Another 2025 milestone: I interviewed the co-plaintiffs of a lawsuit against San Francisco over how it conducts encampment sweeps. They settled with the City, which agreed to follow its own policies regarding storage of unhoused people's property.
DISCLOSURE: My publisher was also a plaintiff.
Major news on the homelessness front included SF's enforcement of a citywide 2-hour RV parking ban.
Its temporary permit program was just a series of half-measures focused more on reducing the visibility of RV dwellers than housing them. My story from November.
www.streetsheet.org/no-tows-with...
As Street Sheet editor, I didn't submit that many stories this year.
One I did write focused on a trans resistance group fighting against GEO Group's contract renewal for the former site of Compton's Cafeteria at Taylor and Turk streets.
PODCAST:
After years of having their belongings destroyed by city workers while homeless in San Francisco, Apple Cronk and her partner fought back through the courts. Join us as we explore how this settlement protects ALL unhoused San Franciscans (42 min)
feeds.buzzsprout.com/726741.rss
"Stopping property destruction alone won’t offer unhoused people true dignity, safety and a path forward. Real improvements require a sustained commitment to housing — and health care — in policy and practice, not just words."
Donald Trump's edict to police homelessness in D.C. is more than an attack on unhoused people. It's also an attempt to roll back advances in the housing movement's struggle.
www.streetsheet.org/trumps-attac...
"Who is San Francisco a city for?" - Maria Zavala
She needs a place for her daughter to recover from surgery, but city bureaucracy stands in her way
www.streetsheet.org/todos-somos-...
"I don’t think [those responsible for the sweeps] would like people going into their homes and doing what they do to us out here." - Heather Lee, on city workers constantly seizing her possessions in sweeps
www.streetsheet.org/rest-in-powe...
In fact, it won't let me share anything😡
Facebook won't let me share this or similar stories
The vibes on Bluesky are always a bit, er, different on the weekends but this weekend has been cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. Is Facebook down or something?
More than 50 years ago, Compton's Cafeteria at 111 Taylor St. saw an uprising against police brutality and harassment toward LGBTQ+ people. Now, a private prison company runs the site. A group of trans activists hopes to turn it into a community hub.
www.streetsheet.org/activists-se...
When a government cuts a social service, it's not just something to note in the news and shrug -- suffering increases.
California might slash funding for a vital peer counseling line.
www.streetsheet.org/saving-the-c...
That photo, though
Today's the deadline to get a Real ID for particular uses, such as boarding airline flights and entering federal government buildings.
Here's a piece I wrote two years ago on how the lack of identification sets unhoused people back.
#WaybackWednesday #WBW
www.streetsheet.org/lose-your-id...
Here are a few things that the federal government has ignored at the federal level, but should address to prevent homelessness from growing further.
www.streetsheet.org/three-ways-t...
An anti-criminalization bill represents a robust response but to get the bill out of committee, the author had to strike out parts of the legislation
www.streetsheet.org/despite-legi...
The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee sent Matt Dorsey's proposed "Recovery First" ordinance to the full board, but not before the measure went through redefining the term "recovery" and dozens of harm reduction advocates sounded off first.
www.streetsheet.org/dorseys-reco...
Since 1990, city police departments have been given more than $7.5 billion worth of retired military equipment straight from the U.S. Department of Defense. But who faces the brunt of these attempts to militarize our police force? Homeless folks, of course!
www.streetsheet.org/what-militar...
"When WRAP says 'we,' we literally mean every single group and person that built and sustained our community organization for the past 20 years!" - @withouthousing.bsky.social
www.streetsheet.org/wrap-hits-a-...
San Francisco's economic forecast is dire. But downsizing our homeless support will result in greater costs to our emergency management, physical and behavioral health systems, community safety and addiction recovery efforts.
www.streetsheet.org/keeping-san-...
"A lot of us don't want to keep getting high. We are looking for help or housing."
www.streetsheet.org/an-alternati...
Political oppression pushed Juan, Maria and their daughters from Venezuela to Colombia to the United States, where their future remains uncertain.
Via @denvervoice.bsky.social and INSP
www.streetsheet.org/love-on-the-...
"It's illegal to sleep in the city now if you don't have a home, or even sit or lie down -- and that's exhausting."
www.streetsheet.org/the-underbel...
No matter where you go, there will be people who use intimidation to get what they want
www.streetsheet.org/bullies-seek...
Despite increased opposition from the federal government, San Francisco must still lead the way, meet people where they are, and use proven solutions.
www.streetsheet.org/housing-firs...
Homeless people and advocates worry about what's in store during Trump's new term.
Via @theinsp.bsky.social
www.streetsheet.org/what-the-tru...
San Francisco staff sometimes complied with a policy designed to help unhoused people retain essential items, new records show. Despite logging 126 encampment clearings over 3 months, the city recorded just 11 signed acknowledgements from homeless people.
www.sfpublicpress.org/new-records-...
