Bay Area

Housing Not Handcuffs: Residents and Leaders Call Out City for Aggressive Homelessness Policy

One week after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered cities to start clearing out homelessness encampments in their jurisdiction, San Francisco leaders and community members have voiced their concerns over the aggressive approach from the state, echoed by Mayor London Breed. On June 25, Newsom signed an executive order directing state agencies to begin evicting people from encampments, particularly ones that “pose a threat to the life, health, and safety of the community.” Mayor Breed has been clear about her stance on the crisis, saying that the city would have a “very aggressive” approach to cracking down on homeless encampments.

Published

2 months ago

August 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Hotel Whitcomb was previously a temporary location for San Francisco City Hall and most recently was occupied by residents during the pandemic for isolation. Advocates want the city to transform the space into permanent supportive housing. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

By Magaly Muñoz

On June 25, Newsom signed an executive order directing state agencies to begin evicting people from encampments, particularly ones that “pose a threat to the life, health, and safety of the community.”

Mayor Breed has been clear about her stance on the crisis, saying that the city would have a “very aggressive” approach to cracking down on homeless encampments.

Supervisor Dean Preston said at a press conference Tuesday morning that he was “disappointed” in the mayor and his fellow elected officials in supporting a narrative that criminalizes unhoused people.

“Just because Trump’s Supreme Court says we, the city, has the power to start arresting people, citing people, criminally prosecuting people for being homeless without even offering them a place to stay, does not mean we have to take that invitation,” Preston said.

Advocates held their press conference in front of the vacant Hotel Whitcomb, which is located down the street from city hall. During the pandemic, the hotel was used as a temporary housing facility for Project Roomkey in order to isolate and house vulnerable people who were living on the street.

The community wants to use the hotel’s 459 rooms and dozens of other vacant units across the city, for permanent supportive housing to get people out of the encampments.

There are over 8,000 unhoused individuals in San Francisco, according to 2024 Point In Time Count data.

Angela Chan, Assistant Chief Attorney for the SF Public Defender’s Office, said it’s “extremely hard” to find temporary housing in the city because people feel unsafe and unwelcomed in certain shelters.

“Our ask or encouragement to the city is, let’s think through real solutions to really address the needs of people who are poor and unhoused because throwing people in jail, it makes things a lot worse, and it costs the city a lot more,” Chan told the Post.

The problem that attorneys are seeing is that unhoused individuals end up in jail for sleeping on the streets, only to be released the next day, still unhoused and awaiting a court date and possible fines or more jail time. The issue seems to be recycled and a way to kick the can down the road.

Chan said police are not assisting with resources for housing so it’s on the public defenders to find clients help.

With the sweeps not being anything new to the city, advocates are worried about what this “very aggressive” crackdown might mean for homeless residents.

“We have a situation where [the police] want to make it uncomfortable for them, take away their property, push them around from block to block… What we’ll see in the population is an increased level of trauma, longer episodes of homelessness, probably increased substance use, loss of medications and survival gear. All of these things really, really make a horrendous situation that much worse,” Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, told the Post.

Friedenbach said policymakers are shifting blame to unhoused people for being homeless instead of faulting themselves for the lack of addressing the issue.

She said rising rents, inflation in the cost of living, and income disparities are all driving forces to homelessness. Cities and local municipalities should provide rental assistance, eviction defense and variety in housing on the public and private market, while also building and buying affordable homes to transform into new living complexes.

The city plans to increase their sweeps of encampments starting August 1.

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Homelessness Committee and Advocates Urge City to Stop Confiscating Unhoused People’s Belongings

Encampment sweeps are not a new method of action to evict people from living and sleeping on the streets in San Francisco. However, recent reports indicate that city staff are not following proper policy, exacerbating the problems for unhoused people. Homeless advocates and allies held a press conference on Thursday at City Hall, condemning staff workers for destroying people’s property during encampment evictions and asking officials to ensure that important documents and medication are not being stripped from these individuals.

Published

3 days ago

October 2, 2024

Oakland Post

"By destroying the very items that could help people regain stability, the city is not just punishing people for being poor, but actively making it harder for them to escape homelessness," Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said.

By Magaly Muñoz

Homeless advocates and allies held a press conference on Thursday at City Hall, condemning staff workers for destroying people’s property during encampment evictions and asking officials to ensure that important documents and medication are not being stripped from these individuals.

“By destroying the very items that could help people regain stability, the city is not just punishing people for being poor, but actively making it harder for them to escape homelessness,” Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said.

Friedenbach criticized the city for not fixing their housing problem or finding new ways to shelter people, instead they are further adding to the harm of the “humanitarian crisis that San Francisco is facing.”

The press conference was held before the monthly Homelessness Oversight Commission (HOC) meeting, where commissioners discussed a draft resolution to submit to city staff highlighting the importance of not separating people from their items as this might cause further distress.

The resolution lists ssential items that workers should be cautious of not destroying or throwing away including medical documents and medication, work permits, identification, and survival gear, such as blankets or tents.

City policy instructs workers to “bag and tag” items left behind after an encampment sweep. These items are labeled by Public Works and kept at their operations yard for 90 days before being discarded.

But according to several reports and videos of the sweeps, the city has not always followed this policy and has on numerous occasions thrown away people’s medications or tents, leaving individuals without their essentials.

