Share Stories of SF Officials, SFPD Violating Human Rights-Abuse & Kidnapping in 2016

    

   We've been monitoring the conduct and behavior of our Mayor Edwin Mah Lee and our San Francisco Board of Supervisor Members towards our most vulnerable sector of our residents, being those of us who are homeless and poor.   

      Keeping in mind that it was this Mayor (and others higher up in state government) who MADE CASH for themselves by supporting the rapid Importation of more than 15,000 Foreign Workers into our communities, which CREATED 20,000+ New Homeless.

      To MOVE PEOPLE against their will on the street or from one place to another for Business Profits is a GROSS VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS.

     It is a Felony often called False Imprisonment;  False Arrest;  Kidnapping.    If you or I do that to another Human Being, we'd be arrested and may be charged with multiple felonies.

    No Human in San Francisco has the right to force another human being to move without great cause to protect life or prevent a serious, imminent harm.    This includes shortsided or paid off politicians in office or cops in uniform. 

    If they force YOU to move without a genuine public safety cause, they are acting out crimes whether they realize or acknowledge it or not.   They are GUILTY of Crimes Against Humanity and other local and state and federal laws.

    Educate yourself on the laws they are breaking while being paid tax dollar salaries and pensions.   Here are 3 ways to help keep you and your property safe, while homeless.

   1.   DO NOT SLEEP OR BE ALONE.  Easiest way to be abused is to be alone.

   2.  ALWAYS HAVE FOLKS WITH VIDEO CAMS AND CELL PHONE VIDEO DEVICES COSE BY.   Proving what happens makes all the difference to win any case or conflict.

   3.  DOWNLOAD THE ANDROID APP "CELL 411" TO CREATE NETWORKS FOR HELP & LIVE STREAM RECORDING OF ALTERCATIONS WITH CRIMINALS ON OUR STREETS OR INSIDE SRO HOTELS.   

    4.   KEEP A JOURNAL.   Take notes every day on what you see city workers, cops, case workers, social workers DO and SAY TO YOU.   Note the date and time and people's names.   Get in the habit of asking every city or non-profit worker you see their names. Share your notes with TRUSTED peers in your community.

   LINKS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR HUMAN RIGHTS & BEING HOMELESS: 

  

   People Project:  

   https://peopleproject.wordpress.com/tag/human-rights-abuses/

   Punishing the Poorest - Coalition on Homelessness SF: 

   http://www.cohsf.org/Punishing.pdf

   The $2 Million Dollar Lawsuit Against City of Fresno for Bulldozing Their Homeless:

     Kincaid vs City of Fresno  http://bit.ly/21gHd5v

     NOTE:  Everyone Should READ THE LAWSUIT NOW!   

     Same Issues you face in San Francisco.   YOU can file for COURT PROCTECTION.

    Homeless Victory in Fresno has Implications for the Nation

    People's Tribune:  http://bit.ly/1QEMvTD

    Good Info On 'types' of Human Rights at this legal firm's website - 

    Russell Legal Services:   http://bit.ly/21rqPvE

  

  If you have a true story of abuse to share privately with our peers of advocates, researchers, investigators and attorneys email:   SFHOMELESS@UNSEEN.IS

Undercover Article Exposes San Francisco Homeless Shelters

Awesome work by Amanda Witherell and Bryan Cohen of the San Francisco Bay Guardian, exposed abuse and neglect inside our City's tax funded shelters. Just as Board of Supervisors were given a bogus and misleading report by SF Human Services Agency Director Trent Rohrer, leading to a 9-2 Veto Proof Vote to pass new Shelter Standards of Care Law ...

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Photos of Meals Served in San Francisco Homeless Shelters- 5 photos

This information about homeless shelter meal photos, comes from Your new SFHomeless Yahoo Group Facebook site. WEB SOURCE: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44286&l=749d7&id=530713024 ( You can give out the link above to your friends, family and colleagues or forward a copy of this email to them ). MOST MEALS AT MOST OF OUR HOMELESS SHELTERS HAVE IMPROVED OVER LAST YEAR . . . We have noticed meals now being served has greatly improved at most non-profit tax funded and non-tax funded shelters. However, to maintain good nutrition and make sure that tax payers, food donators and the hungry residents' interests are being taken care of, we MUST convince our Board of Supervisors to fully fund the Registered Dietician Position to support our newly enacted Shelter Standards of Care Laws. The funding for the current SF Department of Public Health Registered Dietician has EXPIRED ! She was able to make some headway by running Pilot Meal Preparation and Nutrition Projects at Hamilton, MSC South and Next Door Shelters which have helped make sure that food is not being wasted and is being cooked and served properly (heated properly to safe temperatures, food stock rotation, safe food handling procedures, use of gloves, etc. basic safe food procedures that not every shelter staff member knows about...). GOOD NUTRITION AND ADEQUATE MEALS AND PORTIONS SAVE HEALTH AND MEDICAL COSTS, REDUCES SICKNESS AND SAVES TAX DOLLARS AND DONATED RESOURCES. HAVING THE MEALS MONITORED AT ALL SHELTERS MEANS MORE FOOD ON THE TABLE TO ENABLE OUR PEOPLE TO HAVE ENOUGH NUTRITION AND ENERGY TO THINK CLEARLY AND MOVE ON TO THEIR NEXT STEP. GOOD NUTRITION AND MEAL KITCHEN OVERSIGHT REDUCES COSTS AND HELPS IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELL BEING OF OUR RESIDENTS AND REDUCES MANY FORMS OF STRESS, CONFLICT AND MENTAL ILLNESS WHICH HELPS US ALL. SUPPORT THE CONTINUED FUNDING OF THE SHELTER STANDARD OF CARE REGISTERED DIETICIAN, TO MAKE SURE WE ARE ALL KEPT HEALTHY. CONTACT YOUR BOARD OF SUPERVISOR MEMBERS -TODAY- AND TELL THEM YOU DEMAND HUMANE MEALS AND FOOD SAFETY IN OUR CITY'S TAX FUNDED SHELTERS.

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Your Photos - Meals Served In Homeless Shelters in San Francisco

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5 photos Share this album with friends, even if they're not on Facebook.

Meals Served In Homeless Shelters in San Francisco - 5 photos

By SFhomeless Yahoogroup

Shows pictures of the size and quality of meals being served to homeless residents in tax funded and non-tax funded homeless shelters.

Shows pictures of the size and quality of meals being served to homeless residents in tax funded and non-tax funded homeless shelters.

Location: San Francisco, California USA

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There are lots more photos of shelter meals at your SFHomeless Yahoo Group Flickr Site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/17317856@N06/sets/72157602848816012/ WE NEED YOUR HELP TO SHOW EVERYONE WHAT OUR MEALS LOOK LIKE TODAY ! ! ! EMAIL US TODAY WITH CURRENT PHOTOS OF THE MEALS ARE YOU SERVED IN OUR CITY'S HOMELESS SHELTERS AND FEEDING PLACES LIKE GLIDE'S, ST. ANTHONY'S DINING ROOM, ST. MARTIN DePORRES AND OTHERS. Please include the date, time and place where the photos were taken. Please describe the quantity and quality of the meals photographs ( i.g. tasty pancakes, burnt toast, moldy bread, real milk, etc.). --- Share Tips, Stories, Fotos & Resources. Get Shelter, SRO, Hotel and Housing Info in San Francisco, by Visiting our web sites: Our Yahoo! Group: groups.yahoo.com/group/sfhomeless/ Our Group Blog: sfhomelessyahoogroup.blogspot.com/

Elderly Homeless Man Attacked By Thugs -Polk Street/Frank Norris Alley

A Local San Franciscan Homeless Elder Was Attacked By Two Thugs On Polk & Frank Norris Alley ( between Bush and Pine Streets ). This kind, elderly San Franciscan was attacked about a month ago, in an alley next to the Funky Door Yoga and H20 Cafe, in the 1300 Block of Polk Street.

On a weekday afternoon, in broad daylight, two younger men, about 20 to 30 years old, came up behind this old man and kicked him in his lower back and legs several times.

Both attackers appeared to be African Americans, possibly from a gang from outside of San Francisco.

It was a hate crime with the phrases they used in anger, like

'Hey nigger, why don't you clean yourself up and act like a man... bitch... ' 'Old man, you are a mutherfucking disgrace... '

The kind, elderly man told us that he had never seen these two strangers before, around the Polk Street area, and he has been living around that area for many years now.

