The Payment Protection Program (PPP) was designed to help small businesses stay alive, pay their staff and to keep a roof over their heads. Instead, major wealthy companies cashed in on the PPP applications, hoarding a huge amount of the allocated funds for their self benefit i.e. similar to a new type of revenue stream model. The Treasury has asked them to 'good faith' return the funds so the money can be reallocated to the ones that need it. In short, the Treasury has said 'return the money by 7th May or receive a horrifying backlash from us.' Bravo.
Business Insider, MarketWatch and a number of other media outlets have started to list which greedy companies stole from the poor to keep themselves rich. Some of those corporations have not responded to journalist requests and others, by publicly being named and shamed, returned the funds. The list continues such as Harvard University, Cornell, Columbia and every Ivy League who have claimed they'd be banking their CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, a separate fund from the PPP, because the millions or billions in their corporate account just isn't enough. Their entitled approach confirms they expect this cash and will keep it. Shame on them. From a public outcry, some of these 'missing a moral chip' universities have succumbed and returned their relief fund. Sadly, if they'd not been exposed in the media, they most likely would not have returned a dime since their focus lies solely on publicity and image, not ethics.
The Treasury department has cited, in their updated check list this final sentence:
Lenders may rely on a borrower’s certification regarding the necessity of the loan request. Any borrower that applied for a PPP loan prior to the issuance of this guidance and repays the loan in full by May 7, 2020 will be deemed by SBA to have made the required certification in good faith.
What's transpiring here is that the government is turning into a Robin Hood scenario and exposing the corrupt for who they truly are: monetary greed by taking away from the poor. As a long time advocate for the homeless, the needy and the poverty stricken, SF CARES persistently supports those who are never receiving good luck in life.
We're extremely pleased to see that the who's who of companies and educational institutes that stole from the poor to better themselves are starting to return funds. They're being named and shamed, while scrambling to produce press releases & social posts, confirming they will return the money so it can be distributed to the ones that need it. Nevertheless, all have exposed themselves that their moral compass never existed.
Well done to the Treasury team and journalists for exposing the corrupt. It's document multiple times in the Bible that the meek will inherit the Earth and the greedy will suffer greatly. Let those games begin...
SF CARES is an umbrella 501(c)3 non profit comprising multiple San Francisco religious orgs: Saint Paulus, Saint Francis, St. Mary & St Martha, SF Night Ministry. We advocate for the homeless (current or past) and run multiple long term events including the Friendship Banquet and Eye Vision Tests.
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Homeless in SF = 1%. 20% of Covid-19 in SF = Homeless
This opener was published in The Guardian last Wednesday:
"More than 90 residents and 10 staff members at San Francisco’s largest homeless shelter have tested positive for coronavirus, in a development that homeless advocates say was both predictable and preventable amid massive policy failures.
The outbreak at the MSC South shelter is believed to be the largest reported outbreak in a single shelter in the country. The spike caused a single 12% surge in positive cases in the city, illustrating the magnitude of the crisis in a region that so far has weathered the coronavirus storm well.
San Francisco reported 957 confirmed Covid-19 cases on Monday, a number that was “significantly higher” than the 797 reported on Friday, said Dr Grant Colfax, the director of the San Francisco department of public health, “in large part due to the large numbers of testing we did in the homeless community.”
There will be more, Colfax said."
“This [outbreak] was totally preventable and totally predictable,” said Chris Herring, a sociology doctoral candidate at UC Berkeley who works with the Coalition on Homelessness.
We're not ones to copy/paste since SF CARES prides on original content but the above was absolutely needed to drive home how our city has utterly failed us. 30,000 hotel rooms are vacant, we're in week six of shelter-in-place. The Board of Supervisors have battled with City Hall for weeks, even fundraising themselves to place the poverty in hotel rooms
And that's why today, 1% of San Franciscans are homeless yet 20% of confirmed Covid-19 cases are within the ones suffering on the streets.
SF CARES is an acronym of Compassion, Advocacy, Resilience and Education Services.
Our focus is solely on the needy, the ones living on sidewalks, the poor, the beggars, the ones without shoes, the ones living in tents (if they're lucky), the ones that never get a break in life. For over a decade we've advocated for the poverty it's incredibly upsetting to see how many more people are now living on the streets, in danger of contamination.
