Q1 Week 3: The Ineffectiveness of Homeless Sweeps and the Need for More Tenant Lawyers
Top headlines of the week
- Ninth Circuit upholds ban on S.F. homeless sweeps
- Supreme Court to Hear Case Over Homelessness Rules in Oregon
- California eviction cases hinge on whether tenants have lawyers
- SF Plans More Housing, but Not Everywhere. Here’s Why the Tenderloin Isn’t On the Map
On Jan 11, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld restrictions on San Francisco’s ability to “sweep” people experiencing homelessness. The city cannot remove such people from the streets without offering them shelter immediately. Two of the three judges upheld an injunction from 2022, which banned the city’s widespread sweeping because it was essentially an effort “to criminalize sitting, sleeping, or lying in public.” That, in turn, was found unconstitutional based on a 2019 decision in which the Ninth Circuit ruled that Boise could not criminalize public sleeping when shelter was unavailable.
Celebration of this victory by housing advocates was short-lived. The next day, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a related case from Oregon, in which the city of Grants Pass was blocked from enforcing aggressive public camping rules that would essentially “make it unlawful to sleep anywhere on public property with so much as a blanket to survive cold nights,” per lawyers for the plaintiffs.
A strange coalition of Democrats and Republicans, including Gavin Newsom and San Francisco city officials, have been pressuring the Supreme Court to review one of the cases related to Boise for years. Should the mostly conservative justices strike down the ruling in Grants Pass, San Francisco could find itself able to resume its costly and harmful policy of aggressively criminalizing homelessness.
Many experts argue that sweeping isn’t a solution at all; the practice actively worsens homelessness. Of course, one of the best solutions to homelessness is preventing people from losing their housing in the first place. When it comes to fighting evictions, success can be predicted by one thing: a lawyer. According to Calmatters, fewer than 5% of tenants nationwide have an attorney helping them fight evictions. Over 80% of landlords do. San Francisco is the only city in California that guarantees tenants access to an attorney in eviction proceedings. The contrast between two tenants facing eviction here and in Oakland, where no such protections are provided, illustrates their importance.
Ultimately, the only long-term solution to the crisis is building more housing. Almost a year on from San Francisco’s promise to build 82,000 new homes, a new deadline is approaching. Several significant changes, including the removal of decades-old limits on the height and density of buildings, must be finalized by the end of January. The changes will hopefully spur development in areas that have seen barely any in decades, like the Sunset and Richmond.
Weekly nonprofit news
SHELTER, Inc
Next Saturday, (1/21), the Unauthorized Rolling Stones headline Rock for SHELTER. Buy your tickets today! Food trucks on site. Doors open at 7pm. Come raise the roof with Rock 'n Roll and raise some funds for SHELTER's programs in Solano County!
Spectrum Community Services
Deliver meals to those who need them
You can make a difference this winter! Volunteer with Spectrum Community Services, Inc. and brighten someone's day by delivering nutritious meals and friendly smiles. No experience needed, just a big heart and a desire to help. Sign up today here.
Throwback to June, when Rep. Eric Swalwell joined Spectrum Community Services to deliver Meals on Wheels to seniors. “It was great to visit with my constituents and meet the amazing volunteers who make this possible,” he said.
Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco
From all of us here at ECS, THANK YOU! We exceeded our goal of $225,000 this past holiday season. Your generosity enables us to continue supporting people experiencing homelessness in the Bay Area. We’re excited for all that’s to come in the new year!
Thank you to our generous partners at BiRiteFSD for donating to our CHEFS program. We are eternally grateful to our incredible supporters, who make our work possible.
Larkin Street Youth Services
We’re hiring! Eight roles are open. See them all here.
Today at Larkin Street Academy, we're celebrating big wins! Kudos to our Fall 2023 Creatives Lab graduates, students earning Meta SMM Certifications, Jacks Perez for her Graphic Design & Fine Art excellence at SF State, and Jordan Jones, our Sharon Banks award recipient.
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