Tents in San Francisco’s Duboce Triangle neighborhood; photo by Mark Sawchuk, used with permission.
What about the homeless? The crisis of homelessness is nothing new in the Bay Area and throughout the U.S., and has paralleled the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with many people with HIV/AIDS also experiencing homelessness. An intergenerational panel of housing advocates, policymakers and historians will discuss how society responded to homelessness in the context of the AIDS epidemic, and how these experiences might inform the response to the COVID-19 homeless crisis today.
Our “Fighting Back” series is an intergenerational discussion that brings together community leaders, experts, historians and activists to explore lessons from the past that might be useful in formulating “resistance” efforts today.
SPEAKERS
Brett Andrews serves as the Chief Executive Officer of San Francisco-based PRC, a nonprofit whose mission is to help people affected by HIV/AIDS, substance use and mental health issues realize their best selves by providing the support and services needed to reclaim their lives. He also is a member of the San Francisco HIV/AIDS Provider Network, the San Francisco Human Services Network, the Mayor’s CBO Taskforce, the Mayor’s Methamphetamine Taskforce, Our City Our Home Oversight Committee, and the San Francisco Economic Recovery Taskforce. He serves on the boards of the National Working Positive Coalition and the California Association of Alcohol and Drug Program Executives.
Terry Beswick (moderator) has served as executive director of the GLBT Historical Society since 2016. At the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in San Francisco, he was a founding member of the local ACT UP and was the first national coordinator of ACT NOW, the national AIDS activist network. He advocated for HIV/AIDS research and treatment with Project Inform, the Human Rights Campaign and the White House Office of HIV/AIDS Policy. After the advent of effective treatments for HIV, Beswick worked as a journalist for the Bay Area Reporter and other LGBTQ community publications. More recently, he spearheaded a successful campaign to save and renovate the Castro Country Club for the queer recovery community and co-founded the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District. He holds an MFA in playwriting from San Francisco State University. Beswick has been named a Community Grand Marshal for the 50th Anniversary San Francisco LGBTQ Pride Parade and Celebration in 2020.
Jennifer Friedenbach is the executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco. She has worked for the Coalition for 25 years, and previously was director of the Hunger and Homeless Action Coalition of San Mateo County. Ms. Friedenbach has a long history of community organizing, and has worked on a range of poverty-related issues. During her tenure, she has achieved significant victories alongside homeless people including successfully fighting for the creation of thousands of exits off the streets and halting of displacement of more thousands more.
Margot Kushel, M.D. is a professor of medicine at University of California San Francisco, and director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations and the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. She is a practicing general internist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.
Nick Large is a queer, mixed-race Japanese American activist, policy analyst and drag queen in the Asian and Pacific Islander drag troupe, the Rice Rockettes. As a policy analyst, Nick supports communities in their efforts to end homelessness through technical assistance, trainings, and designing tools and materials that aid communities in effectively utilizing funding and employing best practices. Nick's current project involves working with communities to examine disparities in homeless systems of care to further racial equity.
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman represents District 8 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Prior to his election, Supervisor Mandelman served as a Deputy City Attorney for the City of Oakland and as an elected trustee on the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees. As a Deputy City Attorney, Supervisor Mandelman practiced primarily in the areas of real estate, economic development and affordable housing.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
This event will take place online. After you register, you will receive a confirmation email with a link and instructions on how to join the Zoom webinar as an attendee. The event will also be livestreamed, and then archived, on our YouTube page at https://bit.ly/2UyGVbG.
ADMISSION
Free | Suggested donation of $5.00
Register online here: https://bit.ly/2KpkcJ8
The event is limited to 500 attendees.
JOIN THE GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Become a member of the GLBT Historical Society for free museum and program admission, discounts in the museum shop and other perks: www.glbthistory.org/memberships