The question of how to solve San Francisco’s “homelessness problem” is never-ending. Everyone agrees things are bad, but nobody can agree on a solution. And, it’s safe to say, many of those proposing solutions have not themselves experienced homelessness.
“I’ve got to keep telling my own story, or else they won’t pay attention,” said Rachel Wallace. “Closed mouths don’t get fed.”
Wallace is an eight-plus-year resident of Hotel Iroquois, a 74-unit single-room-occupancy hotel in the Tenderloin and the subject of a film screening and panel Wednesday night at the San Francisco Public Library’s Koret Auditorium.
Tenderloin-based organization Skywatchers, an arts and homeless advocacy group whose mission is to “build art through durational relationships,” crafted the 2019 documentary “Inside Hotel Iroquois” with the intention of bringing homeless voices into the discussion around housing.
Much of Wednesday’s audience was composed of formerly homeless people, current SRO tenants and the nonprofit workers who serve them.
Today, the Iroquois, built in 1913 at 835 O’Farrell St. to accommodate merchant marines, now houses 11 families and 63 individuals. Rooms typically measure 10-feet-by-10-feet and have no kitchens, little space for company and bathrooms that are often shared.
“Inside Hotel Iroquois” follows the lives of Wallace and several other long-term residents and their relationships with people from Skywatchers, whose mission is to “build art through durational relationships.”
Much of the film weaves residents’ favorite art forms with their stories through poetry, dance and singing.
While uplifting, Iroquois doesn’t sugarcoat reality in a Tenderloin SRO. Quarters are cramped, and residents speak to the drug use and violence that is part of everyday life.
In spite of the difficulty, or because of it, the building has many residents who look out for each other like family.
“One thing about the Iroquois,” a resident said in voiceover, “we all stick together.”
Although HomeRise is one of the more well-meaning organizations running SROs, management has its own problems.
“There’s people in here that physically attack people,” said one resident who grew up in Potrero Hill. She arrived at Iroquois while undergoing dialysis.
“But, if I speak up about something, I’m getting a lease violation, I’m getting a write-up.”
“There’s so many rules here. You get lease violations; how can you feel like you’re at home?” said Wallace. “We’ve experienced death after death in the building. One man was only found because of pest control. There’s a lack of checking on people.”
In a panel following the screening, Wallace said the documentary’s intention is to “empower wealthier people to see how we’re living. We’re all still equal. There just needs to be more support.”
Another panelist, UCSF professor and homeless advocate Margot Kushel, emphasized the need for other neighborhoods to embrace supportive housing.
“Because of opposition to affordable housing in the city, supportive housing is done in high concentrations. Many people struggling in one area is not conducive to people’s health.”
A major barrier, unsurprisingly, is money. Because case managers and workers for the companies that run SROs are underpaid, turnover is high, and the needs of residents are often met with indifference — and sometimes, outright hostility.
“When there’s a new person at the desk, I go out of my way to introduce myself so I don’t get a negative result from the prejudices against the demographics of people living in affordable housing,” said panelist Joel Yates, an Iroquois resident.
An SRO resident who struggles with severe depression stood up to question the panel about how housing organizations manage income. “There are five vacant units in my building currently. Why? Where does all the money go?”
Tramecia Garner, COO of Swords to Plowshares, a Tenderloin nonprofit started by Vietnam veterans for homeless veterans, agreed that the funding model for supportive housing is deeply flawed. “Many of our staff members are working multiple full-time jobs,” she said. ”They, too, are struggling.”
You can watch a shortened version of “Inside Hotel Iroquois” here.
Commend your work on bringing this to the mainstream who maybe do know about it or maybe don’t know about it or maybe just would rather just turn the other way and not see it however my only I’m not going to say criticism because criticism is just only but a negative word but I wish you would have not just focused on one Sol and maybe some of the notoriously deeply flawed ones that are for example all I can say is cats Coronado that hotel is correct I’ve heard it from case manager myself and it’s the same he had for his boss when he first started working there when he decided to rather stick with what the initial program was which was making this a temporary adjusting. And to further on and do further with each resident to get done to the next step the cell called process these restaurants were not meant to be permanent they are and they were made for short term temporary housing to adjust the people that were being brought in from long-term Street living and to adjust to being inside which believe it or not I can tell you personally takes quite a quite some time but again each individual different and so I can’t give you just a general timestamp or time. Cuz everyone just wants differently however if you were to take a little deeper I think it would make a much profound impact I’m not just these people that are struggling living in that SRO but what about the people living in the notorious worst of the worst deep in the heart of the tenderloin Ellison Jones cat’s Coronado take a look see for yourself a puke bag that we endure day in and day out are in sanitary the building’s corroding deteriorating disgusting not not up kept and I know what most are going to say why don’t you write an incident report wanting to write a maintenance report well those go unread unnoticed and ignored I wish I could dig deeper into what I learned from case worker here about how the Coronado specifically but I’m sure many other buildings caught on as well and started to adopt the morality of what what being what started to begin but I feel like it’s not my place since I’m not a journalist and I plead you I plead to you to go and ask questions and go see for yourself they will talk in circles to avoid social annihilation and popularity and perhaps well I’m not going to go that far because I really don’t the building will be torn down since it’s most of these atheros happen to be historical buildings which I find is very ironic and makes sense why they don’t put any work into them with all the so-called billions of dollars that parade was so cheerfully excited to announce to everybody and you get nothing has changed if anything got worse
Good point.
