Tell Mayor Lurie: House Samara, a 7‑Year‑Old With Serious Medical Needs
Contact Your Mayor
Call Script
Hello, my name is __________, and I live in District #. I’m calling to urge Mayor Lurie to help house Samara, a 7‑year‑old with serious medical needs who has spent two years in shelters. She’s leaving the hospital soon, but the City says her family is “not homeless enough” for help. That’s unacceptable. Please act now to house Samara and address homelessness for all children. Thank you.
Email Script
Dear Mayor Lurie,
My name is ________, and I live in District #. I am writing to urge you to help find a safe and stable home for Samara, a 7‑year‑old girl with complex medical needs who has spent the last two years living in homeless shelters with her family.
Samara has recently undergone multiple surgeries and will soon be discharged from the hospital. Yet her parents are being told by the City’s Coordinated Entry system that they do not qualify for housing assistance because they are “not homeless enough.”
This is unacceptable. A child with serious health conditions cannot recover safely in a shelter. Samara needs a home now—and beyond her family’s urgent case, there are more than 3,000 homeless children in San Francisco who also deserve safe, stable housing.
We are all Samara. I am asking you to take immediate action to ensure housing for Samara and her family, and to commit to real solutions that honor the dignity of every child in our city.
Thank you for your leadership.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your Contact Information
Background
Samara is a 7‑year‑old San Franciscan with serious medical needs who has spent the past two years living in shelters with her family. After undergoing multiple surgeries this month, she is preparing to leave the hospital—but the City has told her parents they don’t qualify for housing assistance because, according to a computer system, they are “not homeless enough.”
This is outrageous. Every child deserves a safe, stable home — especially the 3,000 homeless children in our city who, like Samara, are being denied dignity by a broken housing system.
Samara’s mother, Maria Zavala, a leader with Faith in Action Bay Area, has already helped win critical victories: ending experimental shelter evictions and securing $30 million for family homelessness. But Maria is still being told there is no solution for Samara.
Please call and/or email Mayor Lurie to express your support for Samara and all unhoused children who deserve a safe space to live.