On this episode we are joined by Lukas Illa, Human Rights organizer with the Coalition on Homelessness and Armando Martinez, RV resident and End Poverty Tows activist.

As part of the RV ban, RV residents who were counted by the City in a May 2025 count may be exempt from the 2-hour enforcement for only 12 months unless they are offered a housing subsidy or shelter placement. But the plan only has 65 family housing subsidies allocated for an estimated 427 RV households.

The mayor’s RV ban comes at a time when immigrant communities are threatened by increased criminalization and deportations. End Poverty Tows fear the disproportionate impacts to immigrant communities and poor black and brown communities that have turned to RVs as their housing solution due to the lack of affordable housing in one of the world's richest cities.

Tune in to hear Lukas and Armando discuss vehicular homelessness, the common myths and misconceptions weaponized by the city officials to demonize the RV community and the future of organizing with and for the RV community in the aftermath of the RV ban. Thanks for tuning in!

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In this episode we host Laura Guzman- the Executive Director at the National Harm Reduction Coalition and Shakema Straker, human rights organizer and harm reduction advocate at the Coalition on Homelessness. Our guests discuss the basic tenets of harm reduction and the data and research that champions harm reduction as an evidence based practice. We explore the harmful misconceptions and stigma that surrounds the overdose crisis, drug use and substance use disorders and the harmful narratives and policies that we are seeing at a local, state and national level. Our guests end with discussing how we can continue to shape counter narratives and fight the stigma.

"Harm Reduction is Loving People Back to Health."

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Join us this episode with Lauren Hall to chat about DISH's commitment to providing high quality permanent housing to San Franciscans who suffer from serious health issues. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, theres is a nationwide shortage of affordable housing and permanent supportive housing. We explore the political attacks on the Housing First framework that stigmatizes drug use and users and call for the prioritization of treatment before housing. "It is hard to make positive change in your life if you don't have a home,"

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On Today's episode we will be speaking to the Lucia Obregon, the director at the San Francisco Latino Party and Equity Coalition (SFLPEC) a citywide coalition of more than 22 Latinx-led and Latinx serving community based agencies, she is also the appointed commissioner for the immigrant rights commission of San Francisco, a volunteer with the Building Community Collective and lastly an artist and of the lead singers of the band Inti Mystica. We will be discussing how SFLPEC'S member agencies center unhoused communities in their work, the rise in family homelessness within the immigrant community and the ways that SFLPEC and the immigrants rights commission address this.

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In this episode, we delve into the intersectionality of homelessness and the Black experience with two prominent leaders in the fight for social justice and housing equity: Shellena Eskridge, Executive Director of the Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP), and Joe Wilson, the Executive Director of Hospitality House.

Shellena, a San Francisco native who is a passionate advocate for families, is leading HPP into a new era of hope and transformation for the Bay Area’s most vulnerable families. Joe Wilson, who leads Hospitality House with over 40 years of experience in community based solutions. Together, they’ll discuss the challenges Black individuals face in the homelessness crisis, the historical context behind these disparities, and the innovative, community-driven solutions that can pave the way forward.

Join us as we explore how these leaders are working to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness, share their vision for a more equitable future, and offer insight into how the community can come together to provide lasting solutions.

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Today's episode features some incredible poets reading their pieces aloud. To read these poems and many others, check out our full 2023 poetry edition of the Street Sheet, available at streetsheet.org

Featured Poets:
Virginia Barrett
Dee Allen
Johanna Elattar
Detroit Richards
Aaone Enosa
Revolt
Martine Khumalo
Lisa Willis

Submit Your Writing!
Street Sheet is always accepting submissions of poetry, personal stories, and news articles for our bi-monthly newspaper, which supports the survival and well-being of over 100 hundred vendors. To submit your work or to pitch us an idea for a story, visit our website.

Support for Street Speak comes from our listeners! Please donate to us online at https://coalition.networkforgood.com

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On September 27th, the ACLU, Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights, and the Coalition on Homelessness—the organization that creates this podcast—filed a lawsuit against the City of San Francisco. They, and the seven homeless plaintiffs they represent, allege that the constant "sweeps" of homeless encampments carried out by numerous city agencies are unconstitutional.

We speak with Zal Shroff and Hadley Rood, lawyers with the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights (LCCR), as well as with plaintiff and homeless activist Toro Castaño, about what this lawsuit could mean for the thousands of unsheltered San Franciscans who call this city home.

To support the lawsuit, please report any encampment sweeps you see to the legal team using this form: https://forms.gle/fSUgkK1TEUVk7fLW6

Today's weather report is brought to you by Revolt, an activist, rapper, singer, illustrator, journalist and all-around troublemaker, who rouses the rabble with the arts that he dabbles in. This new track "She's Homeless" is inspired by and builds on an original song by Crystal Waters. You can find more like this at revoltrightnow.com

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This podcast is created by the same people who bring you the Street Sheet, San Francisco’s street newspaper. This year's April Fools Day issue hits the streets of San Francisco full of comics that were compiled and submitted by A.B.O. Comix, a collective of creators and activists who work to amplify the voices of LGBTQ prisoners through art.

On today’s episode, we speak with Casper Cendre, the director and a co-founder of A.B.O. Comix, a project dedicated to supporting queer and trans artists in prison and creating a world beyond our carceral system. A.B.O. Comix 5th comic anthology is available now on their website! This book features accomplished cartoonists and first time doodlers in an effort to amplify the voices of LGBTQ+ prisoners . Proceeds from this anthology go back to the contributors so that they can access commissary & gender affirming items, healthcare and legal support.

GET INVOLVED!
You can find ways to get involved on the A.B.O. Comix website! You can volunteer to be a penpal to one of the many incarcerated artists the collective works with, or buy some incredible merch to support their work, including comic anthologies, prints, T-shirts, and more. You can also offer up your skills to find out how to best support this project!
https://www.abocomix.com/

A.B.O. Comix also has a Patreon! When you donate to the Patreon you not only get some awesome perks, but you also know that your money is going directly into commissary accounts for incarcerated artists, as well as toward supporting the visionary work of the collective.
https://www.patreon.com/abocomix

You can also offer up your skills to find out how to best support this project! Send them an email at abocomix@gmail.com

WEATHER REPORT
Mia Pixley uses her cello, voice, and music performance to study and represent aspects of self and other, community, and the natural world. You heard “Good Taste” off her album Margaret in the Wild. You can see Mia Pixley perform live at Cesar Chavez Memorial Solar Calendar in Berkeley on April 16th at 6pm!

To find her music and learn about upcoming shows, visit miapixley.com

SUPPORT THE PODCAST
Support for Street Speak comes from our listeners! Please donate to us online at https://coalition.networkforgood.com

Support the show