During the meeting, commissioners suggested adding school records and family related support items, such as diapers, to the resolution because of the increasing number of families living on the streets.

Virginia Taylor, senior policy advisor for Safe & Sound, said 531 families are waiting for housing in San Francisco. Many of these families are living out of their cars or in RVs, yet the city has limited safe parking spots where people can situate themselves.

Along with not throwing out people’s belongings, advocates are also continuing to ask the city to stop the encampment sweeps because all they are accomplishing is moving unhoused folks block to block without solving the root problem of lack of consistent housing.

“We need urgent action, more family shelter beds, a stop to vehicle sweeps, expanded safe parking programs and housing solutions that keep our multi-generational families together. Our children’s futures depend on it. Let’s build a San Francisco where no family falls through the crack and every child has the opportunity to thrive,” Taylor said.

Speakers referenced the RV sweep conducted in early August on Zoo Road, where dozens of people, many of them non-English speaking immigrants, were asked to leave the parking lot or else their vehicles would be towed and they would be cited.

While people were offered shelter beds or housing vouchers, some worried about where they would stay while the city processed their applications. This drew criticism of San Francisco’s method of not always having immediate options for people yet continuing to sweep unhoused folks with nowhere to go.

Commissioners of HOC agreed that the city is not trying to exacerbate the issue and the resolution is one of many steps to ensure that there are no setbacks in the progress to ending homelessness in San Francisco.

The HOC will approve the resolution at a later meeting once amendments and changes are made.

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Bay Area

Former Mayor Willie L. Brown Endorses Dana Lang for BART Board District 7

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown has announced his endorsement support for Dana Lang for BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes voters from both sides of the Bay, and in San Francisco includes Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island. Brown acknowledged that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

Published

3 days ago

October 2, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo courtesy of Dana Lang.

By Oakland Post Staff

Brown acknowledged that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

“When I met with Dana Lang I asked many questions, then I asked others about her contributions. Getting to know her I realized that she truly understood transportation. At a time when BART is facing a “fiscal cliff” and an upcoming deficit of nearly $360 million per year, Dana is more than ready for this job, she is ready to meet the moment!”

Over the past 24 years Lang has been a funding and grants specialist with several municipal transportation agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco Muni, San Francisco Police Department and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Lang says, “I’ve faced a number of fiscal crises in my career — such as securing $52 million in new transit security funding for SFMTA (Muni) during the 2008 Great Recession, when others thought it was not possible. I have always managed to identify new funding and ways to make transit more secure. Facing a crisis is the best time to act, through advocacy and policy setting. We’ve got to keep BART running and make it safer and more vibrant in order to meet the needs of our riders, our work force, and our community.”

Lang grew up in the low-income minority community of East Palo Alto, CA, and knew that locating grants and resources could positively impact an entire city and its surrounding region — helping to create and retain agency jobs, getting transit riders to their workplaces, and encouraging small business development near transit hubs.

With that in mind, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wellesley College, then an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. She started her municipal career as a policy advisor to Mayor Elihu Harris and helped secure grants for the City of Oakland before moving to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to serve as a transportation grants specialist.

During her 24-year career she has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars for Bay Area transit agencies and municipalities. In addition to BART’s financial health, Lang’s priorities for BART also include safety, cleanliness, station vitality — and bringing riders back to BART. She has served on the BART Police Civilian Review Board since 2022.

Lang is also endorsed by BART Board Director Robert Raburn, former BART Board Director Carole Ward Allen, the Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church, Alameda County supervisors Keith Carson and Nate Miley, former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, District 4 Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, Oakland Chinatown leader Carl Chan, and many others.

Lang is seeking the BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes San Francisco’s Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island, a large portion of Oakland, the cities of Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, and a small portion of Berkeley.

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Art

Phenomenal Woman’ Maya Angelou Monument Unveiled at San Francisco Main Library

In a joyful community celebration attended by over 200 people, including Mayor London Breed, the highly anticipated ‘Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman’ monument to Dr. Maya Angelou was unveiled at the San Francisco Main Library on Sept. 19. Oakland-based artist Lava Thomas created the 9-foot bronze and stone monument in the form of a book featuring a portrait and quotes from the celebrated author, poet, civil rights activist and former San Francisco resident.

Published

3 days ago

October 2, 2024

Oakland Post

Attending the unveiling of the monument to the late Dr. Maya Angelou were, from left, Dr. Gina M. Fromer, CEO Glide Foundation; San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Rosa Johnson, (Angelou’s niece); Ralph Remington, San Francisco director of Cultural Affairs; Lava Thomas, artist and creator; Denise Bradley-Tydus, former interim director of Cultural Affairs; San Francisco Poet Laureate Genny Lim, and San Francisco City Librarian Michael Lambert. Photo by Linda Parker Pennington.

By Linda Parker Pennington

Oakland-based artist Lava Thomas created the 9-foot bronze and stone monument in the form of a book featuring a portrait and quotes from the celebrated author, poet, civil rights activist and former San Francisco resident.

The work was commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission in response to legislation passed in 2018 by San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, requiring at least 30% female representation in the public realm.

Attending the unveiling were Angelou’s grandson, Elliott Jones, social advocate, philanthropist, and board member of the Dr. Maya Angelou Foundation; and Rosa Johnson, Angelou’s niece and family archivist, who spoke about the historic unveiling of this first public monument portraying a Black woman in San Francisco’s history.