San Francisco group rallies to protest evictions at homeless shelters
San Francisco prides itself on its status as a sanctuary city. But some homeless immigrants say their families are being forced out, not through deportation but by eviction.
The noon rally outside Everett Middle School in San Francisco included immigrant parents trying to raise their children while living in homeless shelters in the city.
"We're here to demand a sensible answer to the question how does evicting working families from shelters solve anything," said Reverand Victor Floyd, a member of a group called Faith in Action.
The city has a 90-day limit at its family homeless shelters. Then they're served with an eviction letter and may or may not be eligible for a 30-day extension. Everett's principal, Heidi Avelina Smith, joined the rally to urge San Francisco to live up to its "sanctuary" ideals.
"By nature, a sanctuary is a warm, welcome, safe place to call home. A 30-day shelter policy is not a reflection of this commitment," she said. "San Francisco is one of the most expensive places in the nation. The cost of living, and more specifically, the cost of housing is an extraordinary challenge for all. A shelter policy that offers families with children only 30 days to attempt to stabilize economically is a policy that does not acknowledge the reality of our city today."
Bridget Early has been the school's social worker for 17 years, and things have never been this bad. She said 80 kids, one-fifth of her students, are homeless with 20 of them living in city shelters.
"It is shocking, and I honestly have to say it's shameful too that, for whatever reason, we don't take care of each other. And I think we see ourselves as separate, maybe. Or we don't have the shared responsibility to take care of our neighbors, but we should. And we do have the resources in this city to do that."
The city does, in fact, have the money. Eight years ago, voters approved Measure C which taxes large businesses to establish a fund to fight homelessness. Now, there is $50 million available for hotel vouchers and rental subsidies. Supervisor Connie Chan said it's time to act in a big way.
"We do have the capacity right now, we do have the funding now," she said. "It's like, what can we do to rip the bureaucracy, rip the red tape, and get them housed first. And I think if there were more families to come, we're going to tackle it along the way."
That responsibility may fall on Mayor Daniel Lurie who, on Tuesday, was given more power to approve contracts to fight homelessness. Advocates are hoping that will cut though some of the bureaucracy and political bickering. Maria Zovala just received an eviction order to move out of the shelter room she shares with her two special needs children.
"It's inhumane," she said. "For the responsible authorities to allow families with children and seniors to be on the street, living with uncertainty of not knowing what the current government is going to do with regards to deportations."
The school said it's doing what it can to help. It provides a weekly food giveaway and maintains an on-campus thrift store. And it's experimenting with a guaranteed income program, offering one thousand dollars a month to the families of unhoused 6th graders.
"Help us raise our next generation in a safe, secure and warm environment," said the principal. "A true sanctuary."
It turns out that being a sanctuary city may involve more than just letting people stay. It may mean finding a space for them to live.
