San Francisco Public Press (https://www.sfpublicpress.org/author/madison-alvarado/)
Madison Alvarado is a reporter based in San Francisco who is interested in California's housing crisis, environmental justice and structural inequities. In addition to her reporting on public housing and rent relief at the Public Press, she has covered issues related to the coronavirus pandemic, housing and city government for San Francisco news site Mission Local.
San Francisco cannot prove it follows an aspect of its encampment clearing policy intended to help people retain essential belongings. Despite 588 clearings from January to mid-November, the city lacks evidence of a single signed declaration that staff advised unhoused people to separate essentials from property it was confiscating.
Solomon Bukenya, a formerly unhoused San Franciscan, has never lost hope for long — surviving a genocide in Rwanda, the loss of his leg, addiction and homelessness. Though he had no interest in civic engagement for years, today he’s on a mission to make sure his community’s voices are heard. Even after a tumultuous election, he remains undeterred.
An escalation in encampment clearings could be leaving unhoused San Franciscans with fewer of their vital documents, making them less able to access services and, this month, vote, service providers and homeless advocates say.
In light of reports of these worsening problems, the city’s Homeless Oversight Commission has urged local government agencies to prevent the loss of essential items.
Many older adults living on fixed incomes in San Francisco teeter on the brink of homelessness. After rent, they have little money for other essentials.
Proposition G could keep some of those people off the streets by reducing rents in hundreds of already-subsidized units, putting them within reach for extremely low-income seniors and other groups.
If you’re unhoused, you might wonder if you are eligible to cast a ballot this November. The answer is yes — even without a fixed address. We’ve tried to answer the big questions you might have about voting while experiencing homelessness in this how-to guide, to make sure your voice is heard this Election Day.
See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition N could help pay off first responders’ student loans with the goal of attracting new hires amid staffing shortages. Listen to a summary of what this ballot measure would do.
See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition I would improve retirement packages for 911 call dispatchers, as well as nurses who transitioned from temporary to full-time staff positions, in an effort to attract more people to those city jobs. The measure could help fix persistent staffing shortages and improve emergency and health services in San Francisco, supporters say.
“When we look to the future, we have to ask ourselves, who’s going to answer these calls?” said 911 dispatcher Valerie Tucker, referring to emergency phone calls, at a July public meeting about the measure.
NEW: Read, and listen to our podcast episode, about how affordability and other issues informing Proposition G affect the lives of San Franciscans, in a story published Nov. 1. See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot.
See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. In the wake of years of FBI probes and ongoing scandals, Proposition C aims to fight corruption in San Francisco by creating a local inspector general position for investigating government fraud, waste and abuse of city resources.
Listen to a summary of what this ballot measure would do. Support
The measure’s supporters hope it would let San Francisco lead the effort to root out bad actors at City Hall.
Funding is drying up for food programs that serve some of San Francisco’s most vulnerable, potentially endangering the health of thousands.
The cuts have come from all levels of government, including from City Hall as it has grappled with the fallout of the pandemic.
