SF Housing Activists Take Over Mayor's Office as Care Not Cash Implemented

11 housing activists were arrested today after linking arms in Mayor Gavin Newsom's office in protest against the implementation of Care Not Cash, which slashes general assistance payments to the city's poor. The activists were charged with failure to disperse and trespassing, and are expected to be cited and released this evening, according to the Sheriff's Dept.

Care Not Cash will supposedly replace cash benefits with housing and other services; however the city, which is in the midst of a massive budget crisis, is not mandated to provide services to homeless or other poor residents. The Coalition on Homelessness held a rally at City Hall today to protest the decimation of welfare assistance, overcrowded shelters, and criminalization of homelessness as Gavin and SFPD declare open season on "anyone who even looks homeless," at tremendous cost to the city.

Housing activists are demanding an end to the lock-ups, restoration of cash aid, and real housing for those who need it. The mayor's office has not returned phone calls requesting comment on the activists' demands.

Until last week's court ruling, an alternate version of Care Not Cash sponsored by Supervisor Chris Daly and signed into law last summer was to start being phased in this week; Real Housing, Real Care would cut monthly cash benefits, but only once housing more permanent than a shelter bed became available.