HOMELESS HEROES

When Homeless Folks Stand To Defend Themselves They Are Heroes


The uppermost word these days all over the crowded streets of San Francisco-is an absolute No on prop N.

Proposition N-remains a key ballot initiative on the coming November 5 elections for city officials. The city's homeless advocates are concern for the gloom consequences for manipulative voter in believing the political lies behind implementing Prop N.

While it would reduce GA cash payment for San Francisco's already vulnerable working residents, the architects have yet to demonstrate that their homeless budget cuts will improve homeless lives. Portrayed as "Care Not Cash", this very controversial initiative is intended to decimate an under-funded low-income services for the poor and homeless residents of the city.

Not for profit organizations all see Prop N initiative as a political ploy to avoid facing San Francisco's lack of adequate solutions to the monumental issues--of affordable housing, decent drug and alcohol treatment programs on demand, and livable wage jobs for the growing homeless populations.

The homeless community are charging that the San Francisco Examiner stop comparing homeless advocates to Nazis Germans. "We need the lies to stop, so the real solutions can begin."

Chanting "Extra,Extra-read the lies" dozens of homeless GA recipients and resident protesters will be joining forces for street rally for a lively theater performances in front of the Examiner office on Thursday at 4 p.m. The crowd's dismay was kindled by several derogatory reports published in the embattled Examiner by columnist Frank Gallagar last August, involving a protest by homeless people which urging Kathleeen Harrington and the Golden Gate Restaurant Association to stop funding Proposition N and start supporting 'real solutions' to homelessness.

Frank Gallagher, in his column, referred to POWER members as "thugs and "brown shirts." POWER stands for People Organized to Win Employment Rights-a membership organization of no-wage and low-wage workers based in San Francisco.

POWER was sorely irked by Gallagher's name-calling in light of his sidestepping the real issues that would befall the thousands of low income homeless residents whose GA assistance would be slashed, escalating crime rates while leaving even many people homeless. The columnist is being considered notorious for abating the worsening homelessness in San Francisco by deflecting attention from the actual solutions to homelessness.

"When Gallagher uses terms like thugs and brown shirts, he is invoking the history of Nazi Germans. This gross caricature not only poisons the public debate, but undermines the history of Jewish people, gays, gypsies, disabled people-it makes light of the deaths of millions of people, " retorted POWER organizer Julie Brown.

Thursday, September 26, public action was the latest protest in an uproar of activism against one of the most troubling measures on November's ballot came to head on collision in front The Examiner on Market and Sixth street. Proposition N, also dubbed Care Not Cash, opponents of No on N defend, will diminish hourly General Assistance income for poor homeless residents-who are required to work for their pay-cleaning buses, cleaning streets, and doing the laundry at San Francisco General Hospital. They warn, if Prop N passes, GA recipients will be working for an average $ 1. 84 per hour.

"The care's not there. This is counterfeit Care," rebuffed Jason Negron, a POWER director, responding to the actual legislation where there is no guarantee of expanded services, despite so much strong talk used by rumored candidate for mayor-city supervisor Gavin Newsom, who authored Prop N.