If you want to help, please give to the Board of Supervisors hotels4homeless GoFundMe
"More than 90 residents and 10 staff members at San Francisco’s largest homeless shelter have tested positive for coronavirus, in a development that homeless advocates say was both predictable and preventable amid massive policy failures.
The outbreak at the MSC South shelter is believed to be the largest reported outbreak in a single shelter in the country. The spike caused a single 12% surge in positive cases in the city, illustrating the magnitude of the crisis in a region that so far has weathered the coronavirus storm well.
San Francisco reported 957 confirmed Covid-19 cases on Monday, a number that was “significantly higher” than the 797 reported on Friday, said Dr Grant Colfax, the director of the San Francisco department of public health, “in large part due to the large numbers of testing we did in the homeless community.”
There will be more, Colfax said."
“This [outbreak] was totally preventable and totally predictable,” said Chris Herring, a sociology doctoral candidate at UC Berkeley who works with the Coalition on Homelessness.
We're not ones to copy/paste since SF CARES prides on original content but the above was absolutely needed to drive home how our city has utterly failed us. 30,000 hotel rooms are vacant, we're in week six of shelter-in-place. The Board of Supervisors have battled with City Hall for weeks, even fundraising themselves to place the poverty in hotel rooms
And that's why today, 1% of San Franciscans are homeless yet 20% of confirmed Covid-19 cases are within the ones suffering on the streets.
SF CARES is an acronym of Compassion, Advocacy, Resilience and Education Services.
Our focus is solely on the needy, the ones living on sidewalks, the poor, the beggars, the ones without shoes, the ones living in tents (if they're lucky), the ones that never get a break in life. For over a decade we've advocated for the poverty it's incredibly upsetting to see how many more people are now living on the streets, in danger of contamination.
If you want to help, please give to the Board of Supervisors hotels4homeless GoFundMe
Friday, April 17, 2020
San Francisco's Blind Eye To Homeless
With many a justified series of recent rants by San Francisco's Board of Supervisors (BoS) about the city's refusal to house the homeless in hotels, every advocate for the poverty were all hit with very hard news last week: 68 homeless at the MSC South Shelter were diagnosed with Covid-19.
A few days ago and a mere three days after this news broke late last week, the San Francisco Examiner boosted the correct number to 80+ homeless and 10 staff, now testing positive for Covid at MSC South Shelter. Two days later, the number hit over 100. The guests and staff have (optionally) been offered hotel rooms for their quarantine period. This is too late and it's a travesty.
Knee deep in week five of shelter-in-place, the BoS have been advocating for the poverty, demanding the approximately 30,000 empty hotel rooms be used for people living on the streets. The more the poverty are near each other, not keeping six feet apart, the greater chance our city has of sadly spiking the virus curve instead of flattening it. After a public outcry once it was decided the homeless would be crammed into Moscone Center and these people would further contaminate each other, the beds were moved further apart, whereby under half the number would receive shelter. From a bigger city-wide backlash, the city's Moscone plan went awol.
Having hundreds of people cooped up in a massive room is not how the virus slows down. Homeless being suffocated by each other, with all their belongings possibly causing a fire hazard, is not how the virus stops. Placing each person in an isolated hotel room, the comfort of a decent bed and hot running water is how the virus comes to a crashing halt. The latter also comes with having dignity and respect for the ones that suffer on our streets.
With the Moscone announcement, a collective outcry came from the BoS and public. By abandoning the poverty, the city has completely failed since poverty is the #1 problem (by far) in San Francisco
If you have $5 to spare, please donate it to the BoS's incredible GoFundMe where the cash is directly paid to house the homeless in hotels. Every penny counts.
A few days ago and a mere three days after this news broke late last week, the San Francisco Examiner boosted the correct number to 80+ homeless and 10 staff, now testing positive for Covid at MSC South Shelter. Two days later, the number hit over 100. The guests and staff have (optionally) been offered hotel rooms for their quarantine period. This is too late and it's a travesty.
