on Friday.

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The San Francisco Peoples’ Organization is a coalition of community based organizations, labor, advocacy groups, and individuals committed to building a progressive vision for San Francisco. We are creating a long-term strategic alliance of people of color, women, labor, working poor, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender persons, seniors, persons with disabilities, faith-based communities, youth, and any group or individual that will fight for economic and social justice. We believe that through grassroots, constituency-based, multi-issue organizing efforts we can transform San Francisco into a progressive city that places human needs and the common good above everything else.

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