Fighting for Mcmillan
…As I reach the base of City Hall’s Polk Street stairway, I look around and see the familiar face of that feisty feminist firebrand, Friedenbach in front of a phalanx of fighters formed to face the foe and further facilitate increased community inclusion, on the issue du jour. I have arrived at the same time as the delegation of advocates and concerned citizens organized and launched by the Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco.
Jenny Friedenbach, that office’s Organizing Director, leads her troop inside to the Board of Supervisors’ chamber where the Budget and Finance committee, along with certain other mid- to high-level paper-pushers would be discussing closing McMillan Drop-In Center (a.k.a. 39 Fell, the City’s only 24/7, low-threshold, crisis intervention and service access facility dedicated to the needs of poor and homeless people, who are here in San Francisco.) long before any replacement facility would exist, our issue, in sanitary and bloodless bureaucratic doublespeak.
I pause, separating myself from the delegation. I know what the victory conditions for our side are. The community’s need for 24/7, low-threshold intervention and access facilities is constant. Any interruption in the provision of this would mean that people would suffer. The bigger the interruption, the bigger the suffering. I know, from what I’d heard already, of the power structure’s (DPH’s & DHS’s) complacency regarding a rather major interruption. Months or even years could go by before the hypothetical 6th Street location would become a reality. An interruption of that magnitude would mean much more than people suffering; it would mean people dying. Our goal is very clear: Prevent that.
If we are not successful in persuading the Powers That Be to extend the operational lifespan of 39 Fell in conjunction with expediting the creation of the new 24/7 facility, if we can not convince the power structure of the non-negotiable absolute necessity of continuing the uninterrupted pursuit of the McMillan Drop-In Center’s mission, if we are unable to prevail upon our municipal leadership’s tenuous humanitarian inclinations to reduce, minimize, or eliminate completely the lag time, gap in coverage, and/or interruption in facility provision, then a hard rain is gonna fall, full of pain and a promise to maim, upon the vulnerable and fragile among us. It is that rain that would be our collective failure. That rain must not be allowed to fall.
I put out my smoke and pat myself down, prior to running the Sheriff’s metal detector security gauntlet. Noting that I was in possession of neither mynotebook nor the cassette recorder, I shake my head and start in towards Room 250 wondering how firmly adherent They are to this plan of Theirs that hurts people. The cop operating the metal detector asks me if I know where I’m going. I say Yeah. He asks where. I tell him. Then he asks me why, which is so far beyond his purview that I forget to get snitty with him and begin to question the wisdom of separating myself from the advocacy delegation. Then he tells me the McMillan hearing had been yesterday. I raise my eyebrows at this, then look past the huge glass doors I’ve just come through. Outside, the degree of sunshine is almost excessive; in here the weather is distinctly Orwellian. I make no move at all towards leaving. Abruptly I look back at the deputy with a skeptically appraising gaze, as if he is a camel being offered in trade. He mutters who he’s gonna make a call to about this. I nod my consent at him and begin to de-metal myself into the handy plastic basket.
As I’m replacing my metal in my pockets, Barbara Garcia and a small entourage of white-collars come through the detector point. I see her and smile, saying, “Three cheers, the Left wing’s here.” A confused curiosity blends with the veneer of calm assessment over the polite smile and nod she uses to excuse herself from me, and she continues on her way to the hearing. I don’t think axing 39 Fell is the first item on the agenda, but if the Director of Community Health Programs is headed into the fray, then it is time I am on my way.
I go to the Board of Supervisors’ Chamber for Public Proceedings and take a seat along the wall. True to form, they are still discussing details of the planned budget for the Museum of San Francisco. $86,000,000 seems like a lot of money for a museum while there are still people sleeping outside, even for a blend of public and private monies. At length, they come to our item on their agenda.
Chris Daly opens the hearing with a brief summary of the issue, then calls upon the City’s payrolled suits to go ahead and explain their vision of the Plan of Harm.
Barbara Garcia of DPH speaks first, giving the planned date they’ll close 39 Fell as ancillary to the temporary relocation of the Sobering Center over to Ozanam Detox at 1175 Howard. She calls the times 24 hour drop-in services will be unavailable, “gaps being provided” by the close of 39 Fell. I listen to Ms. Garcia call the reduction of general detox beds available, due to the Sobering Center moving in at 1175 Howard and taking 1/4th of Ozanam’s general detox beds for its alcohol-only sobering beds, a “service enhancement.”
I hear Director of the Department of Human Services, Trent Rhorer speak of services homeless people could access at other facilities after finalizing negotiations that aren’t currently complete and blithely overlooking facts like, these services are already full with wait-lists, and these facilities don’t do intake on a 24-hour basis.
