Join us on Thursday, June 13, beginning at 7:00 pm, downstairs at the Park Branch Library, 1833 Page Street in a discussion with our guests, Bevan Dufty of the Mayor's office of HOPE (Housing Opportunity, Partnership and Engagement) and Jeff Adachi, San Francisco's Public Defender, as we address the real problems of homelessness and real solutions.

What is the proper response to the problem of homelessness?  Do we treat homeless people themselves as the problem or do we tackle the economic, social, and health related issues that actually cause the extreme poverty that leads to homelessness?  While we can all agree that homelessness in San Francisco is a problem, we often falter in developing real solutions to this problem. 

Solutions that aim to end poverty rather than push homeless people out of view require investment (both financial investment as well as community buy-in), time, and a real understanding of the needs of homeless people in order to be successful.  “Solutions” that don’t actually address the poverty, housing, and health issues that lead to homelessness (like getting rid of neighborhood recycling centers, banning sitting, or chasing people out of the park and on to the sidewalks and then off of the sidewalks and back in to the park) don’t end up working because they don’t address the issues that cause homelessness. 

Garden for the Environment will offer the following workshops in June, 2013. All classes will be offered at Garden for the Environment, San Francisco’s organic demonstration garden at 7th and Lawton Street. Since its founding in 1990, the garden has operated as a demonstration site for small-scale urban ecological food production, organic gardening, compost education and low water-use landscaping.  For more information, call (415) 731-5627, or go to www.gardenfortheenvironment.org.

LEMON TREE CARE

Date: Saturday, June 8, 2013
Time: 10AM - 12PM
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Instructor: Booka Alon, Just One Tree
Cost: $25 or $15 for GFE Members

Lemon trees grow very well in our windy, coastal climate. Some folks who love their backyard Meyer lemons report they have yields of 200 pounds of fruit! These crops can be enjoyed year-round, and even be traded with neighbors for other harvests, such as honey and tomatoes. For those who have challenges growing citrus, a new basic class in Lemon Tree Growing might be just the tips you need to begin producing juicy lemons in your yard or in a community garden.

HANC’s May general meeting featured three separate presentations—a discussion of Recology’s proposed new rate structure, a discussion of a planned independent living center at 1500 Page Street, and a question and answer session with Park Station Captain Corrales.

Recology

Paul Giusti from Recology presented the proposed new rate structure. With rising costs for labor and fuel (biodiesel), and San Franciscans doing more composting and recycling, Recology will be asking for a change to the current rates. The current rate structure charges customers only for their black bins (landfill). The proposed new rate structure will, for the first time, charge customers a small fee for the green (compost) and blue (recycling) bins. These charges can be offset by using a smaller black bin. So, instead of the current $27.31 flat rate, the proposed new rates would be $5 per month, plus $2 per month for every green or blue bin, plus $25.51 per month for every 32-gallon black bin, for a monthly total of $34.51. But this total can be reduced to $26.94 per month, slightly less than the current rate, by downsizing the black bin from 32 to 20 gallons. Watch for hearings before the SFPUC and the Board of Supervisors on the proposed rate change. During the meeting, there were also questions about and a discussion of what exactly can be put into the recycling and compost bins. 

By Colleen Rivecca, HANC Board Member

On April 10, 2013, SFPD Chief Greg Suhr announced that he was dropping his proposal to arm certain SFPD officers with Tasers. The SFPD has tried, under four previous police chiefs, to arm part or all of the department with Tasers. The Taser issue was revived by Chief Suhr in the summer of 2012, after police fatally shot a mentally ill chocolate factory worker who was armed with a box cutter. Chief Suhr’s proposal was to arm Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trained police officers, officers who are specially trained to de-escalate situations involving people with mental illness, with Tasers.

The SFPD held a series of community forums in early 2013, where community members shared their concerns about arming SFPD with Tasers. Community members opposed to Tasers explained that Tasers, while seen by the police as “less than lethal” weapons, have actually been shown to be dangerous weapons and that their use can lead to fatalities, especially when used on vulnerable people, including people with mental illness. Community forum participants also brought up an independent study from researchers at UCSF, which shows that, in the first year after Tasers were introduced in cities across California, sudden deaths in custody increased by 500%.

By Karen Fishkin, HANC Board Member

One day it was there, and the next gone. The papered windows were a shock. After all, this restaurant had been on Haight Street for more than a quarter of a century. I used to take my now 40’s something children there for a “Cheap Thrill” when they were young and we were broke. It was the restaurant that HANC chose in January for our “Thank You” dinner for the Kezar Gardens employees, after the Recycling Center was evicted and closed. And many memories in between.

Word on the street is that the owner has closed to change directions, but not to remove a restaurant. I was told he will be renovating and then re-opening the space as a sit down Chinese eatery. Hopefully an establishment that will have the same staying power as the old favorite it will be replacing.

HANC’s April meeting featured a lively discussion regarding the Rec & Park Department’s plan for the old 780 Frederick site of our recycling center, community garden and native plant nursery and of the bike rental business at the entrance to Golden Gate Park.

Denis Mosgofian, from the Parks, Recreation Open Space Advisory Committee (PROSAC), started things off with a discussion of recent documents revealed through Sunshine requests, as reported in the April VOICE. This was followed by a presentation from a representative of the Rec & Park Department, Dawn Kamalanathan (Director of Capital and Planning Division).