When he is tired he sleeps in front of the billboarded walls covering the old Polk Street Station Restaurant.

The two men were wearing loose fitting dark clothes, with baggy pants, t-shirts, walking very 'deliberately' from one target to another.

They were both stocky and about 5' - 11" to 6' tall. They both swaggered sharply from side to side, as they walked. Both wearing tennis shoes.

One was taller than the other and was black cap with a white 'silk' like bandana under his cap, tied in a knot at the back of the neck.

The other young man wore a baseball cap with a money $ Dollar sign on the front of the cap. The stockier one with the white bandana walks very strangely with his arms swinging in a pendulum motion far out in front and to the sides and then back in towards his body and back out behind him, as he walks. Both had very baggy pants on and dark colored T-Shirts on.

They have been seen walking up and down Polk Street, from somewhere south of Geary up Polk Street to somewhere near Walgrens and back, almost every afternoon between 3pm and 6pm.

This nice old man hangs out sometimes on Polk from Pine Street to the north, near the Fish n' Chips place and what used to be Polk Street Station Restaurant, which is now boarded up and nicely posterized with local billboards.

That day, he had been hanging out up on the north end of Polk Street and made his way south, down Polk Street.

He stood for a few minutes in front of the Funky Door Yoga and around the H20 Cafe at 1330 Polk Street.

Frank Norris Alley is the one that is along the side of the H20 Cafe, where children get off the bus on their way to the school up the alley.

No warning was given as they came up, started talking smack and then attacked without provocation.

It was rage inside two young 'brothers' who showed their digust for the elderly man that they suggests, it was premeditated and likely repetitive behavior.

Kind of like a pre-planned event already looking for any given opportunity to verbally degrade and physically attack an elderly man. A stranger who had done them no harm.

Because of their own uncontrolled anger, they are a clear and present threat to all San Franciscans, but especially, harmless, defenseless, elderly people of all races.

Please report all incidents of violence against our people immediately. STAY AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS. TRAVEL IN PAIRS AND GROUPS.

Historical Note:

FRANK NORRIS ALLEY AT POLK STREET -alongside the H20 Internet Cafe at 1330 Polk Street (between Bush and Pine) - Next to the Funky Door Yoga and the new Polk Street Produce store.

This is the same alley where a man was murdered several months ago at 2am one Saturday morning.

We believe that homicide case is still unsolved but supposedly several local witnesses do have information about that incident, which deserves justice.

There is a school a few hundred yards up the alley. Elementary children get on and off the bus on this corner every day.

Clients and even the Owner of the S.N.O.B. (Sonoma, Napa or Beyond) Bar and the Restaurants across the street and the Funky Door Yoga and others often park here, creating a hazard by blocking the Fire Hydrant and often blocking the alley and hadnicapped access ramps on the sidewalks, on both sides of Polk Street.

They all routinely pull fast, illegal U-Turns and keep blocking the Fire Hydrant. Often, partially blocking the alley as well.

Motorists make these quick U-Turns (in both directions and reverse to drive backwards up the alleys) and create a hazard for everyone, but especially the school children and the elderly and disabled who frequent this dense vehicle and pedestrian traffic area.

In fact, one half block north of here, at the corner where the Polk Street Station Restaurant is, an elderly woman on a bicycle was struck down in the crosswalk a week ago, by a driver in a hurry who ran the red light.

OTHER HAZARDS AT THIS INTERSECTION OF POLK STREET AND THE FRANK NORRIS ALLEY . . .

EVERY DAY PEOPLE AND CITY WORKERS ILLEGALLY PARK IN THE RED ZONE AT THIS ALLEY INTERSECTION, BLOCKING THE FIRE HYDRANT AND CREATING AN UNSAFE TRAFFIC HAZARD FOR EVERYONE.

PARKING ENFORCEMENT IS VERY LAX AT THESE LOCATIONS.

EVEN POLICE OFFICERS, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL OFFICERS AND PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, ALL HEADED FOR THE CHAI-YO DESSERTS AND LA BIANG THAI RESTAURANT ACROSS THE STREET FOR LUNCH AND DINNER, PARK IN THE RED ZONE, BLOCKING THE FIRE HYDRANT.

THE PARKING ENFORCEMENT AND OFF-DUTY PATROL CARS ROUTINELY BLOCK THE FIRE HYDRANT IN AN AREA NOTORIOUS FOR MULTI-ALARM FIRES IN THE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS ALL AROUND THIS AREA. JUST A FEW HUNDRED YARDS FROM A LARGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

ARE THEY ALL ABOVE THE LAW ?

ARE THEY ABOVE BEING HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING A POTENTIAL TRAFFIC ACCIDENT OR TRAGEDY AS THEY PARK ILLEGALLY WITH RECKLESS DISREGARD FOR PUBLIC SAFETY ? POLICE, TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT, LIMOSINES AND A PIMPIN' CADILLAC WITH UNDERAGE FEMALE HOOKERS OFTEN PARK HERE AT THE FRANK NORRIS ALLEY, BLOCKING THE FIRE HYDRANT AND ADDING TO EXISTING INTERSECTION HAZARDS.

WHEN A CHILD, TEACHER, ELDERLY OR DISABLED PERSON IS RUN OVER BY AN ILLEGALLY U-TURNING CAR HERE, WHO IS TO BLAME IF THERE ARE POLICE VEHICLES PARKED IN FRONT OF THE HYDRANT ILLEGALLY - DURING THEIR LUNCH AND DINNER BREAKS ?

ALMOST EVERY DAY WE SEE PEOPLE GETTING HIT OR ALMOST HIT IN THIS HALF BLOCK ON POLK STREET BETWEEN BUSH AND PINE STREETS.

ABUSE OF POWER THAT MAY CAUSE AN OTHERWISE PREVENTABLE INJURY OR DEATH . . . TSK, TSK, TSK . . .

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Congratulations To SFHomeless -Working today Home-less Tomorrow

Congratulations to all of you. A dozen postings on NowPublic and many with 200 to 400 page reads and several with over 1,000 page reads from around the globe. Keep up the good work.

clipped from http://www.nowpublic.com/search?type=story&fulltext=1&keys=sfhomeless Search StoriesMembersPhotosVideoAudioAll mediaAudio & VideoNewsroom Full Text Search Tag Search News Stories seangloster 30 SF Homeless Shelter Model - Makes Respect, Dignity and Hygiene enforceable by... San Francisco, after 10 or 15 years of a somewhat abusive, violent and generally undesirable living conditions, our City's Shelter System is finally reversing years of suffering and lack of moral and... highlighted by SFHomeless 18 wks ago updated 7 wks ago 1201 views 19 comments everchanging 1 Setting Standards For Shelter Care - Street Spirit Article An Open Proposal To All San Francisco City Workers Making Over $100,000 per Year and All The Good People of San Francisco :This Proposal is a solution derived from San Francisco residents who are elderly, disabled,... highlighted by SFHomeless 9 wks ago updated 9 wks ago 327 views 2 comments 12next ›last » NowPublic

Homeless Shelter Standards of Care Passed by San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 9 to 2 Vote Today !

Well, it's official. On a Vote taken today, at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors' Meeting in Chambers, the long awaited homeless shelter 'Minimum Standards of Care' has been passed into City Law, by a Vote of 9 Members in favor with 2 Members opposed. Here is the Cover Text introducing the legislation which is touted as being one partial solution to insuring that anyone staying in a tax funded homeless shelter, in San Francisco, shall be treated with Dignity & Respect, as a matter of undeniable, enforceable law (the will of The People).

