Mary Rees

Hear Here: Down (home) by the Bay at the Berkeley Marina

Mary Rees — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 23:25:41 +0000

Roger Boyvey lives in a three-story house he built himself. It contains a complete kitchen, a view room, computer room, living room, master bedroom, guest bedroom, bathrooms adorned with stained glass, and a cat named Leo. In his neighborhood, there are just thirteen other houses like his. In this installment of our series of place profiles, Mary Rees visits Boyvey at his home at the Berkeley Marina.

City tries new model for resettling homeless

Mary Rees — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 01:13:43 +0000

Last fall, I went to Fifth and King Streets in San Francisco, just under the on-ramp to I-280. A group of tents inhabited the space then. The ground around the tents was swept, and bicycles stood in neat lines. Residents, such as Jessica Prater, knew one another and felt safe there.

Seniors on the streets of San Francisco

Mary Rees — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 00:34:08 +0000

If you really want to know how our local economy is doing, look no further than the nearest homeless shelter. Former Supervisor Bevan Dufty oversees homelessness in the city, and he says these days, San Francisco’s roughly 1,150 beds are nearly full each night. Advocates say there’s been a sharp increase in homeless seniors, especially women. It was rare to see this population on the streets a few decades ago, but now service providers say it seems to be the norm.

Finding alternatives for homeless encampments

Mary Rees — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 01:43:48 +0000

As California sloshes through its rainy season, homeless people around the Bay Area are looking for places to stay dry. In San Francisco, the spaces under freeways are popular, and groups of homeless people sometimes band together for their mutual protection. Still, as you might expect, living on the streets isn’t safe or easy.

Get to school on a walking school bus

Mary Rees — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 02:05:35 +0000

There's a place in the urban East Bay where you might have to look twice to spot the school bus. That’s because it’s a special kind of bus: kids get off to climb trees and pick strawberries along the way; the drivers don’t need a special license; and -- most importantly -- it runs on sneaker feet, not wheels.