Knee deep in week five of shelter-in-place, the BoS have been advocating for the poverty, demanding the approximately 30,000 empty hotel rooms be used for people living on the streets. The more the poverty are near each other, not keeping six feet apart, the greater chance our city has of sadly spiking the virus curve instead of flattening it. After a public outcry once it was decided the homeless would be crammed into Moscone Center and these people would further contaminate each other, the beds were moved further apart, whereby under half the number would receive shelter. From a bigger city-wide backlash, the city's Moscone plan went awol.
Having hundreds of people cooped up in a massive room is not how the virus slows down. Homeless being suffocated by each other, with all their belongings possibly causing a fire hazard, is not how the virus stops. Placing each person in an isolated hotel room, the comfort of a decent bed and hot running water is how the virus comes to a crashing halt. The latter also comes with having dignity and respect for the ones that suffer on our streets.
With the Moscone announcement, a collective outcry came from the BoS and public. By abandoning the poverty, the city has completely failed since poverty is the #1 problem (by far) in San Francisco
If you have $5 to spare, please donate it to the BoS's incredible GoFundMe where the cash is directly paid to house the homeless in hotels. Every penny counts.
Monday, April 13, 2020
Social Distancing Is Not A Priority To Most
We're seeing thousands of San Franciscans who are refusing to social distance. Joggers are weaving in and out of pedestrians, brushing past us. Cyclists are also running the gauntlet by riding on the sidewalk, barely a foot away from walkers. Shoppers in stores are banging into each other to get in a jammed line, waiting for food or to pay.
Why is this happening? Why are people not respecting this new 6 feet law? Why are they directly encouraging contamination? Why do they have no consideration for first responders, who are working around the clock and putting their lives on the line to save Covid-19 sufferers?
Someone mentioned that people aren't used to not having human interaction. But we're living in a world where 'not used to' is now the norm so everyone must adapt. It's only six feet. People must be conscious about this...all...the...time.
Others mentioned it's possible that these thousands of disrespectful people don't take the virus seriously, since they are healthy and have no Covid-19 symptoms. But if/when they or their loved ones are struck by the virus, they will then receive a huge wake up call.
Common sense, logic, respect and abiding by the law is the only way to live today.
The homeless are the ones suffering. They are on the streets, begging for food since pantries are running at skeletal levels. They're the ones that are stuck on a corner, trying to keep away from others while these passer-bys are not walking a few feet around them. Because once Covid-19 reaches a chunk of the homeless, this virus will spread like wild fire and everyone will be hit at a rate of knots.
Six feet. That's all you have to do. Maintain six feet from everyone that's not in your household. Because the ones that don't adhere to this new law will reap everything they deserve. God is watching us all with a close eye - the good, the bad and the criminal. Do good, be good, follow good and always keep six feet from everyone until we're in the all clear. Remember, He is watching.
Why is this happening? Why are people not respecting this new 6 feet law? Why are they directly encouraging contamination? Why do they have no consideration for first responders, who are working around the clock and putting their lives on the line to save Covid-19 sufferers?
Someone mentioned that people aren't used to not having human interaction. But we're living in a world where 'not used to' is now the norm so everyone must adapt. It's only six feet. People must be conscious about this...all...the...time.
Others mentioned it's possible that these thousands of disrespectful people don't take the virus seriously, since they are healthy and have no Covid-19 symptoms. But if/when they or their loved ones are struck by the virus, they will then receive a huge wake up call.
Common sense, logic, respect and abiding by the law is the only way to live today.
The homeless are the ones suffering. They are on the streets, begging for food since pantries are running at skeletal levels. They're the ones that are stuck on a corner, trying to keep away from others while these passer-bys are not walking a few feet around them. Because once Covid-19 reaches a chunk of the homeless, this virus will spread like wild fire and everyone will be hit at a rate of knots.
Six feet. That's all you have to do. Maintain six feet from everyone that's not in your household. Because the ones that don't adhere to this new law will reap everything they deserve. God is watching us all with a close eye - the good, the bad and the criminal. Do good, be good, follow good and always keep six feet from everyone until we're in the all clear. Remember, He is watching.
