Bayview surprise: NIMBY about the homeless?

New mural at Mother Brown's, by Shawn Bullen

The debate about that 100-bed facility proposed to serve Mother Brown's Kitchen's homeless clients on Jennings and Van Dyke is still raging.

At yesterday's full Board of Supervisors' meeting, the Budget Committee recommended acceptance of the nearly $1M in state funding for the plan.  A vote was postponed, however, until Tuesday, November 19th to give those who object to the plan time to explore other locations for homeless services that are not in Bayview Hunters Point.

Changing the service delivery site is a long shot since project funding was tied to the Mother Brown's location early in the proposal process, and could be lost altogether.

The process itself, one that has cornered the Board of Supervisors into a choice between risking needed funds or voting against the wishes of vocal neighborhood residents, seems to have stung  locals as much as the possibility of new homeless beds in the neighborhood.

The resolution under consideration is put forward by Mayor Lee.  It "authorizes the Human Services Agency to enter into a $978,000 forgivable loan agreement from the California Department of Housing and Community Development to renovate the leased premises at 2115 Jennings Street for use as a 100 bed homeless shelter."

At last Wednesday's Board of Supervisors' Budget Committee meeting, when the committee voted unanimously to accept the state grant, District 1 Supervisor Eric Mar noted that the public comment was markedly different than what he had heard from Bayview advocates in the past.

The San Francisco Chronicle's Heather Knight picked up on the story, and quoted several locals and public officials in her column "Voice of NIMBYs is heard citywide."

Here's a sampling of what was said:

"Sometimes humanity has to trump process." Trent Rhorer, Director of the Human Services Agency

"It shows a divide between residents that have been there for a long time versus people who've come in over the last few years and are part of the gentrification," he said. "They're not ready to see the suffering going on around them. They seem to be oblivious to it." D1 Supervisor Eric Mar 

"They're very concerned about adding yet more poverty and despair for children to see," she said. "The city has not anticipated the change in the kind of families that are moving here."  Alka Joshi, BRITE Communications Director and Bayview resident

"How can it be a NIMBY battle when we're talking about a community that has transitional housing, that has a shelter at Providence Church, that has the Salvation Army and Mother Brown's?" D10 Supervisor Malia Cohen 

Other media outlets have picked up on the story, too.

"I feel safer on this particular block than I do a few blocks away where they have liquor stores, instead of a homeless shelter.  And Mother Brown's is part of the community."  Sarah Weber, Bayview resident who lives across the street from Mother Brown's, as quoted on KALW radio on October 30th.

"Our agency collected 1,500 signatures supporting the first facility for the homeless in Bayview Hunters Point to be equipped with beds."  Gwendolyn Westbrook, United Council of Human Services in San Francisco Bay View Newspaper, October 30th.

The recent debate about homeless services in Bayview has been underway with residents for some time.  Amy Clark, who lives near Mother Brown's, sent a letter to Bevan Dufty that stated: "...if the city is committed to improving the neighborhood for EVERYONE, including the old and the new Bayview, it should be committed to supporting the new shelter beyond creating space, but including proper security and oversight."

Other residents, especially long-timers, are braced against a tide that seems to be eroding a cultural cornerstone. They are anxious about losing a place where vulnerable populations of people have found a foothold since the early days of European immigrants."  It's What Community Looks Like, March 6th 

Also see a roundup of homelessness resources in the neighborhood on It's What Community Looks Like.

Plan for homeless stirs debate

 

Photo courtesy UCHSMotherBrowns.org

There was little comment when, nearly a year ago, Bayview Footprints first reported that the City hoped to put 100 beds for homeless people in an industrial space that once housed an auto repossession business next door to Mother Brown's (2111 Jennings Street).

Now, as community-based advocates and City leaders pursue approval from the City Planning Commission for the plan, concerns are emerging.

The debate falls along increasingly familiar lines in this rapidly changing neighborhood. Progressive social justice advocates, once more confident of grassroots support when it came to helping groups of people in need, now face steepening opposition from investors, longtime residents who once stayed quiet, and newer residents who hold a different vision for the neighborhood.

For some neighborhood residents, especially new arrivals, it is mystifying that leaders ever prioritized the needs of people who seem to diminish the quality of life for everyone else.

Other residents, especially long-timers, are braced against a tide that seems to be eroding a cultural cornerstone. They are anxious about losing a place where vulnerable populations of people have found a foothold since the early days of European immigrants.

The plan to add 100 beds in a two-level, newly-leased building is stimulating debate even though homeless folks have been "sleeping" next door (upright in chairs) for years.

Neighborhood service providers continue to do what they can for what is a growing and aging population of homeless people. If you know someone who needs help, consider the resources Footprints has rounded-up from various sources.

Proposal to add beds to Bayview homeless shelter

The City has secured $1 million in State funding to expand and improve its shelter system, and wants to lease industrial space next door to Mother Brown/United Council Homeless Resource Center at 2111 Jennings Street, according to an announcement from Bevan Dufty at the Mayor's Office.

 

The "Bayview Shelter" would require approval by the City Planning Commission, according to the announcement, and a shelter operator would be chosen through a competitive process planned for later this year.

 

Meetings have been planned for the community to share its thoughts about the proposed shelter.

Wednesday, February 27th 6pm - Southeast Community Facility (1800 Oakdale @ Phelps)

Tuesday, March 5th, 6pm - Bayview Police Station (201 Williams Avenue @ Newhall)

For more information, contact Bevan Dufty's office at 415.554.6164.

From the announcement:

The United Council of Human Services (UCHS) began as a meals program in the Bayview about 18 years ago. Since that time the range of services have expanded to include those of a homeless resource center offering showers, two meals each day, laundry facilities, as well as lockers and an overnight drop-in center where approximately 50 people can stay in chairs from 7PM through 7AM. UCHS provides outreach services to the homeless in the Bayview, case management linked to education, benefits eligibility, employment referral and housing referral. Recently, UCHS added transitional housing services specifically for veterans who are eligible under the Grants Per Diem program.

The new shelter in the Bayview will be a new two-level, 100-bed facility adjacent to 2111 Jennings divided into sections for homeless men and women. These sleeping units will replace the need to have people stay in chairs overnight. In addition, shelter residents will have access to showers, lockers, and two meals each day at Mother Brown's. The ability of beds instead of chairs will ease the nights for the homeless population which, recent UCHS reports indicate, include a growing percentage of the elderly. Shelter clients will also have access to case management services currently available at UCHS and also those provided by the START team of behavioral health case managers available to all shelter clients through the Department of Public Health.

Jennings homeless shelter planned

A $978,000 grant awarded to the SF Human Services Agency will be used to convert 2115 Jennings Street, formerly an auto repossession business, into a shelter that could offer overnight shelter to 100 people a night next year. 

In a rapidly changing neighborhood, some see services for "vulnerable populations" as critical to maintaining diversity and Bayview Hunters Point's reputation for social advocacy.  Others see services for "problem populations" as putting speed bumps in the road toward a higher quality of life for residents.

"Mother Brown's," as the nonprofit organization is often referred to by its clients, already operates a drop-in center where homeless people may book reservations in city-funded shelters.

The new development is one of 32 projects statewide creating emergency housing units, according to a statement from the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

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