Seniors, disabled pledge support to initiative to stop evictions in SF
SAN FRANCISCO—Seniors and people with disabilities will converge on San Francisco City Hall, Thursday, September 18 at 12 noon to pledge to fight for the passage of PROP G—the anti-real estate speculation measure—as part of a “Senior and Disability Flyer”campaign.
Demonstrators will join the ranks of people “who are fed up with rampant evictions and displacement fueled by out of control real estate speculation,” organizers said.
Seniors and people with disabilities have been hit hard by the city’s eviction crisis that has seen Ellis Act Evictions increase by 170 percent over the last three years. Many of those affected live in rent controlled units that provide housing stability and a sense of community, allowing them to age in place and live with dignity.
Protest organizers claim the eviction of seniors is elder abuse and has led to the deteriorating health of many senior citizens. They cite the eviction of 98-year-old Mary Philips by Urban Green Investments to show that no limits have been placed on evictions.
Senior and Disability Action, the San Francisco Tenants Union, Bill Sorro Housing Program and other organizations are calling on Seniors and people with Disabilities to take the pledge and become “Senior and Disability Flyers” or people who are working to pass proposition G.
The “Flyers” will take a pledge to spread their wings across the city and spread the word about PROP G in their personal community spaces called “Outposts.” Outposts include meal program locations, senior centers, friend’s homes, coffee shops—any place where seniors and people with disabilities gather.
Prop G came out of the citywide tenant conventions of 2013 with a community consensus that a measure to curtail real estate speculation needed to be introduced. Supervisor Eric Mar authored the measure that is on the November ballot. Prop G is endorsed by the SF Democratic Party, SF Tenants Union, Senator Mark Leno, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano and many other organizations.
