HANC’s June general meeting featured discussions with Jeff Adachi, San Francisco’s Public Defender, and Bevan Dufty, from the Mayor’s Office of HOPE (Housing Opportunity, Partnerships & Engagement). The discussion was moderated by HANC Board member Colleen Rivecca, who works with both the Homeless Youth Alliance and with St. Anthony’s, and has been actively advocating for more services in both the City and the State budgets. Mary Howe, Executive Director of the Homeless Youth Alliance, also participated in the discussions.
Jeff Adachi spoke about the services the Public Defender’s office provides to homeless individuals. The Public Defender’s office provides legal services to those charged with a crime who cannot afford a lawyer. This of course includes both people who have housing and those who don’t.
In January, the chronic inebriate program, also known as the chronic offender court, was determined to be unconstitutional. Under this system, anyone failing to appear on multiple citations issued by police could be charged with civil contempt of court and jailed for up to 150 days without a trial. The intent was to force homeless drinkers into jail-based treatment. Someone charged with a crime, such as disorderly conduct or drunk in public, has a right to jury trial. But under the chronic inebriate program, there was no right to a jury trial.
The court simply issued contempt charges. There was no requirement under this program that the person be intoxicated when arrested. There was no assessment done as to whether the person was a chronic inebriate, or was already in treatment. Of the nine people charged by the chronic offender court, three were sober and already undergoing treatment. The Court of Appeal found this system unconstitutional because the court can only punish someone for civil contempt for violating a court order—and the citations issued by the police were not court orders.
Homeless people are frequently given citations: Sit-Lie, camping, trespassing, sleeping in parks. For a homeless person, appearing in court in response to a citation, or being arrested could mean losing a chance at a shelter bed or a treatment program. A conviction could make someone ineligible for public housing or for treatment programs. The Public Defender’s office has a “Clean Slate Program,” which can help to get some convictions dismissed, have some arrest records sealed and destroyed, and can obtain certificates of rehabilitation for some who had been sentenced to prison and have served their terms.
Bevan Dufty was excited about the possibility of converting a building at 374 5th Street (near Harrison) into housing for transitional age youth. The building had been a hostel with 47 rooms until it was destroyed by fire in 2006. There were plans to convert the building to an SRO, but there was opposition from neighbors. The neighbors are not opposed to housing for homeless youth. Both Bevan and Mary Howe have toured the site, and believe it would be a good place for housing for transitional age youth. There would be on-site supportive services. Although it is outside of the Haight Ashbury neighborhood, homeless youth in our neighborhood have been enthusiastic about the possibility of living in that space. At the time of our meeting, there had been $400,000 allocated in the upcoming budget for the project. There were various budget meetings scheduled during June. During the most recent meeting, on June 27, an additional $300,000 was budgeted for the project, so it appears likely that it will proceed.