San Francisco, CA
SF nonprofit meant to help unhoused community accused of fraud after $100K 'disappeared'
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — San Francisco nonprofit Providence Foundation is being accused of fraud.
“We discovered through our investigation that Providence was defrauding the city by submitting false invoices and as a result over $100,000 dollars of public monies that were supposed to benefit individuals experiencing homelessness were not being used for their proper purpose and has disappeared,” said Chiu.
San Francisco city attorney David Chiu said their findings are just the beginning of their push for accountability.
Multiple fake invoices collecting more than $100K led San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu to take action against Providence Foundation
“Our office is going to be seeking the debarment and suspension of a nonprofit called Providence Foundation. Providence Foundation for a number of years has been providing services to the city to address the needs of families who are homeless,” said Chiu.
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The invoices were submitted in 2022 for painting of the exterior of the Oasis Hotel and the removal of locks at the hotel. The city’s attorney’s office discovered that work was never done.
“Our action today starts the process to insure that providence is not able to apply for future contracts. It is up to the city as we are reviewing this if the current contracts would end,” said Chiu.
Providence Foundation operates the Oasis Hotel a shelter for families experiencing homelessness.
Providence receives city funds to operate a navigation center, as well as multiple housing subsidy and voucher programs. For years they have received grants through the city’s department of homelessness and supportive housing.
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The case City of Grants Pass v. Johnson is the most significant case on homelessness in more than 40 years.
In a statement the city’s department said in part:
“HSH will be reviewing each contract on a program-by-program basis to determine the best way to continue seamless services for the guests and tenants in these programs.”
“I think it’s very unfortunate the nonprofit contractors do wrong to the city but I think it’s almost foreseeable when you have the avalanche of new programs and new contractors coming in and the city wanting to get more contractors involved and not really scrutinize those,” said Randy Shaw, Director Tenderloin Housing Clinic.
Shaw, Director Tenderloin Housing Clinic the leading provider of permanent supportive housing for homeless single adults in San Francisco is concerned about what these findings will mean for other nonprofits like his.
“Social media is filled with tweets about corrupt nonprofits in the homeless sector but reality is that there are a lot of nonprofits involved and these are still a small number and they give us all a bad name. It’s really unfortunate,” said Shaw.
Our Data Team found that San Francisco has awarded over $213 million to nonprofits in the housing and homelessness sector for contracts starting in 2023 to present.
The city attorney’s office said they will continue their investigation
“Our office we will continue to root out bad actors who take advantage of our public resources we will fine you. We will cut off your funding and hold you accountable,” said Chiu.
We went to the Providence Foundation office for comment and their staff closed their doors. At the time of the publication of this article Providence Foundation did not respond.
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HSH Full statement:
“The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) has had a long-standing partnership with the Providence Foundation of San Francisco to provide shelter, housing assistance and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness, particularly in the Bayview and Fillmore neighborhoods. Providence has played a critical role in serving the unhoused community in these neighborhoods.
Providence, like many other small community-based organizations, has at times struggled to maintain compliance with all the City’s contracting requirements. HSH has worked closely with them for years to build their capacity and comply with City requirements because of the important work that they do.
However last fall a series of serious allegations came out from Providence’s own staff about possible fraud, wage theft, and mismanagement. The Providence staff, seeking support and guidance, brought these concerns to us as well as to Office of Labor Standards and the City Attorney’s Office.
The City Attorney’s office launched their own investigation into the situation and have issued a debarment letter to Providence which will make them ineligible for future City contracts for up to 5 years. The debarment does not require that HSH immediately end existing contracts with Providence, HSH will be reviewing each contract on a program-by-program basis to determine the best way to continue seamless services for the guests and tenants in these programs.
HSH’s ultimate responsibility is to the guests and tenants in these programs and we are working diligently to ensure that clients continue to receive the shelter, housing, and services they need.”
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San Francisco, CA
San Francisco: Anti-ICE protester gets probation for ‘depredation’ of ICE van’s tire
SAN FRANCISCO — A protester who was initially charged with misdemeanor assault has been sentenced to probation for a less serious offense, ending a federal prosecution that only started four months ago, court records show.
On Dec. 8, Angelica Guerrero, 35, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor “depredation” of an ICE van’s tire — a fancy legal term for slashing it with a knife. The same day, a federal judge sentenced Guerrero to probation, according to a minute order of the hearing.
The charge stemmed from an Aug. 20 protest, when Guerrero slashed the tire of an unmarked Chevrolet van being used in an ongoing “enforcement and removal” operation by the Department of Homeland Security on the 100 block of Montgomery Street, according to prosecutors. The complaint alleges that Guerrero “made repeated threats” against one of the officers, including stating, “I’m going to (expletive) you up” and “I’m going after your family,” as well as threatening to stab the officer.
Guerrero was released within 48 hours but complained of “barbaric” conditions inside Santa Rita Jail, during an interview with ABC7.
San Francisco, CA
Beloved 11-Year-Old Bay Area Italian Restaurant Is Closing Its Doors For Good
BAY AREA, CA — Vespucci, a longtime Italian restaurant in San Mateo, will close permanently at the end of the year after 11 years in business, its owners announced this week.