	Recommendations of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee
		Present: Supervisors Peskin, Ammiano, Maxwell

14.	071518	[Standards of Care for City Shelters]	Supervisors Ammiano, Mirkarimi, Peskin, Daly, Maxwell

VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO THESE SF BOARD OF SUPERVISORS' MEMBERS WHO SPONSORED THIS LEGISLATION The Vote was 9 Board Members in favor (they 'get it') and 2 Board Members opposed ('don't get it') to this legislation. *Aaron Peskin is President of this Board. We will post the details on the voting here as soon as we get them.... VERY SPECIAL 'WHAT'S UP WITH YOU' TO THESE SF BOARD OF SUPERVISORS' MEMBERS WHO OPPOSED THIS LEGISLATION [ Details just arrived.... these 2 BOS Members (shown below) Voted AGAINST This Community Will Driven Legislation ... hopefully, they will become enlightened and join us next time... Or, have the courage to 'think independently' and 'do the right thing even if someone else is trying to tell them otherwise... ] March 18, 2008 - 2PM - Public Meeting/Hearing San Francisco City Hall - Board of Supervisors' Chambers In addition to requiring 'Dignity & Respect' for all City shelter residents, as a matter of law; this new legislation also provides for many basic hygiene, safety and staff training requirements in what can only be described as a 'future cost prevention' investment in the human beings that live and work in our City's Shelters. Our City's Shelter and Resource Centers serve approximately 1,500 San Francisco residents that are poor, elderly, disabled and veterans who do not have a safe place of their own, to call 'home', every day of the year. A public, community 'work group' was tasked with the writing of this legislation more than nine months ago, by the City's Shelter Monitoring Committee (SMC) which inspects and reports on tax funded shelter conditions to the City & the People of San Francisco. This 'Standards of Care', community work group was comprised of a ton of people from all walks of life, color of skin, economic status, religions and backgrounds. Their 'common ground', as San Franciscans, is that they are all dedicated serving the needs of San Franciscan residents that are in great need of widespread community support to enable them to 'make it' to 'their next step'. Whether that 'next step' be obtaining social services, applying for veterans' benefits, reconnecting with family and work contacts, job searches, vocational training, medical services, substance abuse program enrollment or whatever -- every shelter resident has the right to be able to have 8 hours of peaceful rest, clean drinking water, nutritious food, respectful and qualified staff, clean and sanitary living conditions, transportation and access to electricity for their cell phones and medical deivces. That has NOT been happening at most of our shelters, for the past 15 years due to a lack of standards, lack of 'caring culture' and general lack of dilligent government and community oversight. On the contrary, they have been notoriously neglectful and abusive which was a 'dirty little secret' in this City until our Civil Grand Jury and later our SMC started reporting to us, about the Real Conditions of our multi-million dollar shelter and housing systems (including SRO's which is another topic for a later date). This 'very diverse' group of work group participants, met regularly and attended some 44 meetings over nine months. This ongoing 'Standard of Care' Work Group is comprised of several SMC members including the current SMC Chairperson Quintin Mecke (a well known homeless, affordable housing & safety advocate who ran for Mayor of San Francisco last year); SMC Member James Lenard (an advocate, former local business owner, investigator and homeless shelter resident, who first moved to the Bay Area in 1978); and several other homeless shelter residents; staff; and directors from Dolores Shelters, Central City Hospitality House, Next Door, Episcopal Sanctuary, Episcopal Community Services and St. Vincent DePaul's MSC South Shelters; and community advocates such as Jennifer Friedenbach, Director of the SF Coalition on Homelessness and concerned City Staff from the Department of Public Health (Dr. Deborah Borne, Director of Tom Waddell Clinic) and numerous other individuals all came together 'as one' using a consensus model to hammer out this legislation. The only persons missing from this community table (before) was direct and consistent representation from the Mayor's Office and the Human Services Agency which had oversight over these shelters, in the form of 'contract compliance'. The residents' complaints were revealed in the Coalition on Homelessness' 'Shelter Shock Report' and the SMC's findings all concurred that 'compliance' to existing laws and contracts were virtually non-existent in most of our City's homeless shelters for many years. Widespread abuse. No accountability for bad conduct and the theft of food, supplies and donations. We're talking about tens of millions of dollars here, folks ... every year ! No transparency in the complaint process. No communication back to the residents about status of conditions, repairs, et cetera. Noone working at these shelters really very often 'got fired' or were fined or had their contracts taken away, they all just kind of moved over to another shelter or onto another 'program' with a new name. It was a 'dirty little secret' that included plaintiffs in court cases being 'bought off' with pretrial settlements which kept it hidden from the public eye. There was very little earnest and factual local news coverage (like from The Chronicle who only gives shallow information and regularly uses a sports writing 'columnist', named C.W. Nevius, who is not a journalist to report on shelter conditions. They use these biased articles to paint false little 'pretty picture' reports to cover up the true nature of these shelters which were horrendous). One health official recently described our tax funded City shelters as dangerous 'petri dishes' which pose a great health risk to all San Franciscans. Instead of our City Servants showing wisdom, courage and leadership, by spending a couple million dollars, up front, to 'prevent problems and reduce harm and risk' they prefer to keep spending hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency response and crisis services (such as overtime for police, fire and medical personnel) after the fact. It's a gross reflection of how many people are making money by NOT doing the right thing. It's corruption that results in perpetuating harm, abuse, theft and encourages a system that causes us all great harm and loss, every year because they are making money while we all suffer. It's disgusting and violates the public trust, yet, for some reason, they are unwilling to change their evil and despicable ways, which is why 'the people' have decided to 'do right' with or without help from City Officials. However, over all of these years, there have been reliable newspapers such as The Street Sheets (written by people experiencing homelessness and abuse) and the SF Bay Guardian (whose dedicated professional journalists recently went undercover to expose abuses and lack of contract enforcement -- just a couple weeks ago) and even the SF Weekly and others have a history of reporting these abuses, as they really are and were. The homeless in San Francisco were so tired of not being believed and not being protected that they started their own SFHomeless Yahoo! Group and blogs (this blog you are reading now, is their brain child) in order to bring real stories and real photos of shelter conditions to the forefront of the minds of all San Franciscans, every day. The goal was to bring reality of the widespread abuse, theft and waste of tax payer dollars and human lives onto every desktop, laptop and cell phone in San Francisco, to put an end to the lies, the profiteering and the cover-ups that have been going on for 15 years. They had no idea that the 'whole world' would be watching their web site and blogs. They have done well considering the fact that not only do all kinds of local homeless and city and non-profit service provider staff visit the Yahoo! Group and Blog sites, but also individuals and groups from around the state and around the nation also vist to find out what's going on in San Francisco. Including poverty law centers and homeless and housing service providers on the east coast and the northwest (Oregon, Washington). Amazingly enough, there are also regular visitors from other countries that visit these sites to learn about how 'things are done' in San Francisco with respect to its poor, elderly, disabled and ill residents and see how tax dollars and community donations and resources are being used (or misused) by City Agencies and Non-Profit Service Providers. Even a nationally recognized law school (from back East) Masters Program Student, has been visiting and using the SFHomeless Yahoo! Group site for a study in how the internet can empower even low income people to enable them to speak out and defend their human, civil and legal rights. Especially when government agencies and non-profit providers fail to 'do their duty' and cause harm to people that need real help, not systematic abuse and exploitation. Over the past few years, homeless shelter residents have continuously complained about the lack of access to the most basic of things, such as being allowed to plug in a cell phone, to maintain contact with family and employers and the growth of mold in bathrooms and showers. One shelter has had 'black water' leaking into their basement cafeteria for years; dripping right next to and sometimes on to the food and condiments being served to residents (whom are often already sick and elderly at risk persons that deserve much safer and better care). Whenever it rains or the street cleaners go by or even during heavy fog, the condensation gathers from the sidewalk above and eventually drips down as bacteria laden black water into the main basement dining room. Several times, the condiment table was directly under this 'black water drip' and this nasty water dropped into the bins of sugar, creme and coffee cups of the shelter residents. Many of them were so tired and hungry they did not even notice this. Over the years shelter residents have complained about some of the shelters being used to manufacture and sell drugs; one shelter in circa 2001 purportedly was manufacturing methamphetamines in the shelter's industrial kitchen every night, while the shelter residents were asleep on the floors above. Had that 'secret' tax payer funded 'meth lab' exploded, it could have harmed or killed several hundred homeless residents in the blink of an eye. They reported daily verbal and physical abuse at some shelters, but supervisors, staff and even directors would accuse the homeless of 'being mentally ill', drug addicts, liars or whatever to hide the bad behavior of their own staff and supervisors themselves. Many of whom are family members because the shelters do not use hiring standards to screen out bad people and routinely hire relatives (nepotism). Real nonsense because in the first place, most homeless people are already suffering a trauma, so they tend to 'not' want to be a whistleblower and are grateful to be off of the streets, at first. They have bigger things on their minds than to run around making up stories and risking themselves to be abused or denied services in retaliation for their 'whistleblowing'. That's just common sense to begin with. Once people are abused by people that make a salary from our tax dollars, they get angry and start speaking out. To anyone that would listen. But, many city employees are 'jaded' and 'biased' against the homeless, so noone was really listening to their complaints.... The have preconceived notions and tended to lump all 'homeless people' into one category or set of attributes which is jsut as ridiculous and ignorant as saying that all 'white people' or all 'black people' or 'asians' or 'christians' or 'muslims' are all 'the same'. It takes a little work for any of us to make sure we see and treat people as 'individuals' instead of stereotyping them, but that is where we find reality, based on looking at every person, as a unique individual no matter what 'group' they happen to be in or part of. It served no purpose and there is no need for them to lie, at all. They mostly want to be left alone and they'd just keep to themselves if it wasn't for the fact that the abuses and thefts are so widespread and became common enough for them to get very upset about it, every day ! We discovered that a lot of the people that accused the homeless of making up these reports were actually 'bad actors' and haters that were 'part of' the abuse, the drug dealing and the grand thefts. They lied to cover hide the truth from public view and scrutiny. That's why so many 'street homeless' have refused to go into the shelter and housing systems here. That is why they do not trust our City Agencies. They do not trust our 'church' affiliated and community based non-profits. They is why they do not trust our Mayor or other politicians. Had these shelters been operating with 'good care' and 'proper oversight' more homeless would not be homeless and suffering today. And more 'street people' would be totally supportive and willing to go into shelters and housing systems because they can see 'good things' happening. But, over the years, they all saw abuse, assaults, drug dealing and general chaos and violence that has been San Francisco's shelter, housing & homeless services environment which has cost us all, hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes and who knows how many lives have been lost, due to preventable and predictable causes. Things like obese people being denied extra mats or larger beds because the metal edges cut off their circulation. Lack of ventilation which can trigger respiratory illness and loss of breathing