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Media Advisory – Mothers gather at City Hall

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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.

##

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

Bocce Ball Spring Fling – A Calling Card For Justice

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We would like to invite you to a day in the sun at our Spring Time FUNdraiser

Join us for an amazing afternoon of Bocce Ball

Fun For The Whole Family – BBQ – Kid-friendly games

olayerdrawingWhen: Saturday, June 8th 2013 – 10AM until 2PM

Where: Aquatic Park (Beach and Hyde below Ghirardelli Square)

Everyone is Welcome – Bring a friend or two!

Click to download the SPONSORSHIP FORM

For More information please call 415-346-3740 ext 307

Download registration form here: REGISTRATION FORM

Homeless Bill of Rights Clears the Assembly Judiciary Committee

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April 24, 2013
Civil Rights, COH, Criminalization of Homeless and Poverty, Housing Justice, Human Rights, State Policy
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Western Regional Advocacy Project members and allies were met with support and a huge victory on Tuesday 4/23 in Sacramento, California’s capitol. AB 5, The Homeless Bill of Rights passed through the Assembly Judiciary Committee with 7 yes votes. Despite strong opposition, our grassroots movement of homeless and poor people mobilized hundreds of people to rally and lobby the democratic members who voted in support of AB 5. Our base of organizations across California and Oregon have been working together to build a broad base of support for this much needed new path forward to address our collective economic problems. The data, language, solutions, and decisions on the bill have all been made in a coordinated coalitional structure that reflect the collective values and work that make up WRAP.“This signals a victory for the people!” said Jessica Bartholomew of The Western Center on Law and Poverty, co-sponsors of AB 5. “The support of the democratic members of the Assembly Judiciary Committee for AB 5 Homeless Bill of Rights is not only a testament of our hard work but it is also a statement from our elected leaders that they understand, support, and believe in the intent of AB 5 – to stop the criminalization of homelessness and instead address our collective problems with pro-active and lasting solutions.” 

 

WRAP members have been gathering data and exposing a trend in anti-homeless legislation aimed at citing and incarcerating homeless people as the wrong response for California to take in its approach to ending the humanitarian crisis that is homelessness. AB 5 calls for the creation of hygiene centers, protections for homeless youth, and access to counsel during times of civil prosecution for being homeless. Opponents of this bill say that municipalities should be allowed to choose their own approaches.“Anytime you respond to homelessness with law enforcement, you are responding with criminalization,” says Lisa Marie Alatorre of the SF Coalition On Homelessness. “When you respond with increased services, abundant housing, accessible health care, and nourishing food, you will not need law enforcement to respond. We believe that all Californians can agree that criminalization is not an acceptable approach. We are excited for California to lead the country in turning the tide towards a new way forward to addressing poverty and homelessness.” 

Our bill now moves on to the Assembly Appropriations Committee where WRAP members and Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, who is championing AB 5 in the legislature, will be responding to the questions and concerns regarding cost and funding for the legislation. We are confident that AB 5 will prove to be a huge benefit to California and not the financial strain the opposition claims.

http://eepurl.com/yB2b5

 

NO TASERS FOR THE SFPD

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October 7, 2012
Human Rights, Local Policy, SF Police Commission, SFPD
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Here They Go Again…

Despite evidence that Tasers are not effective at reducing officer-involved shootings,

SFPD is trying to adopt tasers in response to recent officer-involved shootings of mentally ill residents.

The San Francisco Police Department wants officers who are a part of a special team that has been trained to de-escalate crisis situations with people with mental illness, ARMED WITH TASERS.

Tasers are dangerous weapons, and their use has resulted in the deaths of 533 people in the United States.

The SFPD should improve its interactions with mentally ill people by fully implementing the Crisis Intervention Team program. Mandated by the Police Commission more than a year and a half ago, to date, only 3 of the 8 Crisis Intervention Team trainings approved by the commission have been completed.

De-escalation techniques like Crisis Intervention Teams are the only truly “less-than-lethal option” for police interactions with people with mental illness.

