For a half century, since the deinstitutionalization of mental health facilities by then Governor Reagan, smart and committed public servants have attempted a multitude of strategies to address the homeless crisis here in San Francisco yet here we are. From my time serving in government, politicians respond to organized action and what issue is more important right now than saving the lives of our unhoused neighbors?
Government and the nonprofit community cannot solve this alone and the only way we will truly make progress is for the public to be involved and demand innovative solutions to bring about change.
Join us today and agree to host one of 500 community conversations across our great City in an effort to engage with your friends, colleagues and neighbors. I aim to participate in all 500 of them personally in your living rooms, conference rooms, senior, recreation or community centers. I believe in my core that 500 conversations representing the voices, opinions and ideas of the diversity of our great City will lead to positive, tangible outcomes.
HOST A HOUSE PARTY
For years David struggled with homelessness until he was given a place to call his own. David’s exit from homelessness was facilitated by a new strategy to solve homelessness in our community: Transitional Supportive Housing with onsite comprehensive services. Transitional Supportive Housing, built with modular technology, is faster to build, more cost-efficient, and easier to deploy than traditionally built Permanent Supportive Housing.
Homelessness has plagued our City for over 40 years and what we’re experiencing is a public health crisis that demands our collective attention. We dedicate exorbitant amounts of financial resources annually yet fail to move the needle. Other cities such as Los Angeles, Mountain View, San Jose, and Santa Barbara are currently utilizing the innovation of modular technology and tiny home construction to give people the dignity they deserve: a lock and key and comprehensive supportive services to help transition individuals from the street to self-sufficiency. Government cannot do this alone and together as a City we have the financial resources, available parcels, innovative technologies, and supportive services. What we lack is will. This effort is an attempt to change that.
MEET DAVID
3 PILLARS APPROACH
EDUCATE
Educate yourself and your neighbors on how to be advocates in solving the homelessness crisis.
ENDORSE
Support our movement to end street homelessness through increased investment in Transitional Supportive Housing.
There is no silver bullet to solving homelessness. We need every possible tool at our disposal and what currently is missing is an interim, transitional supportive housing strategy of modular/tiny home construction, which we can deploy efficiently and affordably and increase capacity to offer anyone on the street a safe and secure alternative. We will never address street conditions until we do so. The system needs a data-driven flow to transition individuals from the street to temporary shelter, which can include a congregate setting or navigation center to provide immediate safety and stability. We need an infusion of permanent housing to care for those unable to care for themselves. Government and the non-profit sector have been trying multiple strategies for decades and it will take people coming together to demand action to bring about meaningful change.
OUR MOVEMENT
To effect meaningful change we have assembled a vibrant and diverse coalition of San Francisco leaders willing to collaborate to identify available parcels for deployment, secure public funds to implement this program, and the even greater challenge of educating and inspiring San Franciscans to welcome our unhoused neighbors into our communities. Add your name and solicit your network to join our efforts.
- Lateefah Simon
- Fred Blackwell, San Francisco Foundation
- Tomiquia Moss, All Home
- Beth Stokes, Episcopal Community Services
- Rudy Gonzalez, San Francisco Building & Construction Trades
- Vitka Eisen, HealthRight 360
- Carol Galante, The Turner Center, UC Berkeley
- Chris Larsen, CEO, Rippleworks
- Daniel Lurie, Board of Directors, Tipping Point
- Karen Hanrahan, Glide
- Michael Pappas, SF Interfaith Council
- William Rogers, Goodwill
- Jamie Bruning-Miles, CEO, YMCA of San Francisco
- Dan Kingsley, SKS
- Gail Gilman, All Home
- Tracy McCray, President, San Francisco Police Officers Association
- Joe D’Alessandro, SF Travel
- Cassandra Costello, SF Travel
- Kevin Carroll, Hotel Council
- Kelly Powers, Hotel Council
- Maryo Mogannam, Council of District Merchants
- Gabriel Baldinucci, Urban Vision Alliance
- Dwayne Jones, Urban Ed Academy
- Theo Ellington, Salvation Army
- Rudy Corpuz, United Playaz
- Lena Miller, Urban Alchemy
- Robbie Silver, Downtown CBD
- Sharky Laguana, Small Business Commission
- Rebecca Jackson, Cameo House
- Shon Buford, Firefighters Local 798
- Anni Chung, Self Help for the Elderly
- Margi English, former ED, St. Vincent dePaul
- Mera Granberg Paul
- Matt Gonzalez, Public Defender’s Office
- Mark Nagel, Rescue SF
- Lori Brooke, Rescue SF
- Wade Rose, Advance SF
- Chris Wright, Advance SF
- Jim Wunderman, Bay Area Council
- Kathy Curran, Healing Well SF
- Miriam Zouzounos, Arab Grocers Association
- Sherilyn Adams, Larkin Street Youth
- Maurilio Leon, TNDC
- Judith Klain, Former Executive Director, Project Homeless Connect
- Sunny Schwartz, Five Keys
- Gwendolyn Westbrook, Executive Director, Mother Brown’s Dining Room
- Miriam Benford, Board of Directors, United Council of Human Services
- Warren Browner, CEO, California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC)
- Carolina Morales, Violence Prevention & Strategic Engagement Director, DA Boudin
Titles and companies are for identification purposes.
GET INVOLVED
Send us a potential location for a modular facility. A city, state or federally owned unused parcel. A site owned by a private developer or an underutilized property owned by the religious community, who own 801 parcels in San Francisco. There is land available and we are engaging you, the public, to help us identify potential sites. Bring together your neighbors, friends and colleagues and host a house party to discuss not only ways to develop such facilities, but together address how we can also support our unhoused neighbors once we transition individuals inside.
DONATE
All financial resources are for the infrastructure of the organization giving the coalition a greater ability to reach people where they are and educate, recruit and activate supporters throughout San Francisco. The City has a $14 billion budget and should take responsibility to fund and implement these transitional supportive housing facilities. Donate what you can to allow us to continue to build a movement of like-minded people in support of this effort. Your donations are tax-deductable.