SF CARES knows too well how assumed nonprofits have turned a major profit from San Francisco's 10,000 homeless. These nonprofits have adopted the start up status system i.e. they create a model to combat an area of homeless, run the gauntlet on fund raising like a tech company with a series of financial rounds (via their rich pal network) and then sabotage their monthly burn rate (like a tech start up), raise more funds based on the founders alleged past 'experience,' achieve not a dent in the poverty system, raise even more funds...and the pattern repeats again. The homeless are the least of these nonprofits focus. The homeless are still in the ditch, with numbers doubling in the past five years alone, and the homeless aren't even given a glimpse into receiving the benefits of these mass nonprofits, who state they advocate for the poverty yet earn great, cushioned salaries, have all you can eat mini-food courts and spend serious thousands of fund raised cash in adorning their office with stunning furniture. Because first impressions count, right?
There are around 75 billionaires living in San Francisco. Only a couple have been acknowledged in the news for contributing towards the Covid-19 outcry to help the city. At the last report, this amounted to around $2,000,000, which is an embarrassingly low number compared to the number of 10 figure earners. The wealthy barricaded themselves in their plush homes, ordered food in (using food delivery services that eat away 70% of the restaurant's earnings) and have not been heard of for over two months since shelter-in-place became a thing. Philanthropy, to them, only comes when there's free champagne and a photo-op. Shelter in place has squished the latter, causing the volcanic silence.
As a cause and effect of Covid-19, deep pocket nonprofits have also suspiciously abandoned ship. The ones that made a killing off a swell living from their motto 'the more homeless, the more investment we'll receive' have miraculously vanished.
UC Hastings, their office positioned at 200 McAllister Street right at the Tenderloin heel, filed a lawsuit this week against the city. You can read it here. The cliff notes: The City, you had two months to place 10,000 homeless in 40,000 empty hotel rooms and you failed on epic proportions that will go down in San Francisco history. Note, 20% of the city's virus sufferers live on the street. Residents fear for their lives, the streets are filled with human defecation, there are more needles than cars etc. This public humiliation seals the deal - San Francisco's mass of nonprofits, to help the poverty, pre Covid-19 fled.
SF CARES has always been poor. We live among our neighbors who live on the streets. We survive from scraps by our partners. We need to be among our people in the gutter because you should always help and lead by example. Any nonprofit that doesn't survive at least month to month isn't genuine. How can a nonprofit understand how the homeless live if the former don't think twice about spending $20 on a quick Monday martini? How can a rich nonprofit support the ones that their business model is designed around, if they're hunkering down, safely.
The rich will always stick together which is why the rest of us are glued to the poor - and we're proud of it.
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