Dec. 31 will be the restaurant’s final day of service, according to a message shared by owners Manuela Fumasi and Francesco Zaccaro, who reflected on more than a decade of serving the local community.
“From the moment we opened our doors, this community welcomed us with a warmth and kindness we will never forget,” the owners wrote. “As Italian immigrants, far from our first home, you made San Mateo feel like our home.”
The couple described the restaurant’s run as a “beautiful adventure,” acknowledging that it was often challenging but filled with meaningful connections, friendships and lasting memories. They thanked customers for celebrating milestones with them and for supporting the business over the years.
“This decision hasn’t been easy, but we know it is the right one for us at this time,” they said.
Vespucci has been a fixture in San Mateo’s dining scene since opening in 2015, offering Italian cuisine and serving as a neighborhood gathering spot for residents and regulars alike.
Inside, all of the artworks displayed were created by Maestro Vittorio Fumasi, with several pieces having been exhibited in major art shows in Italy and internationally. While some works predate the restaurant, others — including the low-relief piece “Italy” and the high-relief portraits of Vespucci — were commissioned specifically for the space.
Fumasi has also adorned Vespucci’s dining tables with her own artwork, and said some of those pieces will be offered for sale after the restaurant closes, allowing longtime customers to take home “a piece of Vespucci,” she told the San Mateo Daily Journal.
“We are going to miss you all,” the owners wrote. “With all our affection.”
The restaurant is located in downtown San Mateo at 147 E 3rd Ave. The menu can be found here.
San Francisco, CA
What have San Francisco police been doing at 16th and Mission?
It’s been nearly 300 days since Mayor Daniel Lurie announced a plan to clean up the 16th Street BART Plaza.
To mark the occasion, Mission Local is adding a new tool for tracking his promises: A dashboard, updated daily, that notes the arrests and citations issued by San Francisco police officers in a 300-meter radius around 16th and Mission streets.
Our dashboard uses daily incident reports filed by officers to track the enforcement of common violations, including drug-related offenses or disorderly conduct.
The San Francisco Police Department releases incident reports with a 24-hour lag. Our dashboard updates daily at noon to include the most current data: Arrests and citations issued the day before.
While the number of incident reports may form the basis of official crime statistics, it would be wrong to think of them as the “official” count, according to the SFPD. There are groups doing outreach work in the plazas, like Ahsing Solutions, that do not regularly release public data quantifying their activities, for example.
What this police data does show, over time, is where the police department is focusing resources and attention.
For example, reports show that in March 2025, after Lurie stated his intention to crack down around 16th and Mission streets, there was a massive spike in arrests and citations. This does not necessarily mean drug-related crimes increased in the vicinity, but simply that, spurred by the mayor’s statement, police officers began enforcing more proactively.
Use our interactive graphics to explore the number and reasons for arrests and citations issued, and keep tabs on trends in SFPD’s enforcement around the 16th Street BART plaza.
You can read our ongoing coverage of the crackdown on 16th Street plaza here.
Arrests and citations issued in last 6 months around 16th and Mission
You can access our archive, with arrests and citations data from 2018, here.
The calendar below shows a snapshot of the arrests and citations issued around a 300-meter radius of the 16th Street BART Plaza for the last six months.
The darker the date, the more arrests and citations took place that day.
The department continuously updates the status of incident reports as they are investigated, and it is possible that the official statistics reported by SFPD to the California Department of Justice may differ from our numbers.
The data below should be considered the most accurate moment-in-time representation of arrests and citations on the day they were filed. Hover over each date to see the reasons for each arrest or citation.
Drug incidents around 16th and Mission
Arrests and citations issued for drug-related offenses skyrocketed earlier this year, after Mayor Lurie made the plaza one of his targets to show how the city can make a difference.
Explore the number of drug-related arrests and citations issued by SFPD around 16th and Mission each month since 2018.
Data for the most recent month will always be incomplete (and consequently lower) because it includes only arrests and citations through yesterday, while previous months reflect full monthly totals.
Drug incidents at 16th and Mission vs. citywide
In most years, the area around 16th and Mission accounts for a majority of the Mission’s drug-related police enforcement.
In the spring of 2025, this area, which accounts for a mere 0.2 percent of the city’s geographical landmass, was responsible for nearly 27 percent of San Francisco’s drug incident reports that resulted in an arrest or citation.
During the pandemic, drug-related arrests and citations dropped to an all-time-low around 16th and Mission but it has recently surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
Most common incidents around 16th and Mission
The table below shows the top 15 offense categories at 16th and Mission, ranked by total number of arrests and citations, over the past 12 months. The sparkline — the small line chart — shows how each category has changed month to month, and the percentage compares the current year to the year before.
We use a rolling 12-month window (365 days from yesterday’s date), rather than a calendar year, so the data stays current. Because the dashboard updates daily, the most recent month will always be incomplete, but using a full year of data minimizes the impact of any one partial month on the overall totals.
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