8 homeless moms in San Francisco struggled for help. Now, they're learning to advocate for others

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — They know chronic back pain from couch surfing while pregnant. They tuck their children in at bedtime in the backs of cars and under bridges. Once their kids are asleep, and only then, do they let themselves cry.

Since January, a group of eight San Francisco mothers have met regularly as part of a local nonprofit's pilot program to share their stories and learn to advocate for the needs of families like theirs experiencing homelessness.

“I feel like I failed my kids,” says Teniah Tercero, breaking into tears as she talked about how she hates exposing her three young daughters to the open drug use of the city’s gritty Tenderloin neighborhood where they sleep at a shelter.

The room falls quiet. Christiana Porter, a fellow mom, gently pats Tercero’s shoulder as someone else passes over a box of tissues.

“I know the feeling," adds Danica Gutierrez, also a mother of three girls.

Gutierrez, 29, was skeptical about relaying some of the hardest moments of her life with people who were strangers.

“Then after being in the group, I started realizing that all these ladies have a strong voice,” she said, “and maybe our voices put together could be strong enough to make a difference in someone else’s life.”

The women are on the Family Advisory Committee, a program launched by San Francisco nonprofit Compass Family Services this year to empower homeless people to better serve their needs.

They have learned how the city's budget process works and met with politicians, sharing personal experiences and insight into what the city’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing and nonprofits should be providing.

Broadly, the women describe a homeless services system that is confusing and even hostile, with websites that lack clear information and staff who can feel dismissive.

They want housing for families away from people struggling with drug addiction or behavior issues, and staff trained to welcome homeless families. More money, they say, should be spent on housing rather than short-term shelters.

They also want families to be given clear instructions about which phone numbers to call and when to maintain their place in line for housing. They want caseworkers to return their calls, even if there's no new information to report. They suggest nonprofits stock practical goods such as rain covers for baby strollers and children’s clothing for special occasions, like graduation.

In telling their stories to help others, the women have found a welcome sisterhood.

Some in the group have experienced domestic violence. One mother recently arrived in San Francisco from Nicaragua and, with her husband, kept watch over their daughter, 9, when the family slept outside under blankets and on cardboard. A third-generation San Franciscan sleeps on a foldout couch in her parents’ living room.

Their quest is for a safe, stable home in a city where the median monthly rent is $3,300 and the median price of a house is $1.4 million.

Three years ago, Gutierrez and her girls were sleeping on floor mats at a school gymnasium that doubled as a shelter. Now, she's in a subsidized three-bedroom apartment with a rooftop garden in a building with on-site childcare and case management.

The younger girls, 7 and 8, share a cheerful bedroom brimming with library books and art supplies while their sister, 11, has her own room. In the tiny kitchen, Gutierrez has written “good morning, little children” on a piece of chalkboard. One wall of her bedroom is crowded with her girls' school achievement certificates.

But neighbors in the “permanent supportive housing” site include people struggling with addiction and mental illness and she doesn’t feel her family is safe.

“I just hope that it’s touching the politicians’ hearts a little bit,” she says.

For years, tent encampments made up primarily of adults without children who often used illegal drugs and blocked sidewalks, dominated the national debate over people living on the streets. The issue boiled up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled Friday that cities can enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outdoors in public places.

But family homelessness is growing, due to migration and an uneven post-pandemic recovery as COVID-era benefits and government protections against evictions expired.

A federal count found more than 50,000 families with at least one adult and one child experiencing homelessness in 2023. The 186,000 adults with children in those families is up 16% from the previous year, according to a one-night tally by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Most of the growth was attributed to New York, where migrants are filling New York City’s shelters.

In California, the count found more than 25,500 homeless adults with children, including about 600 in San Francisco. The city has 400 spots for families that can accommodate about 750 people, many in private rooms.

As of mid-June, there were more than 500 families on San Francisco’s wait lists for emergency shelter and hotel vouchers.

“Babies cannot wait,” says Porter, 34, an eyebrow esthetician with show-stopping braids.

She fell behind on rent during the pandemic, working multiple, low-wage jobs with five children and limited help for child care.

Jennifer Johnson, 38, grew up homeless, and thought she had left that life. Then she lost her job managing a real estate office at the start of the pandemic, and her apartment when her landlord decided to sell.

Johnson, an aspiring chef, crashed with family and friends when she became pregnant with her first child. When Johnson, who now has two boys, 1 and 3, finally reached out for help, she was told her situation was not dire enough for housing.

“The powers-that-be need to see how this works," she said, “and how it impacts people.”

Shelter staff turnover is high from burnout and low pay and there are not enough beds or rooms to house everyone in need, much less ensure that homeless families are kept separate from other adults with substance abuse or other problems.

At the end of May, the women descended on City Hall for 30-minute meetings with members of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors. Despite one testy exchange with a supervisor that ended with tears, they declared it a success.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has pledged $50 million for more emergency shelter and housing for families, “an unprecedented level of resources,” said Hope Kamer of Compass, which is working with the city to implement some of the suggestions from the women.

Albert Townsend of the National Alliance to End Homelessness works to ensure that people sharing their stories are groomed for leadership roles where they can have more impact.

“You got more hearts, hands and minds at the table,” he said.

Bleary-eyed from working a graveyard shift staffing a public restroom, Tercero pushed a tire swing on a recent afternoon as her daughters Amairany, 8, Rojelia, 7, and Valentina, 4, laughed.

They have lived in many places, from motel rooms to the red Dodge Durango that has doubled as their home — made cozy with Mickey Mouse shades on its rear windows and dashboard trim painted with red nail polish.