resulting in sudden death. Lack of ventilation which can also lead to advancement of TB and other air borne diseases that can also result in permanent disease or premature, preventable death. The stress level of a person with high blood pressure being screamed at by unqualified, 'gangland' type shelter staff and not being allowed to sleep 8 hours can trigger a stroke or heart attack. If you try to 'force' or 'yell at' mentally ill people to 'do what you want' that can trigger a violent, mental episode when it would be better to have qualified, trained and sensitive staff deal with them in ways that will de-escalate conflict and prevent harm. It's about 'caring' and about 'being qualified' and about 'being specially trained' to deal with people that 'are not like you are'. Lack of proper nutrition and food portions (calories) can trigger malnutrition, fatigue, heat stroke and other ailments that are much more expensive to treat, as an emergency response (such as police/fire/medics working on overtime pay) when all that was needed was to fully fund adequate Standards of Care. Spending the money, up front, as a totally affordable (at any invesment amount, whether it be $93 per person per year or $500 per person per year) human investment because it Saves Lives and Saves Tax Money by preventing problems before they happen.... They were served lousy food in very small portions. Oftentimes, their bread was stale and moldy while staff sat at their stations eating fresh chicken and ribs. One cook was reported by several kitchen volunteers to have been putting ex-lax and other substances into the shelter resident's meals. And that cook was reportedly selling drugs, stealing food by the case and 'stressing out' the female residents... all at the same shelter !! When they complained too much, some shelter staff would deny the residents coffee, sugar or refused to serve them seconds, even when they had lots of food to spare. Food stocks were stolen on a regular basis and was being sold at three or four locations around the Tenderloin and out in the Filmore Neighborhoods (on the streets and resold to local stores and markets that resold the food to unsuspecting customers). Even some screwed up residents were part of organized rackets to steal food and 'sneak it out' in trash cans and back packs. We even suspected some staff were stealing food and preparing meals in shelter kitchens for their own catering businesses on the side. Again, this is grand theft of tax money and community donations. The courageous shelter residents that 'stood up' and 'spoke out' were routinely 'denied services' and thrown out of shelters on trumped up charges. Many shelters have no hiring standards or drug testing. They routinely hired friends, relatives and neighbors to maintain 'control' over shelter operations and the continuous theft of food and clothes that were purchased with tax dollars or donated to the shelters. Instead of making sure the residents got good care, decent food, clothing and shelter, the supervisors and staff would 'take all the good stuff for themselves' and leave the scraps behind for the 'captive' shelter residents. That has been the legacy and history of homeless shelters in San Francisco. As we move forward, lets keep in mind that many of the people that stole and abused our people and resources are STILL EMPLOYED at some of these shelters; resource centers and even at our non-profit housing service provider organizations. To stop this 'never ending cycle' we must completely change all of these systems. We must develop shelter, homeless and housing staff hiring standards, drug testing and apply 'zero tolerance policies' for the theft and misuse of donations, clothing, food and resources; and stop the abuse of shelter residents. Otherwise, nothing will change and we'll keep seeing the same homeless people being held 'captive' by these shelters and hanging out in the streets and parks and jails and hospitals; all costing us many times as much money in taxes, to accomplish very little. Now is 'the time' for all 'Good & Honest San Franciscans' to come together, as 'one community, one voice, one free will' to change this entire corrupt system, from the ground up, to benefit all San Franciscans. So, today is a historic day in the history of 'How San Francisco Treats It's Homeless Residents in 2008', with the passage of new homeless shelter 'Standards of Care'. This is the beginning of an era where Our People are finally putting an end to the abuse, the lies and the coverups that have caused tens of thousands of people to suffer, alone and often in forced silence, during these past 15 years of these kinds of 'shelter operations'. We have a lot more work to do. And yes, this legislation has been 'watered down' and reduced in cost down to about $93 per year, per person, but it is a big step, in the right direction. Yes, our homeless residents are still 'captive' because one of the most important provisions, the bus tokens (or discounted Muni Passes which would have cost half as much as HSA stated in their bogus, misleading reports on this legislation) was ripped out, apparently to appease our Mayor Gavin Newsom and some Agency Directors and Department Heads who apparently do NOT want our homeless residents to be enabled to 'make it' to their required and necessary appointments on time using public transportation. At least, that is what we believe because 'Trent Rohrer' (current Director of SF's Human Services Agency, aka HSA) stated in a public meeting last month, of the 10 Year Plan Council, that he did not make these stupid budget cut decisions, but it 'was his Department Heads' that made these decisions. Not himself (Trent Rohrer) and not The Mayor...' They all seem to lie, so we really do not know which of them (Trent Rohrer, Mayor Gavin Newsom and some of their representatives and employees) which is a huge part of the problem. They have not been meeting regularly with our Board of Supervisors. They have not been attending public meetings and work group sessions. They have chosen to remain 'out of the loop' and then they make unilateral decisions in a vaccuum that serves their interests or the interests of 'rich' special interest groups. And when they finally discover, late in the day, that they screwed up again (because of their own lack of attention, attendance and good faith in 'our people' and the Board of Supervisors) and made decisions on budgets that cause harm and exponentially increase un-necessary future costs they seem to blame their department heads or staff which just causes even more disconnects inside agencies and makes them all untrustworthy in the eyes of the whole community. It's a viscious cycle that must come to an end. But, even though there are still some public servants that 'have something against' our homeless residents and they 'refuse' to spend money to minimize their suffering and hardship (which will result in people staying longer than necessary in shelters and will result in more failures due to lack of independent access to transportation) we are confident that in time, change for the better will arrive. They will either become enlightened and 'get a heart' and start meeting our people and our Board of Supervisors on a regular basis (in good faith and honesty) or they will be replaced by people that want to invest in humans so they can get out of this 'captive' shelter system that has enslaved too many of our good people. So, we are hopeful that we can build on this movement and we hope that the shelters and homeless & housing service providers will 'step up' and take advantage of the fact that our community will support them. But only ass long as they live up to their agreement and promise to maintain dignity and respect for all San Franciscans regardless of their economic or health status, religion, sexual orientation, gender or the color of their skin or national origin. As long as everyone plays by the rules and take 'good care' of our residents and stop stealing the money and the food, there will be no need for the enforcement provisions of this legislation to kick in. But, let the efforts of the diverse San Franciscans that all came together, as one, on this legislation, serve as a warning to all of the individual thieves, haters, abusers and con artists that are still in our shelters, housing and homeless service provider organizations and on staff in our City Agencies and even our elected public officials, politicians, board & committee members. We will not forget how and who has abused us for the past 15 years. We are going to keep a very close watch over every thing you do; everything you say; and every step you make -- we will be right there to make sure that you either 'do right' by all San Franciscans. Or, if you are unwilling to change your bad ways, we will escort you to the door and you are free to leave or become arrested, because we are no longer going to tolerate any more abuse of our people or the theft and waste of tax payer or donated money and resources. THOSE OLD DAYS ARE GONE NOW WITH THE PASSAGE OF THESE NEW 'MINIMUM STANDARDS OF CARE', AS A MATTER OF LAW. We'd like to again, give a Special Thanks to the Board of Supervisors that sponsored and voted in favor of this legislation and Special Thanks to all of the individuals and groups that worked together, in the San Franciscan way, to make this happen. We hope that in time, all city officials, agencies and service providers will come to our well researched understanding that it's much cheaper and better for us to give our home-less residents all the tools, support and resources they need to 'move on' instead of trying to 'hold them captive' for the sake of power, profit or political gain. We have so many more homeless people coming that we must all work together, as one community, to make sure all San Franciscans are treated with dignity and respect. And with all resources being limited and scarce, we cannot afford to waste or steal or squander any more food, supplies or other resources. We must all open our minds to the fact, that it is true, every time you see a poor, elderly or disabled person walking in the street --- be 'thankful' that you are not in their shoes today. Remember, that due to any sudden, economic or natural disaster, you could be in their shoes tomorrow or next week. You may become a homeless shelter resident, resource center client or have to use other homeless and housing services, just to survive and make it to 'your next step'. Treat others as you would like to be treated because that is what makes us all human. Spending money on all the tools and resources our home-less residents need is money well spent because it is an investment. It's so much cheaper to do exactly what so many other Cities have been doing for many years now. Oregon, Washington, Ohio, Florida and even some parts of Texas. They know it's cheaper, in the first place, to give all people a safe place, a good meal, good role models and positive environments so they can be productive, than it is to not take good care of them and let them loose on the streets to be victimized, beaten down and criminalized which is very, very expensive. Our City Officials keep telling us they 'cannot afford' to spend money on homeless services, mental health services and other proven preventive and cost saving systems, yet they'll submit a budget that includes some $200 Million dollars in 'regular' overtime for police, fire and medical personnel ???!??! It's all backwards and they know it. We're not waiting for them to get the courage to reverse all of these prehistoric, self destructive budget calculation methods and self serving spending habits that are literally 'killing us' and wasting precious tax dollars on a few, while the masses suffer and are placed at great risk. We will move ahead, as a 'united community' and use any legal, political or social tool neccessary to put the horse back in front of these carts. And we are ready and able, by ourselves if need be, to do this. Because as 'an informed and united community' we have all the records, surveys, documents and proof to show what's been wrong with all of these 'systems' for the past 15 years who has lied and been corrupted. Now, we are determined to use that knowledge to 'build anew' the kinds of structures and processes we need to improve the quality of our lives exponentially. But this time, we will do this to benefit and uplift 'the masses' instead of catering to the needs of a few (who are mostly the richest and most uncaring among us). So, let's all stop being ignorant, greedy, insecure about our 'programs' and 'grants' and stupid. It's time for us to stop being selfish, little juvenile delinquents and start acting like humane, caring adults so we can put San Francisco back to its place as a world leader in humanity, justice and 'profitability in business', as it was before, and as it should be, again. To benefit us all, not just a few. Let's stop being greedy, cold, 'controlling' and heartless towards our people. Let's stop putting more importance on our SUV's and 'our clothes' than we have been putting on our fellow human beings... that materialism crap has to go. We must be about substance and honesty or we are really worth nothing at all. Let's all 'get on the same page' and start 'doing right' by each other and by all San Franciscans and live together in peace and prosperity again, as one united community. JOIN US. START BY ATTENDING PUBLIC MEETINGS. JOIN A LOCAL COMMITTEE OR BOARD. DO SOME VOLUNTEERING TO SEE WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON. TO SEE HOW YOUR TAX DOLLARS AND DONATIONS ARE BEING USED OR MISUSED. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. READ ALTERNATIVE MEDIA SOURCES. TALK TO HOMELESS PEOPLE. TALK TO OUR ELDERLY AND OUR POOR. START OPENING YOUR MIND AND GET RID OF YOUR PRECONCEIVED IDEAS AND BIASES AGAINST 'OTHERS' THAT ARE REALLY JUST PEOPLE THAT NEED HELP WITHOUT BEING ABUSED OR RIPPED OFF OR HELD CAPTIVE.