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Homeless Being Evicted...From Tents
"Despite assurances from officials that the practice would stop, city
workers continue to confiscate homeless people’s tents and remove
encampments as the coronavirus spreads across a shuttered San Francisco,
according to residents, a city employee and 311 call records."
This is the opening paragraph from the San Francisco Public Press. Atrocious, yes?
Imagine that you are in your home, you can barely keep a roof over your head, you have the basics of shelter and then boom....the big weight bullies come in and evicts you. This is exactly what city workers have done. Mayor London Breed has washed her hands from helping the homeless, as did her predecessor Edwin Lee when he gave wealthy tech companies extortionate tax breaks. The idea was that these tech companies would relocate from Silicon Valley to the Tenderloin district, to help boost the economy. The tech companies, nevertheless, sat in their ivory towers, employed overpaid and under-worked staff that caused greedy landlords to illegally evict 50% of the current residents, so they could rent at double the price to the new influx of hoodie/backpackers.
As a result, the homeless numbers rocketed back in 2012 when the tax break incentive was launched. During the past few years, the new developments of condos (to accommodate the hoodies) hit such a high in construction, San Francisco was officially named the most rapidly developed city on the planet. You couldn't see the skyline for cranes, scaffolding and building work. Developers tried to rip down the Palace of Fine Arts...to make condos. They tried this attempt with the flower market, one of the biggest in the U.S.A....to make condos. The Mission district's kooky and diverse, ethnic and culturally gorgeous area was demolished and replaced by hipster cafes, bars, barbers and obscenely priced produce that no normal person on a normal wage could ever afford to pay.
As more tech companies entered the city in droves, the poverty levels rose rapidly and where we're now at today is an epidemic.
So when Covid-19 reared its ugly head the past few weeks, pushing everyone towards shelter-in-place, the mass of homeless that really needed a break in life, saw that window of opportunity close once again.
Instead of the city using the 30,000 vacant hotels (due to tourism depleting within days) to house the homeless and keep them safe from spreading Covid-19, City Hall decided to ambush these poor people and take away their last shred of dignity and ownership: the roof over their head.
Supervisor Dean Preston, upon being continuously ignored about his hotels-for-homeless program, decided to take matters into his own hands. Launching a GoFundMe page, his team have raised over $70,000 with all the cash being spent on hotel rooms...for the homeless.
The only way we fight for the little people, the meek, the innocent, the down trodden, the ones that will inherit the planet in the future, is by supporting this GoFundMe. The city supervisors are now battling to house the homeless in hotels.
Everyone is seriously tight on cash but if you think about back to three weeks ago (yes, just three weeks), when bars were full, restaurants were jammed and cinemas had no empty seats, consider how much you spent on a weekend of entertainment. Now divide that into thirds: one third to save, one third to spend on necessities/essentials and please give that final third to Dean's GoFundMe.
SF CARES has forever advocated for the poverty stricken. We MUST help these people, today.
This is the opening paragraph from the San Francisco Public Press. Atrocious, yes?
Imagine that you are in your home, you can barely keep a roof over your head, you have the basics of shelter and then boom....the big weight bullies come in and evicts you. This is exactly what city workers have done. Mayor London Breed has washed her hands from helping the homeless, as did her predecessor Edwin Lee when he gave wealthy tech companies extortionate tax breaks. The idea was that these tech companies would relocate from Silicon Valley to the Tenderloin district, to help boost the economy. The tech companies, nevertheless, sat in their ivory towers, employed overpaid and under-worked staff that caused greedy landlords to illegally evict 50% of the current residents, so they could rent at double the price to the new influx of hoodie/backpackers.
As a result, the homeless numbers rocketed back in 2012 when the tax break incentive was launched. During the past few years, the new developments of condos (to accommodate the hoodies) hit such a high in construction, San Francisco was officially named the most rapidly developed city on the planet. You couldn't see the skyline for cranes, scaffolding and building work. Developers tried to rip down the Palace of Fine Arts...to make condos. They tried this attempt with the flower market, one of the biggest in the U.S.A....to make condos. The Mission district's kooky and diverse, ethnic and culturally gorgeous area was demolished and replaced by hipster cafes, bars, barbers and obscenely priced produce that no normal person on a normal wage could ever afford to pay.
