Tell the Library Commission: Restore nighttime internet access at Eureka Valley!
The ask (use your own words!)
Please restore free library internet access to the same full hours provided by other SFPL branches. As you are undoubtedly aware, SFPL patrons who are unhoused rely on this internet access to apply for jobs, assistance such as SNAP, and housing. Supervisor Mandelman’s contempt for unhoused San Franciscans should not be grounds for the City to hinder their efforts to get back off of the streets.
Background
San Franciscans love our libraries, and many of us rely on the free wireless internet access that our local branches provide. Few rely on this internet access more than our unhoused neighbors: applying for jobs, housing, and assistance such as SNAP often requires having both internet access to get to online portals and a means of contact such as an email address.
Unfortunately, Supervisor Mandelman appears not to care about any of that, and has pressured the San Francisco Public Library to limit the hours in which the Eureka Valley branch’s wireless network is available in an effort to repel unhoused people from the area.
Imagine you’re an unhoused person at the library, shortly before closing. Closing hour arrives and the Wi-Fi turns off… right as you’re about to hit submit on your rental application, or your job application. Did that help get you off the streets? Or did it help keep you there?
As Jennifer Friedenbach, director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said in Mission Local’s report:
“All these kinds of efforts are based on the premise that if you make it difficult for homeless people, then they will disappear,” … “But these things actually exacerbate homelessness.”
We don’t blame the San Francisco Public Library. They’re under political pressure from a well-established ideologue. The library staff know full well how much unhoused patrons depend on their services to access housing, jobs, and services. Supervisor Mandelman either doesn’t know or doesn’t care.
The library needs to hear from City residents that we have their back and that we want our library to serve all San Franciscans.
Resources
Castro library limits Wi-Fi to hinder homeless after pressure from supe, Mission Local, 05/29