Watch the Video of People Supporting Shelter Standards of Care - SF Board of Supervisors Budget & Finance Meeting - Feb. 20, 2008

EVERYONE INTERESTED IN SEEING HOW SAN FRANCISCO HOMELESS SHELTERS HAVE BEEN OPERATING (ABUSING OUR RESIDENTS) FOR THE PAST 10 TO 15 YEARS, NEED TO WATCH THIS VIDEO CLOSELY. (it's long but worth watching)

It's the official video taping of the Wednesday Feb. 20, 2008 Meeting of the SF Budget & Finance Committee, under the SF Board of Supervisors.

[ SF Budget Process Note: Before a piece of pending legislation goes before the full Board of Supervisors, it has to be presented and passed by the Budget & Finance Committee.]

The City Hall chambers were packed with homeless people, advocates, community groups, Shelter Monitoring Committee Members, the Director of Tom Waddell Clinic (Dr. Deborah Borne, DPH), Linzie Coleman (Director of Next Door Shelter-Episcopal Community Services) that ALL spoke up in favor of passing these 'Minimum Standards of Care' to make dignity, respect, health, hygiene and safety practices become LAW that MUST BE ENFORCED.

A few of the Public Speakers presented photographs of conditions (torn mats, open electrical wiring boxes, racist graffiti stating 'Fuck Niggers' at one homeless resource center) which are exemplary of the same sort of material evidence that has been officially documented in the San Francisco Shelter Monitoring Committee (SMC) Quarterly Reports.



Other collaborating evidence has been uploaded by good and courageous anonymous shelter residents and staff, to the SFHomeless Yahoo! Group Site (Photo Section - Shelter Meals and Conditions).

Other photos (of empty beds while residents are turned away from long bed reservation lines) are available in the SF Bay Guardian Articles written by undercover journalists which did an excellent job of exposing the current conditions of these shelters.

February 2008 Articles From SFBG.COM: (they deserve nomination for the Pulitzer Prize for their awesome undercover work! )

1. Search for shelter: Bryan Cohen's nightly journals

2. Shelter shuffle - Inside San Francisco's confounding system of housing the homeless BY AMANDA WITHERELL

3.Five Days Homeless: The Journals

4. No shelter from the budget storm Buster's Place, the city's main 24-hour homeless drop-in center, faces closure BY BRYAN COHEN

HSA Reports (under Trent Rohrer, HSA Director) to our Board Of Supervisors fraudulently attempted to misled everyone into believing that the provisions and standards being demanded by shelter residents, directors, staff and community groups are 'already HSA Policies in effect', which is a lie.

A bold faced lie, considering the fact that most of the 'policy' items in their report have not and are not now 'in effect' at nearly all of the tax funded shelters !!!

Under Oath, this would be considered Perjury.

We know this - because we've spoken with residents of nearly every shelter and they all say the same thing.

At most shelters (including the ones itemized by HSA's report to the contrary) they cannot plug in cell phones; they cannot have their laundry done for free (they have no cash to speak of, since Mayor Newsom implemented 'Care not Cash' program... how unamerican is that ! ), they do not get bus tokens for meetings and appointments, they do not get a 'blanket and a sheet', et cetera.

It's one big gross disgusting lie to 'the people of San Francisco' and one big lie to our Honorable Board of Supervisors' and one gross miscarriage of justice and human decency to our homeless San Franciscan residents.

The point of this legislation is not to ever have to use the Enforcement Mechanism.

The point is to make sure that Shelters operate in strict accordance of 'The People' , as a matter of law, instead of leaving the compliance of these standards left to City Agencies who have not really done their job properly for the past 15 years.

