At the first action against the condo development, Guillermina Castellanos, a mother who lives in the Mission, said: “This building they want to build, it won’t be for our families. It will be for another class of families that have money. We don’t have sufficient money to pay for these condominiums.”

“I really feel that if we move forward without full and adequate funding of our mental health system, this may be leading to a false hope of safety in our neighborhoods,” said Eric Mar. “And I worry that there’s a danger of further stigmatizing people with mental illness.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals sent a strong message across the nation that cities cannot attempt to make homelessness illegal by making it impossible for homeless people to survive by staying in their vehicles. Countless homeless people have been forced to use their vehicles as a shelter of last resort.

“In my mind, this is displacement,” said Nick Kamura. “It’s just not getting to the root of the problem, and the problem is people living in their vehicles, and they’re being criminalized for it.” The migration of vehicularly housed people after the ban’s initial phase signifies a failure in homeless policy.

“I’m just simply baffled by the idea that people can be without shelter in a country, and then be treated as criminals for being without shelter,” said Sir Nigel Rodley. The U.N. Human Rights Committee condemned the criminalization of homelessness in the U.S. as a violation of international human rights.

Homeless people may use the 311 telephone system to reserve a bed for up to 90 days, using a unique identifying number to determine their spot on a waitlist. This method aims to move homeless people away from lining up at resource centers before they open, sometimes by sleeping outside overnight.

The Farm Bill includes massive cuts to the food stamp program that will affect about 47 million people living in poverty. Food stamp recipients will receive 90 dollars less per month when the cuts take effect, and in California alone, some 700,000 people in poverty will see their benefits shrink.

Opponents of this jail expansion, including advocates for jail reform and Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), dispute the need for a new jail. They oppose the idea of spending millions on a new jail instead of on mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment and affordable housing.

Since the Golden Arches rose above the first Southern California drive-ins, workers have labored for the lowest legal wage a boss can pay. Jack in the Box in Oakland recently fired two immigrant women without warning. Did the corporate office decide that the time had come to give workers a good scare?

The Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club held a sleep-in at Dolores Park to protest the anti-homeless ordinance. “This is yet another attack on the homeless, on queer people, poor people and people of color, and our right to exist in public space in our society,” said Harvey Milk Club president Tom Temprano.