No to tasers for SFPD

SF NO_TASERS Collective

Task Force meeting Tuesday October 095:30 PM – 7:30 PM

SF Main Library, (Larkin & Grove), near Civic Center BART Station, 3rd floor in the Paley Conference Room

We are a working group comprised of 16 community activists, meeting every Tuesday at the SF Public Library, to defeat the 4th attempt of SFPD (since 2004) to secure a contract with Tasers International, INC.

and yes to competency in interacting with people with mental illness!

Sign the No Taser Petition

Volunteers Needed

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September 25, 2012
COH
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The following volunteer positions are currently available:

Front Desk

The Coalition hours are 9AM – 5PM, Monday through Friday. Shifts are flexible.

Citation Assistance

This position is Monday and Wednesday from 10AM – Noon.

Contact Miguel Carrera at 415-346-3740 Ext. 319 or e-mail him at mcarrera@cohsf.org

These are not paid positions

 

Please stop by our offices at any time during business hours. We are located at:

468 Turk Street – San Francisco, CA

New Staff Members at the COH

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September 21, 2012
COH, Community, Families, Housing Justice, Human Rights
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 THE COALITION WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME OUR NEWEST STAFF MEMBERS

As many of you are already aware, we recently said farewell to the Lead Organizer of our Human Rights Workgroup, Bob Offer-Westort. Besides this most recent position at the Coalition, he has served as Finance Coordinator, Development Coordinator and Street Sheet Editor. We wish Bob the best of luck in his new position as Campaign Coordinator for Stand Up For The Right To Sit Down in Berkeley.

Bob’s successor as Human Rights Lead Organizer is John Gallagher whom you see pictured below.

John Gallagher, Lead Organizer, Human Rights Workgroup

Prior to joining the staff of the Coalition, John served as a volunteer working with Citation Defense.

We would also like to welcome two more staff members. Joining the Coalition as Peer Organizers are Irma Numez and Julia D’Antonio. The peer organizers work closely with both the Housing Justice Workgroup and our partner organization, SRO Families United.

Welcome to all our new family members.

 

 

Imagine a World, or at least a City, without Lines

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September 15, 2012
Civil Rights, Local Policy, Shelter System
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When it comes to the shelter reservation system in San Francisco, this might seem like an impossible dream, more delusion than imagination. However, for the past several months, that’s exactly what the Shelter Access Workgroup, SAW, has been doing.

The Problem

 San Francisco’s current shelter reservation system is an unmitigated disaster. It is complicated, inefficient and inconsistent. After waiting in lines for hours – or possibly days – homeless people are regularly turned away despite the fact the city reports vacant beds each night. They line up at resource centers hours before the 7AM opening – many arriving the night before – to be first in line for a chance at a 90-day reservation. Very few actually get one. Their only choice, if they want a place to sleep that night, is to spend most of the remainder of the day waiting in still more lines for a chance at a one night bed.

Adding to the frustration, CHANGES, the Human Service Agency’s computer system that books reservations for all city funded shelters, is notoriously unreliable. It regularly drops reservations. It is not uncommon for a person to receive a reservation and less than an hour later be turned away by the shelter, reservation in hand,  because their bed has been given to someone else. It reports no vacancies when in fact there are then alternately overbooks beds when no vacancies exist. These are examples of what happens when the system is working. Often, no reservations can be made because CHANGES is down altogether. Read More

HEAVENLY SOULS – Another Refreshing Trip Outside the Box

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September 15, 2012
Community, Health, Housing, Local Policy, Local Services, Opinion, Uncategorized
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From Streatfood in SOMA

to

Street Food in the Tenderloin 

Since his appointment as Director of the Mayor’s office of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships, and Engagement, or HOPE, former Supervisor Bevan Dufty has rarely been accused of thinking inside the politically acceptable box. In fact, many of his proposals push the envelope and challenge many of the tired, off-the-rack schemes that many of our tired, off-the-rack politicians drag out every few years – usually around election time – and try to re-sell.

First, there was wet housing for chronic alcoholics. This proposal was bound to baffle the local policy makers simply because it has a proven, successful track record. In Seattle, the program has saved the city millions in emergency medical care and police response, and has put many of the people it serves on the road to recovery and productive lives.  Read More