Had they all done their job properly to safeguard and take 'good care' of our homeless residents in shelters, by enforcing their own contract requirements (and policies) we would not have been suffering abuse and 'nasty' shelter conditions for the past 15 years.

Millions of dollars, misery and suffering of thousands of shelter residents (and staff) would have been prevented if all of our shelters were held to a 'standard'.

These shelters were basically 'thrown together' with very little input and planning by including residents and staff in the process, which resulted in a shelter system that has been wholly neglectful, uncaring and hazardous to our homeless residenst and the entire San Francisco Community.

The $700,000 or $2,000,000 that this legislation is supposed to cost are pennies on the dollar, in terms of being an investment in our homeless people to restore 'law and order' into the shelters and enable our shelter residents to be provided with the 'basic' conditions and tools needed to get to 'their next step'.

We must do this so they can move on from the shelters rapidly -- instead of being what has been 'a captive shelter system' where most shelter residents were abused, barred from using plugs for their cell phones, ripped off and suffered losses by negligent and often 'criminal' staff and supervisors.

Their food and clothing stocks (paid for with tax dollars and charitable donations) were routinely stolen by Supervisors and staff at most of the shelters.

Contrary to what the SF Human Services Agency stated in their highly fraudulent and inaccurate, misleading report to the Board of Supervisors about all of these 'policies' most shelters refused to provide access to plugs, bus tokens to get to interviews and appointments, denied access to free laundry services because HSA failed to enforce most of their policies.

We find their conduct and report to the Board of Supervisors to be close to being criminally negligent because they failed in their duty to protect us for 15 years and they failed to REQUIRE and ENFORCE their own multi-million dollar contracts and policies inside our shelters.

People suffered, property was lost, people became sick and ill from unsanitary conditions and inadequate meals and likely many died preventable and predictable deaths -- due to the joint negligence of City Agencies and many of these tax funded and donation funded Shelter Directors, Supervisors and Staff.

Those are the facts as is born out by the testimony you will see and hear for yourself by watching this video carefully and by simple review of all of the Shelter Monitoring Committee Quarterly Reports and the recent newspaper reports by undercover journalists and in the SF Coalition on Homelessness' Shelter Shock Report .

Or, just ask any homeless shelter resident on the street. They ALL CONFIRM these horrific realities of 'homeless shelter' life in San Francisco, in 2008.

And remember folks, what happens here in San Francisco doesn't stay in San Francisco. It happens all across the country.

So, it is the responsibilty of every American Resident to send undercover journalists into Your City's Homeless Shelter and Housing systems.

Trust in and Verify stories and reports from your City's poor, elderly, homeless people and veterans about abuses and fraud operating in Your Cities.

Organize and support your homeless populations.

If not for their sake, do it for the sake of the fact that Your Tax Dollars and Community Donations are being stolen and ripped off by all kinds of organizations, agencies and even 'church affiliated' non-profits that 'hide' their criminal activity by preying on and intimidating the most vulnerable members of our society in shelters, food banks, missions and housing programs In Your Town, Every Day !!!

Check it out and email us with your tips, stories, photos and evidenc eof what's happening where you live. We will forward your information to federal and state authorities, homeless coalitions, legal suport groups and the general public in order to stop this massive loss of money and wasting of good people's lives.

Remember. You have been lied to. We have all been lied to...

Based on all that we have seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears, MOST homeless people are not the problem in our communities because they do not even get the bare minimum of 'what they need' to 'move on' from homelessness. NO.

It has been and is being stolen by abusive, untrained, unqualified service providers across the country.

Most of the anger and 'bad conduct' of our nation's homeless is a direct result of being abused, beaten, underfed and mistreated by bad people that make their living off of our tax dollars and charitable donations and they blame the homeless to misdirect attention away from their horrendous crimes.

This is what RICO (Racketeering) and the False Claims Act are all about. Investigation and Enforcement tools to stop the abuse and theft of tax funded programs and services. Put them all in jail !

People are making money by submitting false claims for goods and services that are NOT being delivered properly to our nation's homeless.

And you can readily see that even Government Agencies, like HSA in San Francisco, will and do falsify reports to assist in the covering up of unlawful, immoral and criminally negligent acts committed by non-profit management and staff.

Totally Un-American and totally unacceptable by any standard of human decency.

SF Shelter Standards of Care - Investment vs. Class Action Law Suit - You Decide ? Either or - or Both.