The city can help families by investing in places that feel like a home instead of shelters that can be dangerous and onerous, with rules and reprimands over meal-time signups and curfew, Tercero said. A place, she said, where “you can feel like a person, like a mother instead of like a prisoner.”

Teniah Tercero kisses her daughter Valentina, 4, while spending time at a park Thursday, May 23, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Teniah Tercero gives her daughter Rojelia, 7, a piggyback ride while at a park Thursday, May 23, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Danica Gutierrez walks through her daughters' bedroom Thursday, June 13, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Teniah Tercero, right, walks with her daughter Valentina, 4, after playing with the family's scooter Thursday, May 23, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Danica Gutierrez is photographed on the rooftop of her apartment complex Thursday, June 13, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Danica Gutierrez talks about the family services available at her apartment complex Thursday, June 13, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Danica Gutierrez, left, and Christiana Porter hug after they met with politicians at City Hall, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in San Francisco. Gutierrez, Porter and six other women are part of Family Advisory Committee, a pilot program by San Francisco nonprofit Compass Family Services, working to engage more homeless parents in advocacy as family homelessness surges in the U.S. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Jennifer Johnson, top left, talks with fellow members of the Family Advisory Committee as the group of eight mothers met with politicians in City Hall, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Danica Gutierrez is photographed inside her daughters' bedroom Thursday, June 13, 2024, in San Francisco. Gutierrez and her three daughters moved into a three-bedroom unit in a complex with wi-fi and a rooftop garden, but says she doesn't feel her girls are safe since some of her neighbors are struggling with addiction and mental illness. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Teniah Tercero watches as her daughters play at a park playground Thursday, May 23, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 1, 2024--

SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (“SolarEdge”) (NASDAQ: SEDG), a global leader in smart energy technology, today announced that its technology has been selected by Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, as part of an innovative research and demonstration program to explore the potential of dual use agrivoltaics (the combination of agricultural production and solar energy generation simultaneously on the same land) for farmers across the state.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240630118990/en/

Rutgers research will assist the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program that will be administered by the NJBPU. The pilot program is a three-year, 200 MW agrivoltaics initiative with the goal of exploring the feasibility and benefits of agrivoltaics. The pilot program is a collaborative effort including the NJBPU, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, the State Agricultural Development Committee, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program. The results and data from the research program will be used to inform the establishment of a permanent Dual-Use Solar Program in New Jersey. The Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program includes three sites, each using a different panel mounting method to investigate the impact on agricultural production and electricity generation:

At each site, the research will evaluate electricity output, using Module Level Power Electronics (MLPE) for the measurement and analysis of energy production.

“Agrivoltaics is a fast-growing and hugely exciting sector that provides a solution for many of the business challenges that farmers are facing today – from managing rising energy costs to moving to more sustainable production. However, we are still at the start of this journey. The aim of our research is to develop knowledge that will help to establish practices that can help improve both the sustainability and viability of farms through safe and regulated adoption of solar energy. We are excited to be working with SolarEdge to achieve these goals,” said Margaret Brennan-Tonetta, Director for Resource and Economic Development and Senior Associate Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.

Bertrand Vandewiele General Manager of SolarEdge in North America, said: “Agrivoltaics is a perfect example of a real ‘win-win’. This practice allows for expanded solar development to address climate change, without the land-use challenges often associated with ground mounted solar developments. It can also provide benefits for farmers, allowing a stable revenue stream and protection against climate hazards. In the U.S., there are more than 500 Agrivoltaics sites, producing a total of 9 GW of solar energy 1. These numbers are likely to grow as interest in Agrivoltaics has been greatly expanding, as indicated by the increase in support and funding for this sector. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s funding for Agrivoltaics more than tripled from 2021 to 2022 2.

Farmers are able to move to more sustainable and profitable production without substantially reducing space for growing crops – in fact agrivoltaics can potentially boost the production of certain shade-tolerant crops by providing protection from direct sunlight, while the cooler temperature below the panels reduces water evaporation. Meanwhile, the end consumer can feel good about choosing produce from sustainable farms. Through this collaboration with Rutgers University, we look forward to playing our part in helping to advance the adoption of more sustainable and profitable farming practices.”

END

About the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program:

The Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program (RAP) is a multidisciplinary group of Rutgers faculty and staff committed to designing and conducting the applied agrivoltaics research and outreach necessary for New Jersey farmers to make informed decisions about adopting this technology, as well as its potential role in contributing to the State’s renewable energy goals. RAP is part of the NJ Agricultural Experiment Station and Rutgers Cooperative Extension which provide research, outreach and educational resources to residents, communities, and businesses in New Jersey and beyond.

Please visit https://ecocomplex.rutgers.edu/agrivoltaics-research.html for more information. For media inquiries or more information about the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program, please contact Dave Specca, RAP project lead, at specca@njaes.rutgers.edu.

About SolarEdge

SolarEdge is a global leader in smart energy technology. By leveraging world-class engineering capabilities and with a relentless focus on innovation, SolarEdge creates smart energy solutions that power our lives and drive future progress. SolarEdge developed an intelligent inverter solution that changed the way power is harvested and managed in photovoltaic (PV) systems. The SolarEdge DC optimized inverter seeks to maximize power generation while lowering the cost of energy produced by the PV system. Continuing to advance smart energy, SolarEdge addresses a broad range of energy market segments through its PV, storage, EV charging, batteries and grid services solutions. Visit us at: solaredge.com.

2USDA ERS - Common Ground for Agriculture and Solar Energy: Federal Funding Supports Research and Development in Agrivoltaics

Snyder Research and Extension Farm in Pittstown used for hay production. credit: Advanced Solar Products (ASP)