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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.

 

 

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

San Francisco Police Commission – Too Much Power, Not enough Public Accountability

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September 15, 2012
Civil Rights, Community, Local Policy
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     By: Bob Offer-Westort

The San Francisco Police Commission is perhaps the most underestimated body in City government. When there’s a proposed policy change around policing—say, for example, Mayor Lee’s recently abandoned stop-and-frisk proposal—the tendency of many San Franciscans is to rally at the Board of Supervisors. San Franciscans have rallied at the Board of Supervisors in support of foot patrols. They’ve rallied against stop and frisk. They’ve rallied for more humane policies in dealing with people in psychiatric crisis. Intuitively, this makes sense: The Board of Supervisors is our legislature. Legislatures make laws, rules. Surely they can set policies for the Police Department?

But this is incorrect: Policing policy in San Francisco is the exclusive domain of the Police Commission. The Board of Supervisors has some influence: They control a portion of the Police Department’s budget, and Board members can introduce ballot measures which, if approved by the voters, would apply to the Police Department. But for most purposes, it is the Police Commission which decides. Read More

The Ones Who Live As They Can

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September 15, 2012
Civil Rights, Community, Federal Policy, Health, Housing, Local Policy, Media, Narrative, Opinion
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Ian Smith, a resident at the Homeless Camp

      By: Ian Smith       

There has been a lot of commotion in my life lately. All of it due to the fact I was, as of Tuesday, a resident of the homeless encampment located on Caltrans property at Fifth and King St. Life was gravy……

“I’d wake up in the morning and extricate myself from my makeshift “Conestoga style wagon”, shoot up a big ol’ syringe of methamphetamine, terrorize a few locals by offering them a slug of liquor out of a wet paper bag after which a few of the neighbors and myself would get together and play “used-needle darts”, gambling for cigarettes while shirt-less barefoot children run through the broken glass and needle strewn line of fire. Then we’d see what we had left for breakfast in our bucket o’ dead rats located right next to our openly aired toilets. mmm Good!”

……This is the way they would like you to think of us apparently. The only problem is it is the farthest thing from the truth and it is not your fault for thinking any differently. This is the image the media you rely upon to give you the truth in the stories they report portrayed of us. Well, to put it in the manner of Samuel L. Jackson’s character Jules in the movie “Pulp Fiction”, ‘Are you finished? Well allow me to retort!’. You do not have to be a genius to perceive the narrow minded view the writer of “Big SoMa Homeless Camp Cleaned Out” Kevin Fagen has toward the homeless. (as seen on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle) It’s much like many of the people online who posted comments with brilliant gems like “ Lock em up forever”. Wow. Intelligent. That lock ‘em up attitude reminiscent of anything? I am floored people in this day and age can even begin to nurture a philosophy as bent as that. So let’s use me as an example. Let us put my head on the proverbial chopping block. I don’t have a criminal record and would have no involvement with law enforcement if I did not live on the streets. I know many who are of the same “ilk”. What are you going to lock us up for? Not being able to afford outlandish San Francisco rent prices? Being told we are “over-qualified” for the majority of the jobs we apply for and very seldom get? Not having the ability to clean up or maintain an orderly appearance to be able to find work in the first place? Oh I know! Not having computers or electricity to power them with in order to be able to apply for jobs online, which is the only way you can apply anymore. That’s an arrestable offense right? Please. If I had received one offer, one promise of a job no matter what it was out of the literally hundreds for which I had applied, I would not be here today. Read More

Police and CHP Sweep Homeless Camp Near Cal Train Station

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August 29, 2012
Civil Rights, Community, Families, Health, Housing, Local Policy
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Early last week, the Coalition on Homelessness learned of the planned sweep of a homeless camp near the Cal Train station at 4th and King.

Tucked beneath an overpass on the 280 Freeway just east of the Sixth Street ramps, the residents of this community of around 40 people have lived peacefully alongside their housed neighbors for years. The camp consisted of approximately 15 tents, several mobile structures, and a few cars and other vehicles. The encampment was located near Cal Train’s northern terminus and the inbound terminus of the N-Judah line only two blocks from AT&T Park; tens of thousands of visitors and commuters have passed by or over daily without giving it much thought. That’s exactly how the folks living there wanted it. Read More

COHSF Volunteers and Staff Celebrate Budget Victory

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May 29, 2012
Budget, Community, Families, Health, Local Policy, Local Services, Shelter System
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On May 24, 2012 Mayor Ed Lee announced a full restoration of proposed budget cuts to the Department of Public Health, a restoration of Ryan White AIDS funding, and a 1% increase to non-profit contracts.

