About a dozen young people, many of whom are LGBT, recently told U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) their concerns about the lack of affordable housing in the city, along with other issues.
Pelosi met with the youth, who've received help from Larkin Street Youth Services, at the nonprofit's engagement and community center in the Tenderloin. The Bay Area's skyrocketing rents were a recurring theme at the Thursday, January 21 meeting.
Oscar Gallagos said that Larkin Street, which provides housing and other assistance, has "always provided phenomenal services." However, he said that he imagines five to 10 years ago, "it was much easier" to make the transition when young people became too old for the type of assistance Larkin Street offers.
"Now," Gallagos said, "once you age out, you're out of the Bay Area."
Dexter, who suggested capping rents and making more supportive services available, said, "I was born and raised in San Francisco, but I can't afford to live here ... and I'm so-called middle class." (Dexter's last name wasn't immediately available.)
Davia Spain, 21, who identifies as gender non-conforming, expressed concerns for homeless youth in the city's Castro neighborhood and for transgender women who aren't able to get jobs "above the table."
"The reality" of the city "does not match up with the expectations of what you're going to get here," Spain said.
Dafahlia Mosley, who identifies as a trans woman, is one of the many people who've come to San Francisco looking for help. Mosley, who's originally from Stockton, recalled being homeless and living in her car during at least one point in her life.
Referring to the types of services available in San Francisco, where agencies like Larkin Street help people with housing, job training, and other needs, she said, "We need to amplify it through the whole state, because I was really lost."
In an email exchange with the Bay Area Reporter after the meeting, Mosley said, "I feel if we had these services more accessible, there wouldn't be an active issue of youth flocking from their hometown/cities to major cities like San Francisco to find help or services. These services should be available and accessible because it is a birthright."
After listening to the youth Thursday, Pelosi said, "San Francisco is a very special place," and one of the city's values is its diversity. The economic disparity that's so strong in the city "is not what San Francisco is about," she said.
She expressed support for increasing the city's housing stock, which many say would ultimately make more affordable housing available, but she worried about the potential "sterilization," sharing a concern common among a lot of residents that San Francisco's neighborhoods are being gentrified.
Pelosi also said, "We want to hasten" the process of living on the street to moving into housing.
"You gave me the ability to go back and say I heard firsthand" what many youth in San Francisco are concerned about, she said.
In an email after the meeting, Evangeline George, a Pelosi spokeswoman, said, "Stories from the young people at Larkin Street will be incredibly helpful as Congresswoman Pelosi advocates for federal priorities that will assist homeless youth."
As Republicans in Congress "insist on slashing funding for the most vulnerable in our society, Congresswoman Pelosi will continue fighting for investments and resources that ensure affordable housing, education, public health, and job training," George said.
She said Pelosi "was a key negotiator" of the 2016 fiscal year omnibus appropriation funding bill, which included a $115 million increase to Homeless Assistance Grants, along with other help. Such resources are "critical to building affordable, supportive housing to assist the homeless to transition off the street," she said.
But in their email exchange with the B.A.R. , Spain, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, said they weren't impressed by the meeting with the longtime congressional leader.
"I was quite underwhelmed by Nancy Pelosi's response to what we had to say," Spain said. "Her answers seemed premeditated and safe. ... I was disappointed and felt that the whole thing was one big publicity stunt."
Asked to respond to the comment, George said, "The purpose of Congresswoman Pelosi's visit was to listen to the young people and hear their perspectives."