Honoring the Memory of Those Who Were Victims of San Francisco’s War on the Homeless
When police (SFPD) or another City department comes into a person’s living space and visits intimidation of threats of eviction upon them—that trauma has a toll on the human mind, body, and spirit. Sometimes the result of this trauma causes a psychological illness, and many times there’s an undiagnosed, long-lasting, physiological effect. Human beings get depressed, they suffer from anxiety, perhaps some relapse and begin to abuse substances that numb the emotional pain of losing everything they value. There are also some that commit suicide. This is real and it is happening now!
Friday, November 1, 2024, is the first day of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). The Coalition on Homelessness in San Francisco is hosting a ceremony at 12 noon at City Hall in San Francisco, located at 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlet Place. The ceremony and action is being held to honor the memory of those who have died as a result of this ongoing war being waged against the homeless in San Francisco.
Question: Do you think that anyone who works inside San Francisco City Hall has taken the time to think about the effects that the City’s policies and practices have had on this community? Today, I’m raising the community’s awareness and respectfully requesting concerned citizens and members of the activist community in San Francisco and those in the East Bay and beyond to come to City Hall on November 1 at noon.
Show up on the steps of City Hall with your marigolds in hand and exhibit your solidarity with those who have lost a loved one to this war waged on the homeless. It is important to let Mayor London Breed, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the Chief of the San Francisco Police Department know that the community is not satisfied with the implementation of the homeless eradication policy.
I personally spoke directly with a close friend of mine who happens to be a long-time advocate for homeless people in San Francisco. The individual, who asked to remain anonymous, has recently moved to New York City for a teaching job at a local university. This is what this person had to say: “The plan appears to be grounded in an effort to create a San Francisco which strictly caters to and serves the interests of the rich and affluent. People of color and poor people in general really can’t afford to live in the City anymore. And it looks as if there’s a concerted effort among politicians and corporate entities to kick us out of the City completely.” End of quote.
Our independent nonprofit news organization conducted our own research on mortality rates affecting the homeless. We discovered a study authored by Giselle Routhier of New York University and Matthew Z. Fowle of the University of Pennsylvania entitled, “Mortal Systemic Exclusion Yielded Steep Mortality-Rate Increases In People Experiencing Homelessness, 2011–20”
Link to study: https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/epdf/10.1377/hlthaff.2023.01039
Here is a short quote describing the study and we also provide the link so that interested parties can conduct their own research into this heart-wrenching topic:
“This study examined mortality trends and causes of death among a unique sample of people experiencing homelessness from twenty-two localities in ten states and Washington, D.C., during the period 2011–20. Our research examined how all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates have changed over time, thereby presenting a clearer picture of mortality among people experiencing homelessness across the US during that period.”
I am no newcomer to the plight of the homeless in San Francisco. Approximately four years ago, I conducted an interview with Donna Hilliard and Del Seymour of Code Tenderloin. Here is the link to the YouTube interview and I want you to focus on some of the photos of the human beings that I ran across daily in my walks to and from work.
There are people in high places that want me to stop reporting on this topic. They wish to silence my voice, but I refuse to be silenced.
Come out to City Hall on Friday, November 1 at noon, pay your respects, and make your voice heard.
Malik Washington is a freelance journalist and Director at Destination: Freedom and Destination Freedom Media Group.