SF homeless residents noticed a few details missing from news reports (i.g. right to 'plug in' cell phones & other details ARE included in the Standards of Care) on this. There's ample documentation of 15 years of abuse & negligence by the City & its Shelters. Our legislation's cheaper than paying class action suits, for millions of dollars. More- Open Letter to City Officials & 'church' affiliated non-profits: [ Ignore any part of the letter below that does not apply to you. If any part does apply, take a good, long look at yourself in a mirror and decide. What you are going to do, to 'make up' for 15 years of systematic abuse. ] To Whom It May Concern in our City Government and the Non-Profit Directors, Supervisors & Staff in our tax funded and donation funded Homeless Shelters & Housing Systems: Thought you might want to check this out. It's food for thought. ---- Now that we, as a community, have finally 'put it all together'; documented everyone's stories, read all the SMC Inspection Reports, looked at previous cases in other cities (with similiar conditions) -- we have come to some resonable conclusions, based on facts. Neither this City, nor the Boards, Committees and Directors that 'oversee' & manage these shelters have been taking 'reasonable care' of our homeless people for the last 15 years. And they have not done their duty to dilligently enforce contract requirements (and HSA policies), to curb these widespread cycles of abuse and neglect, over the past 15 years. We keep repeating '15 years' to emphasize that in 2008, we are only now willing to face the realities of our own tax funded shelter system. That's about 14 years 'late' for us, as a community, to implement standards that would have greatly reduced the suffering of our residents and saved us millions, if not a billion dollars that has been essentially 'wasted' by haters, cheaters, liars and thieves that have all profited, while our homeless residents suffered and died from preventable and highly predictable causes. WE FAILED THEM ALL. WE FAILED OURSELVES. WE CREATED AND PERPETUATED THE CORRUPT SYSTEM THAT WE ARE NOW GOING TO FIX. We are NOT talking about 'everybody' in the system. But all it takes a few abusers and a few cheaters to basically ruin the value of even the best designed system. This is nothing new, although the shelter abuses were 'well hidden' for many years until the good homeless people and shelter staff started to expose the realities of our shelters. A similiar example would be like when there was widerspread abuse and cruelty (like shock treatment, experimental drugs, whippings, beatings, food poisoning) inside of our state mental hospitals and institutions. This condition was allowed to grow because of lax enforcement against the bad individuals and management that 'turned a blind eye' or actually performed or encouraged the abuse of their own clients. Instead of putting the blame on the state and local agencies that had a 'duty' to go into those hospitals and hold the management and staff accountable, in civil and criminal courts (holding individuals accountable), Governor Ronald Reagan decided to pass a sweeping law that basically let all of the mentally ill people to 'go free' to the streets, unprotected. The cats were let loose out of their cages and exploited the moment they hit the streets. Here again -- if our City and State agencies had done 'their duty' and gone into these shelters (without bias against the homeless resident whistleblowers) and actually applied liquidated damage clauses and pulled the contracts of the repeat offender shelter organization and transitioned them to other organizations with proven track records (like Haight-Ashbury and St. Boniface, for example) --- that would have forced the offensive or negligent service providers to 'get their own' act together, internally with hiring standards, written policies, drug testing of staff, et cetera) without the need for our community to step in where they have failed. If you want to reform a 'system' - first you must look to see if the 'system' is being run properly by the people charged with running the system. It makes no sense to shut down 'a site' because its hurting people. Buildings, like guns, are inanimate objects that cannot be at fault for how ignorant or criminally oriented individuals misuse them to cause harm to others. Why do Mayors, Government Officials and Agencies keep shutting down places (hospitals, shelters, drop in centers, etc.) -- instead of, 'doing their job' which is to hold individuals and groups ACCOUNTABLE for their Conduct ? Every time they do this (shut down a place or a program) they announce a New Place or a New Program and expect everyone to be happy, now. On paper that may look good. In a Press Release that may sound good. Once its done it may even feel good.... at first. But, if you go back and hire the Same Bad People and the Same Incompetent Non-Profits to run the New Programs and the New Places, then nothing has changed for the better. In fact, its now worse. Because the Clients are the same and you promised to help them and protect them and when you gave them a new place or a new program, they were filled with happiness, hope and joy.... Then of course, once they got into the new program or the new place they become Doubly Traumatized because the same bad people that abused them last year in the Old Place and the Old Program are now here, at the New Place with more money and more power than before. And then we have the revenge and the retaliation used to beat down the residents and whistleblowers even more.... By filling up 'new programs' and 'new places' with the same bad people is like rewarding them for their past bad behavior. In fact, you have now empowered them and enabled them to 'feel free' to increase the level of the their abuse and drug dealing and violence and theft because you have proved to them, that they are not going to be 'held accountable' for their wrongdoing.... Oh, no. They are learning from our elected officials that they shall be, in effect, rewarded for bad behavior. Bush and his regime do the same thing. He does not enforce the law. He copies things; he does not create things. He does not 'think ahead' and set up safeguards and tracking of money and materials going to Iran and Afghanistan. He is NOT CAPABLE of empathy for others. He 'acts' he does not 'think'. He 'tells people what to do' because he 'does not want to listen' to anyone but himself. His 'ego' will not permit him to admit when he is wrong. His friends and associates that break the law are rewarded with more and better jobs. In Bush's World, whistleblowers are attacked. Whistleblowers are fired. Whistleblowers are slandered and mocked. What kind of a Mayor and a Board of Supervisors and City Workers and Non-Profit Agencies, do we really have in San Francisco ? Are they really working 'with us' or are they working against us ? Are they more like JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy ? Or, are they more like Bush, Cheney, Nixon and the San Diego Food Bank Directors that stole and resold almost all of their donated and taxpayer funded food stocks, a couple years back ? Do our 'community and civic leaders' just 'talk the talk' like a con artist or do they 'walk the walk" like a mature, responsible adult member of our community ? They keep borrowing ideas (copy cats) from other places like New York and try to force these ideas down our throats. They keep hiring companies from Florida and New York who are incapable of having our best interests at heart, they way good, local San Franciscans would. Instead of 'working with' us, they want to 'control' and 'manage' us according to their ways instead of our own. If we do not do 'what they want us to do' then they will write us up with citations, they will harrass us, they will criminalize us, in the name of public safety. If I am better off sleeping in a park instead of one of these dangerous, non-ventilated, petri dish shelters, then by what authority can anyone force me into one of them ? Do I not have the right to make up my own mind and have the right to put my body only in places where I feel safe ? What if Gavin Newsom was homeless ? Let's say, hypothetically, he got caught up in scandals and lost his power because he was no longer found to be useful or credible ? What if he missed his house payments and he woke up one day - home-less. Or, what if a petition was circulated to terminate Trent Rohrer's position, as Director of HSA ? What if he was caught stealing and was put out into the streets, without a penny to his name and was 'temporarily' unemployable ? If these two men, whom yesterday were fully employed and seemingly 'powerful' were to suddenly become 'home-less', would we force them to go into a dangerous (meaning a place full of abuse and neglect) shelter ? Or would we tell them that they can stay in a designated park, give them a tent and a sleeping bag and help them by 'fixing' the shelters by 'enforcing' contracts and laws and get rid of the criminally abusive staff so that we can make the shelters safe for them ? What would Gavin Newsom or Trent Rhorer say if we told them 'Stop sleeping in the park or go to jail ' ? What if we said, Gee, Trent, we can tell by your constant 'twitching' and nervousness that you are 'slightly' mentally ill and need treatment. We'd like to help you but, unfortunately, we just cut the budget (for no good reason) and decided to cut funds for treating people like you. And Gavin, gee, we know that you have a few enemies in town that are trying to find you and beat you up because you did things that caused them to suffer. We know you can't go the shelters because some people you owe money too are looking for you there. We'd like to send you to a 24 hour crisis center, so you can rest and get yourself organized, but we cut the budget (for no good reason) and we don't have a safe place for you to go anymore. We'd like to help you but can't you just panhandle to make enough money so you can get a hotel room for the night ? Or, hang on... we can put you up into an SRO, but tell us first, if you have any allergic reactions to bug bites, abestos or have a drug addiction, because unfortunately, we're understaffed and don't have any rooms available that are bug free, but if you're willing to 'rough it' for six months, we'll get you on this housing list and if you check back with us every week, we promise not to drop you from the list or let our friends and relatives 'cut in line' ahead of you. In fact, if you give me $20 bucks, right now, I can get you a nice room at a new SRO for at least a night ? What ? You have no cash ? You have care not cash ? You don't have a cell phone or you can't find a place to plug in your phone so you can call us ? Oh, you are allergic to bed bugs.... geez... sorry, but I guess we can't help you today.... Do you think Gavin would take that lying down ? Do you think Trent Rohrer would call that 'acceptable' and 'in line' with HSA Policies if he were the one that was suffering by lack of adherence to HSA contracts ? Scary, isn't it. Well, what Gavin and Trent 'do to us' is exactly what could happen to ANY SAN FRANCISCAN -- AT ANY TIME. NATURAL DISASTER, EARTHQUAKE, SUDDEN JOB LOSS, PHYSICAL AILMENT, ACCIDENT, DIVORCE, BANKRUPTCY, FIRE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE... ALL ROADS LEAD TO HOME-LESS-NESS. Don't you think, as a somewhat reasonable man of intelligence (with or without a substance abuse problem) he would resist being told to do things that are against his own personal self interest ? You bet he would. He would run straight to his lawyer and tell the courts that city employees are causing him great harm and stress by forcing him to sleep somewhere that is likely to cause him harm. So would any of us, because it's wrong. You cannot solve the problems of a City like San Francisco, where respect and smarts are common. The only way to solve Our Problems in a meaningful way is by all us, having patience and courage to sit down at the table together and Create Our Own Solutions. That is how we have always done it because that is how leaders and leadership and ownership are used to make sure we all agree to rules that we all intend to follow through on. You can Make People do things by using force, but that is not respect or an example of 'free will'. It's called opression. A Dictatorship. A Rule by Fear and Intimidation that never lasts because its 'fantasy'. Real Love and True Respect can last a lifetime and beyond. Ruling by Fear and Intimidation can never give us lasting positive results or positive behavioral changes because eventually, the people you thought were 'under your control' will rise up with anger and rage because you tried to take away their freedoms. The day always comes when the people are more angry than fearful because of they way in which, YOU