Throw Old Women on the Street

by Bruce Allison/PNN

As of March 31st, the only 24-hour homeless drop-in center in the city of San Francisco, Buster's Place, is closed. Now, chairs will be set for men only at 150 Otis while the many women who relied on Buster's Place for shelter find themselves on the streets.

For just three months, men will have fifty, less than half of what was provided at Buster's Place, chairs to sleep in before construction begins to create low-income housing for seniors at 150 Otis. These senior apartments, however, will not be finished for four years, leaving hundreds of seniors out in the cold.

"I feel sorry for these guys… after just three months these people will be on the street again…don't Mayor Newsom and the City Officials know what they are doing," said one shelter monitor.

On March 28th about 40 people from seven groups, including the Senior Action Network, the Gray Panthers, Mission Resource Center, Cannon Kip Senior Center, Glenda Hope, Seniors Organizing Seniors, the Coalition On Homelessness, People of Buster's Place, and Code Pink, went to City Hall to show support for Buster's Place. Together, we set up Buster's Place outside of the Mayor's Office.
The Coalition staff passed out food, hygiene kits and soap.

Despite all these organizing efforts and protests, the city still closed much needed shelters and only six seniors out of 150 got housing in SROs.

"Due to Buster's Place bad record-keeping we could only verify seventeen names- one we couldn't find and six didn't want the housing we offered them," the Mayor's housing and homeless director said when questioned about the small number of seniors offered housing.

Stay tuned to POOR Magazine for more updates by poverty scholar and author Bruce Allison after the Governor's budget revise.