Ask Your Supervisor to Support and Attend a Hearing on Encampment Sweeps
Call Script
“Hi my name is [name], and I’m a constituent living in [neighborhood].
—ONLY CALL YOUR OWN SUPERVISOR—
[Matt Haney] I’d like to thank Supervisor Haney for calling the hearing on encampment sweeps! I would like him to introduce legislation calling for an immediate moratorium on all encampment sweeps, overnight parking restrictions and property confiscation.
[Rafael Mandelman, Catherine Stefani, and Shamann Walton. They sit on the committee that the hearing is in front of, so they’ll definitely be attending] I am very concerned about the treatment of homeless people living on the streets. We should all be doing as much as possible to support our unhoused neighbors and the current practice of "sweeps" and confiscation of property is not acceptable.
I'm asking [the Supervisor] to introduce legislation calling for an immediate moratorium on all encampment sweeps, overnight parking restrictions and property confiscation.
[Norman Yee, Asha Safai, Vallie Brown, Gordon Mar, Hillary Ronen, Sandra Fewer, Aaron Peskin] I am very concerned about the treatment of homeless people living on the streets. We should all be doing as much as possible to support our unhoused neighbors and the current practice of "sweeps" and confiscation of property is not acceptable.
I'm asking [the Supervisor] to attend Supervisor Haney’s upcoming hearing on homeless sweeps in bad weather on March 7. I also want [Supervisor] to introduce legislation calling for an immediate moratorium on all encampment sweeps, overnight parking restrictions and property confiscation.
Context
Thanks to your phone calls and pressure, a number of District Supervisors have already public acknowledged that encampment sweeps are unacceptable, and this is an important first step! Now we need every Supervisor to attend the Thursday, March 7 special hearing on encampment sweeps, and to commit to taking legislative action against the City’s ongoing inhumane treatment of our homeless population.
Background
According to a 2018 court ruling, west coast cities cannot criminalize people for sitting or lying outdoors when there is nowhere for them to seek shelter. There are over 1100 people on the waiting list for single bed shelters each night, and the City continues to quietly confiscate donated survival gear, including tents and tarps.
Moreover, the SFMTA has been passing restrictions on overnight parking in many neighborhoods, thereby threatening the vehicularly housed (which the SFMTA estimates to be over 1,000 people) with costly parking citations and tow fees.
Meanwhile, Mayor Breed recently boasted about “cleaning the streets.”
Further Reading
Letter to the Board of Supervisors and Mayor Breed, Indivisible SF, January 21, 2019
Haney wants to revamp ‘embarrassing’ effort to shelter homeless during extreme weather, San Francisco Examiner, Jan. 29, 2019
City’s encampment sweeps intensify, even hitting homeless waiting outside Glide Memorial for food, San Francisco Examiner, August 9, 2018
Ninth Circuit Ruling Challenges S.F.’s Anti-Homelessness Laws, SF Weekly, Sept, 5, 2018
Homeless people in California, Western states cannot be prosecuted for sleeping outside if shelter access is lacking, court rules, LA Times, Sept. 4, 2018
Ninth Circuit Ruling Challenges S.F.’s Anti-Homelessness Laws, SF Weekly, Sept. 5, 2018