Whether it’s raining or cold, Carolina and her daughter Diana have to leave home at 6:30 a.m. every weekday and can only return after 7 p.m. In the time between, their home serves as a gym for other children.
In the past five months, Venezuelan immigrant Carolina has been living in the Stay-over Program at Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 Community School, a shelter for San Francisco Unified School District students and their families who are unhoused. About 4.3 percent of the district’s 55, 537 students are believed to be homeless, according to a 2023 report.
Last night, over 300 new immigrants, advocates, teachers and medical practitioners gathered for a community meeting at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church on Cesar Chavez St. to demand the city help unhoused immigrant families. Many of these families had to flee their home countries because of persecution or violence, and found themselves sleeping with their children in cars or gas stations in San Francisco.
Karla Margarita Solito, a mother of four, arrived from El Salvador six months ago because her husband had received death threats. Solito, like many others at the community meeting, decided to come to San Francisco because she heard this is a Sanctuary City. Now, however, she finds herself stuck in the Buena Vista shelter and there’s no other way out for her.
The family of six sleeps in cots, making privacy a luxury. They are looking for a home, something permanent for their children. But that too is a luxury. “We need more transparency,” she said, referring to a waiting list that she cannot see or monitor. “We don’t even know what number we are on the waiting list,” she said.
The alliance of congregations and community leaders led by nonprofit Faith in Action called on the Department of Homelessness to expedite moving families into permanent housing and to create an online public dashboard that allows families to monitor their progress on a waiting list.
Faith in Action also wants the Department of Homelessness to guarantee shelter space or a hotel voucher the same day that any family with children arrives at the City Assess Point for help.
Rocio Castillo, a new immigrant who’s now a community leader, has been working to address the crisis of homelessness among children for the past five years. She finds hotel vouchers a sustainable solution. “Paying a hotel voucher for a family costs a little more than $100 per night, which in fact is a lot less costly than a family shelter, which costs approximately $180 per family per night, according to the personnel or the staff of the Department of Homelessness,” she said at the gathering.
Organizers of the event left an empty chair on the stage for Shireen McSpadden, the executive director of the Department of Homelessness, on purpose. The event moderator told the audience that Faith in Action had asked to meet McSpadden several times but hadn’t received a response yet.
Emily Cohen, McSpadden’s deputy director for communications and legislative affairs, attended the meeting. “Over the last six months, we’ve seen a really significant increase in the number of families asking for shelter, and we understand that shelter is no place to raise a child,” she said. “We are committed to working with you to get the resources, to expand the family shelter system so that no family has to sleep on the streets at night.”
In January, Faith in Action hand-delivered letters to the Department of Homelessness, four supervisors and the mayor, pleading for shelter for five families with a total of 13 children.
That letter was sent to no avail. According to Faith in Action, McSpadden re-stated the department’s lack of resources in the reply, ignoring the proposals and request for a meeting.
In a statement, Cohen said Department of Homelessness staff have met with families from Faith in Action multiple times. Regarding the Faith in Action’s two suggestions, Cohen said the department is “experiencing a very high demand for family homeless services” and the “family shelters and hotel vouchers continue to be full on a nightly basis.”
“We are working very closely with departments across the city to come up with additional strategies to address the increase in new arrivals coming into San Francisco and to ensure that they have the safety and dignity they need to get on their feet in their new community,” she added.
Among the four supervisors who received the letter in January, Shamann Walton didn’t show up at the community meeting, Hillary Ronen also failed to attend because of health reasons. Both Ahsha Safaí and Dean Preston showed up, seated on the stage next to McSpadden’s empty chair.
Preston commended the activism. “We know there are homes in this city to house everyone. But we also know that it is all of you forcing this city to do better, which is going to lead to people being housed. It’s not going to happen without that activism,” he said.
“I really like San Francisco,” said Solito, who still spends nights in cots with her four children and husband. “But there is a lot of stress.”
American Sanctions put those families in that gym,
Why does no one mention that ?
The only reason people leave beautiful tropic paradises is because ravenous American Imperialists descended upon them a couple of hundred years ago and never left.
The American CIA and military has murdered their democratically elected leaders and spokesmen and spokeswomen who called out for autonomy.
These sanctions do not effect the ruling class in these countries.
They only starve and imprison the people.
Lift the Sanctions on Cuba !!
Lift the Sanctions onf Venezuela !!
Lift the Sanctions on …
All of this is insanity.
You arm these tyrants (I’m including Netanyahu) then wonder why they murder ?
Insanity.
We already know that the next President will continue the cycle.
“Well, wadda yuh gonna do ?”
“Wadda yuh gonna do ?”
h.
I as an American, where am I going to go because of persecution and violence? I can’t get on any list for housing. No, I don’t have empathy for those that cross our borders illegally. There are Americans who are homeless, don’t have food. The people come to San Francisco because it touts itself as a sanctuary city. It doesn’t matter if San Francisco is a sanctuary city, the infrastructure just isn’t there financially to take care of those people crossing our borders illegally. Their being here illegally is just going to raise my taxes, and I resent that.
Read “Before night falls” for the truth about your little Marxist fantasies.
I received death threats when living in SF, after my daughter at the time had gone to a party in the Fillmore with her friend. Picked and dropped off client today at Mens Salinas Shelter, and the county needs to improve that, but first let’s house our citizens first, they were born here and have tied to State of California, then we can help the rest
In these chaotic times with extreme budget woes across the city, will SF spend all of its money on cops, surveillance and jail? On Tuesday’s lackluster ballot and very low turn out election were performative and mostly lame propositions (except for Prop A), that cravenly preyed on people’s fears and anxieties. In her measures and her stumping, London Breed doubled down on arresting drug addicts, even as our jails and courts are overflowing. She is a knee jerk, photo op mayor…….quick with a slogan or soundbite………..molasses with policies or potential solutions. [FIX THE ELEVATORS!!] The shrill sound of her ragged voice shouting into a megaphone is like nails on a black board. London Breed: a hollow, transactional public servant. To our collective shame Breed is San Francisco’s Worst. Mayor. Ever.
“…like many others at the community meeting, decided to come to San Francisco because she heard this is a Sanctuary City. Now, however…”
What are they going to do… give the city a bad Yelp review?
What makes these “refugees” think they must be provided a LUXURY destination? Because all of San Francisco is LUXURY!
I realize it’s more important to do sex change operations for illegal immigrants. SF will be bankrupt in 5 years or less due to the corr I pt government. Yes corrupt.The voters are just as stupid.If you knew the crap SF spends money on you would get sick.
Ah, San Francisco city budget season is in the air!