End Homeless Encampment Sweeps and Property Confiscation
Mayor London Breed
SF Office Number: (415) 554-6141
Call Script
“Hi my name is [name], and I’m a constituent living in [neighborhood].
I am very concerned about the treatment of homeless people living on our 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 am calling to ask [Mayor Breed / the Supervisor] to introduce legislation calling for an immediate end to all encampment sweeps, overnight parking restrictions and property confiscation.
Two weeks ago, the Coalition on Homelessness presented overwhelming evidence to the Board of Supervisors that the City is illegally seizing property and forcing San Francisco’s homeless population to sleep “alone and unsheltered"—without protection from community and without even the minimal housing of a tent.
The City's actions are demonstrably inhumane; yet City officials hear too many complaints from residents who don't wish to be confronted by evidence of poverty and human suffering.
They need to hear from you: tell your local lawmakers to prioritize the health, safety and fundament human rights of our city's 7,000 homeless people over the aesthetic concerns of the comfortably-housed.
Background
There are over 1,300 people on the waiting list for single bed shelters each night, but SF officials continue to confiscate survival gear, including tents and tarps, medication, food and mementos. These are human rights violations, a fact which too many of our City officials --including Mayor Breed, the San Francisco Police Department and Department of Public Works, and several District Supervisors including Norman Yee, Rafael Mandelman and Catherine Stefani refuse to acknowledge.
Letter to the Board of Supervisors and Mayor Breed, Indivisible SF, January 21, 2019
https://48hills.org/2019/03/cops-continue-homeless-sweeps-even-in-the-cold-rain/
https://medium.com/@streetsheet/interrogating-san-franciscos-approach-to-street-homelessness
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-homeless-9th-circuit-20180904-story.html