Join the Coalition and our allies in urging the Mayor and Board of Supervisors to take the next right step by replacing lost Federal and State monies and beginning to restore our non-profits and social service agencies to their needed staffing levels after years of devastating budget cuts.

Please come to our workgroup meetings and add your voice to ours.

 

Coalition Volunteers and Staff celebrate Mayor Lee's restoration of DPH Budget Cuts

 

 

 

 

Stop the Destruction: Park Merced

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July 15, 2011
Action Alert, Community, Housing, Local Policy
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By the Park Merced Action Coalition

On Monday, July 11, at 11am, San Francisco residents, San Francisco Tomorrow, Parkmerced Action Coalition, their attorney Stuart Flashman and members of the Board of Supervisors rallied on the steps of City Hall to call attention to the Board of Supervisors’ approval of a plan to demolish their rent-controlled community. They released the following statement:

STOP THE DESTRUCTION!
Learning from history, social fabric and neighborhoods can evolve organically for the betterment of San Francisco rather than calling for wholesale demolition with short-sighted economic benefits—particularly when true infill development alternatives would be both feasible and profitable.

In order to stop the destruction of one of San Francisco’s few multi-ethnic, multi-generational, and family neighborhoods, San Francisco Tomorrow (SFT) and the Park Merced Action Coalition (PMAC) have filed a lawsuit against the City for its June 9th approval of the Parkmerced Development Project.

The Final Environment Impact Report (FEIR) for the Parkmerced Project is inaccurate and inadequate.  If allowed to continue as approved, the project will destroy 1,538 units of affordable, rent-controlled housing, adversely affect the environment and well being of those living, working, and playing in the region.  In addition, the suit points to the project’s inconsistency with priority policies enacted by San Francisco voters in Proposition M as well as other inconsistencies with the City’s general plan and violation of the City’s Sunshine Ordinance.

The lawsuit calls for the court to set aside the project approvals until the Park Merced Project complies with the California Environmental Quality Act and the City’s general plan policies.

VIOLATIONS INCLUDE:

· Demolition of 1,538 seismically sound rent-controlled townhouses and their surrounding gardens.

· Not addressing livability issues associated with the 20- 30 year demolition and construction project, including: noise, air quality, and loss of open space.  The Project’s findings DO NOT MEET legal air quality standards.

· Failing to assess the seismic impact of the existing towers, nor providing for their retrofits and upgrades.  Additionally, no provisions exist for loss of open space and other unavoidable adverse impacts for tower residents.

· Slaughter of migrating birds by the Project’s shoreline windmills, and a general refusal to look at alternatives that could avoid the Project’s many impacts.

· The faulty reference to development as a “transit village”, since no third party assurances or funding sources are identified for transit and related work.  The addition of 6,342 parking places also contradicts the concept of a transit village.

Study Shows High Death Disparity Among Homeless

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July 15, 2011
Community, Federal Policy, Health, Local Services, Media Justice
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By Healthy Living News


A new study shows that homeless individuals, especially those suffering from mental illness or substance abuse, have a death rate significantly higher and a life expectancy that is significantly shorter than those with homes. The study, recently published in the journal The Lancet, collected data on people in homeless shelters using Denmark’s nationwide homeless registry. The data consisted of 32,711 homeless people, aged 16 years and up, who where homeless between 1999 and 2009.


To determine the rate of death and life expectancy, researchers separated the homeless registry data into several groups. These included those with psychiatric disorders, those with a history of substance abuse, those with a dual diagnosis of both, and those who had no such diagnosis.

Researchers then compared their rate of death, or mortality, to that of the general population. They discovered that for those homeless, the rate of death was 6.7 times higher for women and 5.6 times higher for men. The group with substance abuse disorders had the highest mortality of any of the homeless groups, followed by those with a dual diagnosis. Information on the causes of death, when available, showed that suicide and violence accounted for more than a quarter of them.


”There was a larger disparity in life expectancy between the homeless shelter population and the general population than previous studies have found,” said study author, Dr. Sandra Nielsen.



The study also revealed that homelessness can cut short lives for those who are still young. For those homeless, age 15-24 years, their estimated life expectancy was, respectively, 21 and 17 years lower than men and women in the general population.



