I just won’t be getting a bed tonite

by PNN's Shelter Observer

"I just won’t be getting a bed tonite" PNN’s shelter observer leaned her head against the back of the couch in POOR’s offices, and continued wearily explaining the recent viscious cycle facing San Francisco's homeless folks, " since they closed the sanctuary, if we even want to have a chance at getting a bed we have to start waiting in line and running all over town as early as 4:00 each day, its just too hard for most people"

She was speaking of the crisis caused by the closing of Episcopal sanctuary on October 19th, one of San Francisco’s biggest city funded shelters for an unspecified period of time for renovations.

The odd thing about this closure is that it came on the heels of the implementation of the very problematic and harmful legislation; Care Not Cash, which already caused across the board lockouts from shelters for most housless San Franciscans. These lockouts were caused by Care Not Cash’s policy of prioritizing shelter beds for General Assistance/GA (welfare) recipients over the majority of shelter recipients who like PNN’s shelter observer are on SSI and not receiving GA.

" for the last three nights I just slept on the street", Maury Williams , a 52 year old African Descendent houseless man who is an immigrant day laborer from the Dominican republic, works 16-20 hour days and can’t get a bed because it just takes too much time to go through the hoops that Department of Human Services has put forth since Care not Cash was implemented, and now that they closed Sanctuary he has even less chance of getting a bed, " I am just trying to work and make enough money to afford an apartment of my own, this will make it even more impossible" , Maury concluded in discouraged sigh

As well, the way the city "noticed" the shelter residents was indicative of their overall disregard for the civil and human rights of houseless people. 24 hours prior to the closure Sanctuary's residents were stunned to learn that they had less than twenty-four hours notice before they were required to relocate to makeshift accommodations at other shelters. And well into the next day after the notice they still didn’t know where they would be transferred not to mention the fact that they had to haul al their belongings across town to the City’s Storage space.

" I never got a flyer about the closure at all" , Maury who stays at the shelter whenever he can never received a flyer about the closure, " Most of the guys I know never got one, even the guys who stay in there every night" Maury corroborated the story that many shelter residents reported to me, which is that the residents of the shelter were the last to find out about this closure even though the nights are getting colder and wetter as we approach November. Maury went on to report the fact that there is a rumour about the closure of A Man’s Place, another city funded shelter that houses several of the City’s homeless men for asbestos clean-up or as he put it "something or other"

In light of all of the problems facing San Francisco’s shelters since Care Not Cash San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez introduced a
long-awaited legislation on October 19th, to create a Shelter Monitoring Committee, which would provide public oversight of shelter conditions and policies. If such an oversight body were already in place, residents of Episcopal Sanctuary would have been better informed and prepared for their relocation. This legislation was also heard in front of the Finance committee on October 27th and was supported by Supervisor Chris Daly and will be heard in front of the Rules Committee on November 10th in room 263 at 9:00 am