Posts by Elisa Bozmarova

Beth Stokes, executive director of Episcopal Community Services San Francisco, worries the order threatens to undo decades of progress in the movement to end homelessness. “We are deeply troubled by the administration’s executive order, which abandons compassionate and evidence-based programs, like harm reduction and housing first, and replaces them with cruel policies such as forced treatment and criminalizing…

Beth Stokes — executive director of the San Francisco-based shelter-and-services provider Episcopal Community Services — said she hopes at least some of those vouchers might be used to address another choke point in The City’s shelter and supportive-housing system. Stokes told The Examiner that too often, the system — which generally prioritizes those with the…

HCLA designed 1064 Mission Street in San Francisco, the largest and most complex publicly funded, modular development of its kind dedicated to supporting people who’ve been chronically homeless. The project includes a pioneering convergence of program: 256 studio apartments and an array of shared indoor and outdoor supportive spaces for adults and seniors, the Maria X Martinez…

“Completed in January, 600 Seventh includes larger units with two and three bedrooms, and a comprehensive mix of resident and supportive services. Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco provides essential supportive housing services to help residents maintain stability.” Read the full Affordable Housing Finance article

“ECS’ Executive Director Beth Stokes spoke with The Examiner in a recent interview about the challenges in running a nonprofit in San Francisco. She said she’s prepared for changes both good and bad in the coming months as Mayor Daniel Lurie’s administration addresses The City’s homelessness crisis and changes from President Donald Trump’s administration threaten…

“If we’re gonna continue to operate the housing, we have to pay the insurance,” said Chris Callandrillo, ECS’ Chief Program Officer. “We’ve got to get that from somewhere, and that burden is huge.”  Read the full San Francisco Chronicle article

For Pride Month, the editorial teams at the Nob Hill Gazette and the San Francisco Examiner wanted toshine a spotlight on leaders in the LGBTQ+ community, those who are making a difference in the City that is synonymous with Pride. In 2025, when federal rights are being challenged, accomplishments erased and identities targeted, this focus…

“…we’re asking people who support ECS to dig deeper into philanthropy to provide more support, particularly around basic needs. It’s going into the community to ask for additional support. If the funding is not there, which is all that we hear right now, there is no more money. If budgets get cut, which they [have…

“It’s money that local governments and their nonprofit partners, like Episcopal Community Services, rely on to tackle homelessness, and they’re at risk of losing it.” Read the full NPR story here.

“Would you rather have people on the street, suffering, their health completely deteriorating, with no quality of life?” asked Beth Stokes, Executive Director of ECS. “Versus being here — this is stable. This is peaceful. People get well here. And it’s actually a better bargain for the taxpayers.” Thank you, KQED, for spotlighting the new…