For accountability, transparency and service to prospective tenants, the affordable housing system needs to publish daily logs of how many affordable units are currently vacant citywide thru all channels.
Include how long they’ve been vacant, ready to lease (yes/no) and if no – why?
It’s well into the 21st century and this stuff is in easily accessible databases.
We had a glimpse last year but it took a report from the Board of Supervisors Budget & Legislative Analyst to lift the veil.
Or is there fear publicizing such numbers in a straight forward manner would show something best hidden from the public?
We notice a lot of complaints about management and empty units in the government run affordable housing projects. Will these reports and studies ever result in improvements or will we just keep paying consultants to tell us what is broken?
I remember running away from home to san franciscos tenderloin in the 80s and it was a beautiful,thriving accepting place ,to me.now,it feels like people have allowed to become zombieland.we,the people ,have to do better about breaking the negative impression of the tenderloin by having more self respect and pride in our way of life.too many people don’t seem to care anymore.
You can’t blame San Francisco for any of that you can blame whoever brought fentanyl here
I think the problem isn’t $ money because about $450 million dollars in FUNDING for homelessnes in San Francisco’s. Handling this much money becomes another problem with people who tries to steal some of that money. This money has employed to many six figures
worker doing nothing but sitting on their ass not doing anything.
But how do you know it really is being used on homelessness you’re just going to believe their word for it because I don’t know about you I haven’t seen anything change or get better or look prettier or people happier homeless and quote on quote normal people
Lets ponder that one for a second
When nothing is required of people individually, the burden on the “community” becomes overwhelming. The ludicrous idea that everyone who wants to stay in one of the formally most desirable cities in the world (San Francisco gets less desirable every year now) must be accommodated, at everyone else’s collective expense is impossible and unsustainable. That it’s even an option to supply every down and out addict, with housing that cost 700k or so each to construct, is irrational and can literally never happen. Now with San Francisco in the throes of economic and social decline (directly caused pandering to and encouraging the most pernicious human behavior), that 14 billion dollar a year slush fund is going to dry up. The optics of vagrant entitlement are going to look even worse, as far less money flows onto the leaky pot, that even with 14 billion dollars, was always a pipe dream of childish fools. It’s human nature to take the easy way out, and San Francisco has made that choice way too easy for far too many people.
Since I know that there are many level and reasons that lead to homelessness, do you know if there are volunteers, social workers, or even interns, that actually find out more information for these people? I’m assuming that there is. How do people qualify for these available rooms/ shelters? Affordable housing to me is not a $4000+ a month apartment. Yet, news portrays to the public that it affordable I myself cannot afford $4000 rent! So I don’t think the message is being clear for the public too understand. Also, are these types of housing separated on each individual’s condition and needs? Like ( substance abuse in one area etc.) mental illness in another? It might be easier regarding medical attention and security, from just someone who say just lost there home and is down and out that does not need medical supervision? Just curious. Thank you
My in-laws resided in The Tenderloin for forty years at 425 Hyde. I now live in DeSantis Dystopia. My father in law was the Maitre d of Bardelli’s. My mother in law was a real character in the Tenderloin. She was a portrait artist. That was from 1945 until 1992.
Campers!
Life in the Tenderloin is only going to get worse for all residents — SRO and otherwise, — now that Supervisor Matt Dorsey’s proposal for extending the sanctuary city exception category to undocumented immigrants who are newly charged with a violent or drug-dealing felony and had been convicted of fentanyl dealing in the past seven years has been shot down. So sad.
Go Warriors and soon Giants!
suggest that it’s long time past due to rename the “Tenderloin.”
I doubt that many people living there believe they have tender loins.
The name Tenderloin has been around since the Gold Rush. It is said to have been named that because of its similarity to the Tenderloin are in New York. It refers to the vulnerable softer side of the city, its underbelly if youvwill. The Tenderloin is a culturally significant area of San Franciso . Great jazz musicians played there. It is the art hub of the city. It’s the Theater district. It’s at the other end of Nob Hill with the Tendernob in the middle. So you see you’d have to change more than one name. Wouldn’t the city be better served if thecspcio-economoc issues were addressed?