Regardless of age, however, Dr. Nielsen said that the death disparity confirms that homeless people living in shelters constitute a high-risk, marginalized population whose physical and mental health needs require more attention.



In an accompanying commentary in The Lancet, Professor John Geddes and Dr. Seena Fazel of Oxford University wrote that more work needs to be done to end death disparities among the homeless. That includes improved integrated psychiatric and substance abuse treatment to better address the problem.

Another concern regarding the study was its country of origin. Denmark provides free health care and a substantial social-service and housing support infrastructure. These should be helping alleviate death disparities among the homeless.



The Lancet commentary also pointed out potential cross-border differences in data. 
”International comparison of studies of homelessness,” it noted…”is made harder by the different social and housing systems between developing and more developed countries, and between small well-organized and highly socially integrated Nordic countries and larger more heterogeneous countries such as the USA.”



The commentary added that the situation is likely to be worse in countries with less well-organized welfare systems.



And fixing the death disparity problem for the homeless is now even a more daunting challenge. The crash in housing markets and the recent recession has increased homelessness in the U.S. and Europe, all while social services are being cut due to severe government financial restrictions.

Pain + Suffering= $$$ For Wells Fargo

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July 1, 2011
Around the Country, Civil Rights, Community, Federal Policy, Housing, Narrative
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Pain + Suffering= $$$ For Wells Fargo
Protests Launch National Prison Industry Divestment Campaign
By Lydia Heather Blumberg

On July 1st, protesters in community and labor groups nationwide will take to the streets in protest of the private prison industry’s business model of lobbying for harsher incarceration policies for drug users, immigrants, and other marginalized populations who are often scapegoated as being the origin of our nation’s problems. These policies have devastated state and federal budgets worldwide, forcing a slash and burn of the social safety nets that the poor and middle classes depend upon for survival. Protesters will call on Wells Fargo Bank to divest its holdings in GEO Group (one of the two largest private prison companies in the US that runs immigrant detention centers and Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp for the federal government) and CCA, Corrections Corporation of America. In addition, protesters will demand that Wells Fargo put a moratorium on foreclosures and stop the criminal lending practices targeting communities of color, as well as pay its fair share of local, state, and federal taxes.

Immigrant detention centers cost taxpayers over $10 billion a year while making big money for hedge fund managers and shareholders like Wells Fargo. Prison stock held by Wells Fargo alone is currently valued at over $88 million. The private prison industry and its investors have a long and shameful record of targeting and incarcerating communities of color by lobbying for legislation to enact “three strikes” laws, criminalize undocumented immigrants (through laws like SB1070 in Arizona and a similar bill in Georgia, home of the largest private prison in the nation), and increase sentencing standards for even the most minor drug offenses. Political candidates financed by these groups often run on a “tough on crime” platform. With CCA and GEO Group making $200 a night per immigrant detained, it all adds up to a profit of over $5 billion a year made just by these two companies–at the expense of taxpayers (and the destruction of the lives of thousands of families of those incarcerated.)

Even San Francisco has fallen prey to the financial manipulation of Wells Fargo and its policies of backing political campaigns that increase incarceration. Last August, The Bay Citizen reported that one of the largest contributions to the so-called “Civil Sidewalks” campaign was made by former Wells Fargo CEO and board chairman, Richard M. Kovacevich. The Civil Sidewalks campaign, backed by banks and big business, put Prop L on last year’s San Francisco ballot, which criminalized people for the simple act of sitting on a sidewalk.

The July 1st action is just one event in a long-term campaign for national prison industry divestment. The protest, sponsored by Communities United Against Violence, among other organizations, will feature a rally and street theater beginning at 11am in front of the Wells Fargo Bank at 464 California Street. Several similar-themed direct actions have happened over the past few months, including a protest in May at a Wells Fargo shareholders’ meeting and a Communities Rising rally on June 17th in front of City Hall. The rally on June 17 was sponsored by CURB (Californians United for a Responsible Budget) and the SF Drug Users’ Union to commemorate 40 years of Drug War failure, calling for an end to the failed War on Drugs and national divestment from the Prison Industrial Complex in order to fund education and health care.

Can’t make it to a rally? Slactivists far and wide can make their voices heard by moving their money from Wells Fargo accounts to local credit unions which invest in our communities. Want to learn more? Surf to immigrantsforsale.org and justicepolicy.org.