Showers are one of the more tangible services at 39 Fell and are addressed, although quite inadequately, by the representatives of both DPH and DHS. It is also a concern raised by many who speak during the period open for public comment. Almost none of those who speak during public comment make any argument against more respite beds becoming available. These respite beds are sorely needed, to be sure.
Some of those who speak and the issues they do raise are: Willy Logins, who says it will be very difficult for people who have to carry all their luggage, all the time. Nicholas, who lives at Canon Kip now, but before used to be homeless, asks for a supplemental allocation for 39 Fell. James Tracy urges a supplemental appropriation and states that the proposed arraignment is unfeasible, and would result in things nobody wants. Jennifer Friedenbach rails against a mayor and media that don’t seem to care and public agencies that have the wrong focus, i.e. shelters not housing. Mary Kate Connor speaks her concern for those with mental health complications and their difficulty with very complicated access systems for services. She also calls Trent on his misrepresentation of the availability status of the other programs. Laura Guzmán of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board, and Director of the Mission Neighborhood Health Center, predicts a shower and shelter access crisis and says that too much hope is hung upon 6th Street due to the diversity of unmet need. Veronica M. echoes concerns of shower access and raises concerns of tuberculosis test access. Jane Bozio talks of the unmet needs of the most marginalized people there are, and how 39 Fell is a refuge for victims of violence. Jenny Wiley, Program Director of Central City Hospitality House thanks leadership for its efforts, and recommends listening to affected people sooner in the process. Miguel Carrera of the Coalition on Homelessness relates his personal experiences with 39 Fell. In his thick accent, he declares his willingness to fight, to keep 39 Fell’s doors from closing to homeless people. Danny Rits states the value, for people with mental health issues, of simply an open door with a light on. Tracy Brown says his clients need 39 Fell as an off-the-street waiting area so they don’t get jacked by the cops, or annoy the neighbors. Ester Chavez states that the loss of 24-hour access in the Central City area would be a blow to vulnerable people. Porter Davis asks officials for a supplemental allocation to keep 39 Fell open.
C.W. Johnson says 39 Fell saved his life, TWICE. That’s what it’s there to do: save lives. Liz Olsen contrasts efforts to rehabilitate buildings with efforts to rehabilitate communities and people. Diana Valentine of the Shelter Client Advocates points out the egregious lack of communication with the community, the lack of a plan that meets community needs, and the bureaucracy’s complacency regarding the lack of service delivery that is the job it is supposed to do. Valentine also notes the closure is equivalent to a mass denial of service with an utter lack of the due process required by the City’s policies. Hank Wilson of the Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center states the need for showers, specifically in relation to MHRA infection. He says infection is easily avoided by access to showers. Julie Ledbetter cites the negative influences of “government by surprise.” Daniel Rosas, translated by Renee Saucedo, demands clarification: Who made this decision? The Mayor said that he wouldn’t, but he’s closed a shelter a year! Will he continue? Glenda Hope, a woman of the cloth, asks for compassion, tolerance, and sanity. Anthony Wilson, a client at 39 Fell issues an impassioned invitation to The Man to visit 39 Fell first! Look the dog in the eye before ya put the dog down!
Almost seventy people speak to a diversity of very valid points. After the members of the public have all taken a turn at the podium, Chris Daly speaks to the necessity of more respite beds, for which he has advocated. Ms. Garcia stands before the Supervisor at the podium. He goes on, stating that cannibalizing one needed program in order to have another needed program is backwards progress and not a policy that he is prepared to condone. As Mr. Daly and Ms. Garcia initiate a fresher dialog, Trent Rhorer sits next to me and shakes my hand. I ask quietly, so as not to disrupt Chris and Barbara, “So, y’all planning to increase funding to the morgue?” His response is that McMillan isn’t truly 24 hour because all the chairs are full by eleven o’clock. I return this with a reminder that one may still drop in to use the potty or shower and that there are times when all one really needs is an open door with a light on inside. There are times that the simplest of needs is that severe. Mr. Daly asks Ms. Garcia where in the program development methodology the point was at which the communities’ input was to be considered. Ms. Garcia replies that currently there is no such stage. Chris lets Ms. Garcia know that all future program development shall be conducted with a restructured methodology incorporating a juncture for community input. Supervisor Daly then inquires about possibilities for developing the respite program that don’t require scrapping the City’s only 24/7, low-threshold, crisis intervention and service access facility dedicated to the needs of poor and homeless people. Ms. Garcia states her intent to develop such possibilities. There is an implication of vigor and diligence. Supervisor Daly makes an open call for other business. There is no response, other than the subsequent slam of a gavel.
Karl is a long-time homeless people’s rights activist and a volunteer at the Coalition on Homelessness.
Karl