A “street ambassador” working for a San Francisco nonprofit to keep the streets safe was shot and wounded at a homeless encampment near the Civic Center.
The unidentified man from Urban Alchemy suffered a minor wound under his left shoulder, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Police were seeking two male suspects, whom a co-worker of the victim identified as drug dealers.
Urban Alchemy has a city contract to run safe sleeping sites in the Tenderloin and deploys ambassadors, also known as practitioners, to counter disruptive behavior.
Lena Miller, Urban Alchemy’s founder and director, told the Chronicle she’s thankful the ambassador wasn’t seriously hurt.
“These streets are not safe,” she said. “The community knows that, and we hear from the community all the time how much they respect that Urban Alchemy staff are trying to create positive transformation and safe spaces while often in potentially dangerous situations. For their support we are also thankful.”
The incident occurred around 3:50 p.m. along the Asian Art Museum. Three gunshots were heard in rapid succession. Witnesses told the Chronicle that the two men were masked and one had a pistol, and that they ran off toward City Hall.
The safe sleeping sites on city property were approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors last year, as the homeless dealt with the brunt of the pandemic while on the streets. Advocates say they’ve helped with the city’s homeless crisis. Critics say they don’t go far enough.
“It’s an admission of how shameful it is that we haven’t figured out how to get people housed,” said Dr. Margot Kushel, director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, told Streetsblog San Francisco. “But, this is where we are.”
[San Francisco Chronicle] — Gabriel Poblete
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