As more tech companies entered the city in droves, the poverty levels rose rapidly and where we're now at today is an epidemic.
So when Covid-19 reared its ugly head the past few weeks, pushing everyone towards shelter-in-place, the mass of homeless that really needed a break in life, saw that window of opportunity close once again.
Instead of the city using the 30,000 vacant hotels (due to tourism depleting within days) to house the homeless and keep them safe from spreading Covid-19, City Hall decided to ambush these poor people and take away their last shred of dignity and ownership: the roof over their head.
Supervisor Dean Preston, upon being continuously ignored about his hotels-for-homeless program, decided to take matters into his own hands. Launching a GoFundMe page, his team have raised over $70,000 with all the cash being spent on hotel rooms...for the homeless.
The only way we fight for the little people, the meek, the innocent, the down trodden, the ones that will inherit the planet in the future, is by supporting this GoFundMe. The city supervisors are now battling to house the homeless in hotels.
Everyone is seriously tight on cash but if you think about back to three weeks ago (yes, just three weeks), when bars were full, restaurants were jammed and cinemas had no empty seats, consider how much you spent on a weekend of entertainment. Now divide that into thirds: one third to save, one third to spend on necessities/essentials and please give that final third to Dean's GoFundMe.
SF CARES has forever advocated for the poverty stricken. We MUST help these people, today.
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Second, Third & Fourth Responders In Abundance
We all know who the first responders for Covid-19 are. They're the incredible, relentless and utterly exhausted nurses, doctors, medical staff and emergency service teams. They wear at least six pairs of plastic gloves, face masks, multiple gowns and it takes them around five minutes to scrub up before coming into contact with a Covid-19 patient. We've all seen the videos of how drained these amazing people are, how they've all claimed to have never seen such a pandemic and absolutely see no end in sight for the curve to flatten.
But who are these second, third and fourth responders we're talking? Without giving particular order, since it'd be incredibly hard to based on immediate needs, these responders include:
Even though their roles come absolutely nowhere near towards the first responders front line role, these three categories of responders have proven their weight in gold during this pandemic.
Volunteers:
If a house bound (injury/invalid/elderly) person isn't receiving food from the volunteers, they'll die from malnutrition. If they don't receive their medication, they could die. If they don't hear a voice on the phone, their depression could lead to suicide.
Religious Leaders:
This is the time to pray, like we've never prayed before, to God. We don't know why we're having this pandemic, we don't know what God's master plan contains and the reason behind Covid-19. Only He does. How many social videos have you seen where religious leaders have stepped up their game? Facebook Live, Zoom prayer groups, WebEx prayer classes etc. It's in abundance. When we're in times of trouble, we pray and ask God for help. Without these religious leaders ensuring everyone's prayer-connected, it'd be an unthinkable gap in our lives.
Grocery Store Employees:
The answer to this is pretty obvious. Imagine if all the food stores closed down - nothing to eat, no toilet tissue, no hand sanitizer (not even dish washing liquid) - humans would be raiding stores, breaking down doors, smashing windows, barricading themselves into supermarkets, guns would be shooting, knifes would be cutting and the world would turn into horrific turmoil. In addition, these grocery store workers are coming into as much contact with humans as first responders. They're open targets for Covid-19, but it's their job, they need to earn a wage and are trying to still maintain a distance.
Please thank each and every one of them - whether they're a friend you can call, a relative you can @ tweet, a neighbor you can write a social post about. Thank them!
But who are these second, third and fourth responders we're talking? Without giving particular order, since it'd be incredibly hard to based on immediate needs, these responders include:
Volunteers
Priests, pastors, rabbis, clergy leaders
Grocery store employees
Even though their roles come absolutely nowhere near towards the first responders front line role, these three categories of responders have proven their weight in gold during this pandemic.
Volunteers:
If a house bound (injury/invalid/elderly) person isn't receiving food from the volunteers, they'll die from malnutrition. If they don't receive their medication, they could die. If they don't hear a voice on the phone, their depression could lead to suicide.
