If we have learned anything about homelessness over the past 25 years, it is that public policy based on assumptions, fear, and paranoia about people forced to live on the streets will never create a plan that can work.

All the recent federal plans on homelessness—FEMA emergency shelter plans, HUD Continuum of Care plans (5 years) and the 10-year plans of the Interagency Council on Homelessness—are based on the assumption that in the early 1980s, homelessness re-emerged in America because something was wrong with the people who were becoming homeless.

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The beating of a homeless man by three young men, caught by the surveillance cameras of a flower shop on Waverly Place, should at first be categorized as a random act of urban violence. A hate crime committed without any reason against a defenseless individual, the incident was profusely reported by the local media. As it usually is the case when homelessness and crime intersect, and more when real footage is available, the media was all over the story and the phones of the Coalition were jumping off the hooks with requests for interviews.

Then, when the victim seemed to have vanished from San Francisco, the perpetrators were never caught, and the latest shootout in our poorer neighborhoods to claim the life of another young men of color took over the headlines.

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On March 30th the U.S. Senate Housing and Transportation Subcommittee held a hearing on S. 1801, the Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act, a bill that would reauthorize the HUD McKinney-Vento homeless programs. Over the past year only a small number of groups have been invited to work with Sen. Jack Reed’s (D-RI) office in drafting the bill, and an equally small number were asked to testify in person to members of the subcommittee.

Regrettably, this process has severely limited a full discussion or adequate representation of all points of view. Given what is at stake, it is crucial to make your voice heard. The National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness (NPACH) and the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) strongly encourage individuals and organizations to send letters and submit comments on proposed changes in federal homeless policy to their Senators and members of the subcommittee.

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Greetings fellow Seniors and welcome to the Senior Corner. This article is to introduce all of you to SENIORS ORGANIZING SENIORS or S.O.S. for short. S.O.S. was founded by homeless seniors to advocate for the needs of homeless and formerly homeless seniors. We have been in existence since November of ‘05, and along the way we have obtained the support of various Senior groups, organizations, and certain people of stature in and about the Senior Circle of San Francisco. Also, we have received the support of District 6 Supervisor Chris Daly as well as Ms. Angela Alioto, who has been most supportive of our efforts to put forth an agenda that is conducive to our needs.

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In response to our “Housing First! For Homeless Families” the Newsom administration, through the Human Services Agency (HAS), organized a Homeless Families Services Redesign task force, with the participation of City agencies, service providers, advocates and, hopefully, the ones most invested in this process, i.e. the homeless families themselves. Within that group three sub-committees were created to focus on the following issues: eviction prevention, emergency shelters and permanent housing. So far, meetings have been held twice a month and are open to the public. We encourage anyone who is able, concerned, impacted or simply interested in supporting these issues to attend. (more…)