have been mistreating THEM. If you want people to do something, first you need to talk with them. Listen to what they are telling you. You need to have faith in them or they will not have faith in you. You need to believe that what they are saying to you (like about shelter conditions) is a fact, until proven otherwise. Then you need to 'work with them' and help them arrive at their own reasonable conclusions about what needs to be done or changed to 'fix' whatever is broken. Once you have done that, then they will help you to make the changes and they will make sure that everyone plays by the rules, because they are the ones that helped to create the rules. They will make sure that 'their will' be done. This is because you did not take away their 'free will' to make their own decisions, to govern themselves with your support and guideance. That it how you make 'a community' work. It takes leadership. It takes every person in a position of power, authority or leading role to Set The Example of being honest, being fair, being kind, being lawful, doing the right thing. Our country's best leaders are the ones that listened to the people. The ones that consistently 'go out' 'to the people' and have conversations, give and take, deal with harsh realities (not disneyland fairy tale reports that come from on high, far away from where the people really live and work). Those kind of leaders the people will follow -- to their death, because their leaders led by example and 'showed' they cared by being 'with the people', not far away, against them. This is not rocket science but too many our City Officials and City Workers and Shelter Staff seem to think they are Superior to those of us that, for the moment, do not have 'material wealth' or that are mentally ill or addicted to drugs or home-less. They become 'control freaks' in denial, because actually, people with this type of Superiority Complex are actually suffering from some sort of undiagnosed mental illness or they were raised to be greedy, abusive and criminal. If nobody stops them, then they will keep going, getting worse and worse until they cause a tragedy. By not screening them out of contracts funded with tax dollars and donations, this City and the Church Affiliated Service Providers are guilty of placing Bad Role Models to watch over the most vulnerable members of our community. That is criminal negligence. Go to the dictionary and look up the phrase 'Criminal Negligence'. The City and the Shelters, acting in concert, have been receiving federal monies and community donations to finance known criminal activities, in which individuals and small groups have been committing horrendous crimes and abuses against people that are unable to defend themselves. Thousands of our fellow San Franciscans (and Katrina Victims and other US residents) seeking care, refuge and 'shelter' have been verbally, mentally and physically abused, raped, beaten, corrupted and lost their dignity, self-esteem, personal property and in some cases, their lives -- All as a direct, predicatable result of 'gross negligence' on the part of this City and the Non-Profit Organizations we contract with. When City Employees and Officials and Contracting Organizations do not take 'reasonable care' of the people and property and resources in their care, they are considered to be 'Negligent' because they neglected their duties and the rights and failed to respect the people they serve. When people are negligent and their negligence (especially it keeps being repeated year after year) causes preventable harm and crimes to take place, it's called 'Criminal Negligence'. Thats when 'neglect' moves from just causing accidental losses into the realm of causing harm and losses of property and life that could have been prevented, had these people not been neglectful. There are many good people inside the City and inside the non-profits. We're stricting talking about the cheaters and the 'blind' that have refused to accept responsibility for what has taken place. The ones that 'took money' and resources out of our shelter and housing systems, so they could buy property and homes on the backs of the home-less. We have people that we TRUST in all kinds of government and non-profit agencies... locally, and across the country. This is a network of 'good people' that cannot be bribed, that are not corrupted that have been fighting these kinds of battles for centuries, here and in other countries. These 'negligent' matters have nothing to do with our 'good people' that step in and step up to protect all San Franciscans. We are talking about those individuals that by ignorance, fear or whatever, either cause the abuse or 'turn a blind eye' or that profit from the 'way things have been' for too long, now. On the contrary, some people and agencies, in this City and in each of your respective entities have done their best to conceal, downplay and outright lie and deny -- that these abuses even existed, let alone existed to the extent that we now know, which has resulted in causing great harm, abuse and injury to tens of thousands of our San Francisco residents (over the past 10 to 15 years). So, let's stop playing the lying game because it no longer works, now. And it was all so predictable and preventable. Had any one of you, made a decision and taken effort to tell the truth and implement standards, guides and models to prevent the harm you have all caused, then we could have had a lot more homeless people 'moving on' and we could have prevented a whole lot of suffering and waste of tax dollars -- and loss of life and property. Let's forget for a moment about the contract requirements and the HSA Policies that have not been reasonably enforced to prevent these abuses. Let's talk about why Shelter Directors REFUSE to play by the rules we set down for them. We know this because HSA Policy says.... 'cell phones may be used by clients at all tax funded shelters...' This is a lie. HSA knows it. The SMC knows it. The Mayor should know this. The Board of Supervisors, should know this. They should all know it because every homeless person that has been to Next Door or most all other shelters knows what happens if you try to plug in your cell phone so you can keep in touch with family, look for work, get call backs for work... The staff (and your case manager) will tell you that if you plug in your cell phone again, it will be confiscated. At Next Door, as recent as six months ago, some staff would try to charge you $20 bucks to get your confiscated cell phone back. And if you actually take the time and effort to read the Quarterly Shelter Monitoring Reports (which go to the Mayor's Office; our Board of Supervisors and to Trent Rohrer at HSA) you will see numerous references taken from Staff/Client Complaints and SMC Site Inspections and Public Meeting Minutes all collaborate the facts. At almost all shelters, YOU CANNOT PLUG IN YOUR CELL PHONE TO CHARGE. The 'mind set' at some shelters has alway been 'We do not want these homeless people gettin too comfortable, up in here....' . That ignorant and thoughtless 'mind set' (or 'shelter management culture) 'fosters' a systematic climate of neglect and abuse that continues, even as we write this today. You failed to provide role models. 'You' being city officials and shelter management. You failed to screen out your Director's, Supervisors and Staff for illicit drug use, violence, abuse and did not make 'integrity', literacy and 'clean living' for a year or two, as a basic job requirement. If you want a good role model to enable residents to regain confidence, self esteem and become motivated to be 'self sufficient', then you need to hire angels (people who are good, kind and capable of empathy, even if they have not been drug addicted, poor or homeless themselves, per se). Along with qualified angels we need proven reformed backsliders (who have been there but have been proven themselves to be clean, kind and nonabusive for the past year or two) so they can 'relate' to the homeless because they've gone through many of the same experiences that they have. When a person in an authority role 'sets a good example' it creates instant respect and good behavior (mimicking) on the part of the shelter residents. If you want to cause harm to the sick and elderly, hire a known felon with multiple, recent drug and violence issues whom was just released last month to watch over the shelter residents.... You all ignored the homeless and 'blamed it all' on them. Instead of looking at yourselves and your organization's 'lack of standards' that are the root of all of the mayhem and chaos we've seen happen over and over again, all these years. It's not 'our behavior' -- it's your lack of vision, training, qualifications, standards and 'ego' that is THE PROBLEM. We are NOT your problem. YOU and people like you that act like you are above contract requirements and 'the law' are EVERYONE'S PROBLEM. You hired family members, associates (thugs) and all sorts of unqualified people that abuse us, for so long now. You all did what you could to 'hide' the facts about all of this. You falsified 'case management' notes and documents. You tried to destroy 'write-ups' made by hateful, abusive staff. You lied to protect each other (friends and family members on staff). You do not even understand basic, common terms like 'conflict of interest', 'nepotism', 'favoritism' and the harms that come from your ignorance of the meaning and crucial importance these phrases have to keeping us safe from harm and abusive practices. You filed False Claims with government agencies to finance your corrupted shelters, at the expense of our dignity, our safety and in some cases, at the expense of the lives of people that never asked to be homeless. We never asked to be abused or neglected. We never even considered or imagined in our wildest dreams, that we would be abused by our own local people -- that make a salary from OUR TAX DOLLARS. While all of you were making tons of money in salaries for 'doing so little', unqualified for the positions you held and ate the good food and took the good clothes and left us the scraps. SHAME ON ALL OF YOU FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE. WE CANNOT TRUST YOU, EVER AGAIN. IF WE HAVE BEEN 'DOING TO YOU' WHAT YOU ALL 'HAVE DONE TO US' YOU WOULD NOT TRUST US EITHER. BUT 'DOING THE RIGHT THING NOW' IS ONE STEP TOWARDS YOUR REDEMPTION IN THIS COMMUNITY. The Mayor and some members of this community can get behind 'sweeps' and spending millions to write up 'nuisance' citations but you can't be bothered with spending a lousy 1 or 2 million dollars on basic health and hygiene in shelters or for a 24 hour crisis shelter or to help the 'slightly mentally ill' ? You'll spend several million to pay police overtime to write out unjust tickets, but you won't spend a couple million to prevent the mentally ill and homeless from predictable harm, violence and trauma ? The problem with homelessness in San Francisco is NOT the homeless. The problem with 'homelessness' in San Franciso is the people in positions or public trust whom have forsaken their duties, in order to 'profit' and make personal and political financial gains -- off the backs of our poor, mentally ill and elderly residents. This is who and what we hate about this whole situation: Those of you who have no backbone to stand up for whats right. Those of you that put money -- ahead of people's dignity, safety and their very lives. Those of you that put 'surface' ahead os substance... you are the ones who have the problem. Your excessive greed. Your excessive negligence and lack of meaningful oversight. Your lack of courage and lack of integrity is THE MAJOR CAUSE of violence, abuse and aggravation of mental illness that faces our community today. Your indifference and your criminal negligence makes us sick to our stomachs. ... And some of you claim to be of 'the church' -- Christians. How would your 'Jesus' have been treating all of our homeless residents ? Would 'Jesus' have lied to cover up ? Would he have remained silent while watching the haters and the abusers and the drug dealers conduct their business, contrary to all morales and against all american principles and international concepts of humanity and human decency ? We talk about these kinds of things every day, as we go through your shelter and housing 'merry-go-rounds' and you all have disgusted us for 15 years, now. Isn't time you all grew up and stopped your exploitation of our homeless, poor and elderly and disabled residents ? Please distribute to each Board & Committee Member, or your related organizations, as you see fit. Share this story with anyone that either 'hates the homeless' or is 'clueless', arrogant, mean, greedy or hateful towards other human beings... Enlighten them for the sake of our beloved San Francisco..... read more digg story