For immediate release Press Contact:
May 9, 2013 Jennifer Friedenbach 415 346-3740×306 cell 577-9779
Irma Nuñez, 415-346-3740×318 cell (510)730-4050
MEDIA ADVISORY
MOTHERS GATHER AT CITY HALL TO
DEMAND HOMES
When: 12:00 Thursday, May 9, 2013
Where: City Hall steps, 1 Dr. Carlton Goodlett Place, Civic Center side.
What: Homeless mothers and their supporters will rally for Mother’s Day, demanding the passage of two initiatives that would alleviate the homeless crisis San Franciscans are facing.
San Francisco – Homeless mothers and their supporter gather at city hall Thursday to tell local
politicians that the way to honor Mother’s Day this year is to give ‘em a home.
San Francisco is at a critical juncture, where financial pressures are pushing low-income and
impoverished San Franciscans out of their homes and communities. At the same time when
rents have risen dramatically, income loss and real estate speculators are putting even more
at risk. Homelessness is at a crisis level, with the now highest wait for shelter for homeless families in
San Francisco has ever seen – families are waiting for more then 6 months just to get a bed for their
children to sleep. SFUSD reports that over 2,200 of their students are homeless – and this number does
not include the children aged 0 – 5 who are not public school students yet.
“We are calling on San Francisco to take swift action to prevent further displacement of San
Francisco families by investing in the many successful programs, that have been forced to
turn households away due to lack of resources. These intitiaves are exactly what SF needs
right now.” According to Elisa Gasca, Chinatown Community Development Center.
The Coalition on Homelessness is putting forward two proposals, one to fund homeless
prevention and rapid re-housing. This program was funded last year and staved off
homelessness for 1,300 families, but programs were only able to serve 15% of the need The
Coalition on Homelessness is calling for the funding for this program to be doubled. In
addition, the Coalition is calling for the city to fund 100 subsidies in affordable housing
buildings units going on line in 2014/15 – units that are funded by San Francisco but remain
unaffordable to homeless people.
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Jennifer Friedenbach
Executive Director
Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco
468 Turk Street
415-346-3740×306
fax 415-775-5639
jfriedenbach@cohsf.org
www.cohsf.org
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress… Power concedes nothing without a demand. It
never has and it never will.” — Frederick Douglass