Religious Leaders:
This is the time to pray, like we've never prayed before, to God. We don't know why we're having this pandemic, we don't know what God's master plan contains and the reason behind Covid-19. Only He does. How many social videos have you seen where religious leaders have stepped up their game? Facebook Live, Zoom prayer groups, WebEx prayer classes etc. It's in abundance. When we're in times of trouble, we pray and ask God for help. Without these religious leaders ensuring everyone's prayer-connected, it'd be an unthinkable gap in our lives.
Grocery Store Employees:
The answer to this is pretty obvious. Imagine if all the food stores closed down - nothing to eat, no toilet tissue, no hand sanitizer (not even dish washing liquid) - humans would be raiding stores, breaking down doors, smashing windows, barricading themselves into supermarkets, guns would be shooting, knifes would be cutting and the world would turn into horrific turmoil. In addition, these grocery store workers are coming into as much contact with humans as first responders. They're open targets for Covid-19, but it's their job, they need to earn a wage and are trying to still maintain a distance.
Please thank each and every one of them - whether they're a friend you can call, a relative you can @ tweet, a neighbor you can write a social post about. Thank them!
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Are We All Doing Enough?
It's now been two weeks since the shelter-in-place launched and it's been a very odd 14 days. The contrasts of humans versus humanity is astonishing - from one spectrum to the other:
We're all in this together and we're doing our part by staying indoors, yet the 'non-novelty' of turning into couch potatoes is wearing thin. We want to do more but stay safe, but give back, but are scared of contamination. How do we do this without compromising our health and risking spreading the virus to others?
Obviously we can all donate to worthy funds such as the House Homeless in Hotels campaign*, packaging food & dropping it six feet from a homeless person and donating your time to call individuals who are depressed from isolation. *There are many organizations out there who are sub-recipients of COVID-19 so it's hard to determine if your cash donation will even get into the right hands, but the link above is not one of them - the $$$ goes directly into a hotel room.
But what more can we do?
If you're healthy, under 60 and raring to go, please volunteer your time to Shanti. From dog walking, to mail pick up, grocery shopping and essential deliveries, this is your and our time to step up and step out of our hideaway. If you're near a local food bank, contact them about chipping in your time a few hours a week. If you're a member of a religious organization (church, synagogue, mosque etc), ask if they need help for their congregants.
Step up, step out and start moving to help those that desperately need help. Because we can only be a couch potato for so long until our time and taps us on the shoulder to do more...
- Shopping hoarders crammed in line vs sensible, six feet apart shoppers
- Celebrities singing woes of self pity isolation in mansions vs exhausted, angelic first responders working 24/7
- Billionaire founders demanding government bail outs & staff unpaid leave vs billionaire corporations pivoting manufacturing to make masks/COVID-19 medical aid
- Eco activists perpetually yelling for government cash vs less human pollution that's naturally healing the planet
- Sitting at home vs volunteers at food banks working around the clock
- Well known personalities receiving immediate COVID-19 test kits vs Jane & Joe Doe on a long wait list for testing
- Vacant hotels galore (at least 30,000 in San Francisco) vs homeless sleeping six feet apart on the street
- Walkers needing fresh air and keeping social distancing vs entitled joggers/runners weaving in and out, brushing past us
We're all in this together and we're doing our part by staying indoors, yet the 'non-novelty' of turning into couch potatoes is wearing thin. We want to do more but stay safe, but give back, but are scared of contamination. How do we do this without compromising our health and risking spreading the virus to others?
Obviously we can all donate to worthy funds such as the House Homeless in Hotels campaign*, packaging food & dropping it six feet from a homeless person and donating your time to call individuals who are depressed from isolation. *There are many organizations out there who are sub-recipients of COVID-19 so it's hard to determine if your cash donation will even get into the right hands, but the link above is not one of them - the $$$ goes directly into a hotel room.
But what more can we do?
If you're healthy, under 60 and raring to go, please volunteer your time to Shanti. From dog walking, to mail pick up, grocery shopping and essential deliveries, this is your and our time to step up and step out of our hideaway. If you're near a local food bank, contact them about chipping in your time a few hours a week. If you're a member of a religious organization (church, synagogue, mosque etc), ask if they need help for their congregants.
Step up, step out and start moving to help those that desperately need help. Because we can only be a couch potato for so long until our time and taps us on the shoulder to do more...
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