Highlights of events over the years
reflect the profound commitment of
Religious
Witness with Homeless People to poor people.
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Faithful to our commitment to stand with our sisters and brothers who have no homes
In 1993 San Francisco adopted a so-called “tough love” police approach as the principle policy of dealing with the ever-growing social shame of homelessness in our City. This “tough love” took various forms, the most egregious of which was the notorious “Matrix” policy, a vicious criminalization of tens of thousands of homeless individuals through a concentrated, methodical enforcement of so-called “Quality of Life” Municipal Codes.
It was in response to this cruelty that Religious Witness with Homeless People came into existence. Joining with our sisters and brothers who have no homes, we immediately launched a long series of protests against the city’s inhumane treatment of poor people. Our protests took the form of dramatic public prayer services, rallies, public fasts, sleep-outs, candlelight vigils and nonviolent civil disobedience. By all these means, as well as through meetings, postcard campaigns and testifying at hearings, we organized the lobbying of elected officials to abandon these cruel policies in favor of truly just and compassionate policies on homelessness.
The faith community speaks out against the criminalization of homeless
people through the cruel Matrix policy.
Religious leaders gather on Van Ness Avenue to protect poor people’s
right to beg for alms.
Members of Religious Witness engage in public fasts and hunger strikes as
a prayer for justice.
727 individuals, including 224 homeless people, participated in one 21-day
fast.
Over 400 demonstrators protest Prop M, which escalated the heartless
Matrix policy.
Faithful to our commitment to
promote basic solutions to homelessness,
especially housing with
supportive
services
Concomitant with Religious Witness’ actions to influence just and compassionate treatment of homeless people, we conduct on-going campaigns to promote basic solutions to homelessness, particularly in the area of decent and truly affordable housing for our sisters and brothers who are denied this sacred right.
Through creative and dramatic rallies, we underscore the desperate need for
housing for poor people.
In addition to our many rallies aimed at influencing the City’s provision of adequate housing for the poorest members of our community, we waged a three-year Presidio Housing Campaign to prevent the federal government from demolishing 466 wonderful townhouses known as the Presidio Wherry Housing Complex. Our goal was to preserve this housing, a fair share of which would be used by poor and homeless members of San Francisco. We succeeded in preventing the demolition of those houses, but the power of the wealthy and of those in office have thus far prevented residency for poor and homeless families.
Over 500 participate in the “A Prayerful Pilgrimage through the Presidio”.
On this day 80 of us were arrested for nonviolent civil disobedience.
In a three-week period, Religious Witness members gathered 9,000
signed postcards to lobby for the support of
Assemblywoman Pelosi and Senators Boxer and Feinstein for our Presidio Housing
Campaign.