San Francisco, CA
New San Francisco nonprofit tackles homelessness with fresh new socks
By Itay Hod
SAN FRANCISCO — A newly established non-profit group in San Francisco is aiding town’s unhoused residents by offering a few of life’s primary requirements.
In terms of giving a serving to hand to the homeless, Healers With out Borders president and San Francisco native Brad Reiss likes to start out on the ft and work his means up.
“These socks are a very good solution to join with of us and begin to possibly break the chain of habit,” he stated.
For the previous eight months, Reiss and his group of volunteers at Healers With out Borders have been spending their days handing out every little thing from garments to hygiene kits to footwear. However their most treasured gadgets, those they can not do with out, are contemporary, fluffy, new pairs of socks.
“Socks are so vital to really feel such as you’re a part of the human race,” Reiss defined. “Your ft really feel more energizing, you are feeling more energizing.”
On a latest sunny day, Reiss and his group hit the Mission District, distributing greater than 300 pairs of socks to these in want.
“It is essentially the most sought-after factor that folks expertise homelessness so far as articles of clothes go,” Reiss stated.
He is aware of what it is wish to not have socks once you’re homeless. That is as a result of years in the past, he was of their footwear, hooked on medication and dwelling on the streets.
Now Reiss helps folks like Phillip Marquez. Initially from Kentucky, Marquez has been dwelling on the streets of San Francisco for 3 years. He informed KPIX the toughest half was getting used to the chilly.
“Even in the midst of summer time, I get chilly at nighttime,” Marquez stated. “Principally you discover a spot the place you do not transfer, and the heat builds from there.”
Which is why he seems to be ahead to Reiss and his visits.
“It is the best and finest feeling you may get to placed on a pair of recent socks,” he stated. “It modifications the way in which you are feeling the way in which you stroll by the way in which you speak to folks.”
As for Reiss, he is simply completely happy to have the ability to pay it ahead.
“We make a distinction not solely of their lives but additionally in our lives,” he defined. “A few of us come from this surroundings and we all know how vital it’s to have a connection the place there looks like there’s none.”
Folks fascinated about studying extra about Healers With out Borders and volunteering or making a donation to the nonprofit can go to the group’s web site.
What’s New
Hilton hotel workers in San Francisco voted on Christmas Eve to approve a new union contract after a 93-day strike, according to the Unite Here Local 2 union.
The union, which represents about 15,000 workers in the region, announced that the deal settles the last of the city’s 2024 hotel strikes, covering approximately 900 Hilton workers.
Newsweek has contacted Unite Here Local 2 and Hilton via email for comment.
Justin Sullivan/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Why It Matters
The new contracts after this year’s strikes establish significant improvements in wages, health care and workload protections for workers at Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott-operated hotels.
The agreements conclude months of labor unrest that involved thousands of workers and disrupted San Francisco’s hotel industry.
What To Know
Hilton workers voted 99.4 percent in favor of the agreement on Christmas Eve, which includes a $3 per hour immediate wage increase, additional raises, and protections against understaffing and increased workloads.
The four-year contract preserves affordable union health insurance and provides pension increases. The deal covers workers at Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Parc 55, with 650 workers having actively participated in the strike.
This agreement follows similar contracts reached with Hyatt workers on Friday and Marriott workers last Thursday, covering a total of 2,500 workers who had been on strike since late September.
What People Are Saying
Bill Fung, a housekeeping attendant at Hilton San Francisco Union Square for 29 years, said: “These 93 days have not been easy, and I’m so proud that my coworkers and I never gave up. We stood together through the rain and cold, and even though there were some hard days, it was all worth it. We will go back to work with our health care, good raises, and the confidence of knowing that when we fight, we win.”
Lizzy Tapia, President of Unite Here Local 2, said: “Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott workers refused to give up their health care or go backwards – and we proved on the picket line that we’re not afraid of a tough fight. As contract talks begin with the city’s other full-service hotels in the new year, they should know that this is the new standard they must accept for their own employees.”
San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie said on X: “All those that have been out on strike will be back to work, and just in time for Christmas. So, things are looking bright as we head into 2025.
What Happens Next
Unite Here Local 2 said it would push for other full-service hotels in San Francisco to adopt the same standards established by the Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott agreements when contract negotiations resume in 2025.
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