'Veterans Alley' Mural Dedication Today For Syrian Refugees, TL's Homeless Vets

'Veterans Alley' Mural Dedication Today For Syrian Refugees, TL's Homeless VetsPhoto: Brittany Hopkins / Hoodline
Brittany Hopkins
Published on May 01, 2015

Members of the Veterans Mural Project are gathering at 1:30pm today in Veterans Alleyto dedicate a new mural to the plight of Syrian refugees and to raise awareness of the struggles homeless veterans face in the Tenderloin.

The new mural is the alley's second piece dedicated to Syrian refugees.  A veteran with the project began creating the new mural following a recent trip to paint murals with Syrian school children in Turkey, where — according to the UN's latest numbers — more than 1.7 million registered Syrian refugees live.

The Veterans Mural Project was conceived in 2011 by Navy veteran Amos Gregory. After spending many nights snapping photos of homeless veterans on the streets of the Tenderloin, he was driven to help fellow veterans heal by using paint to tell their stories of the "true reality and trauma of war."

Since the Obama administration announced a national Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness last June, Mayor Ed Lee has prioritized projects that will ensure all of San Francisco's homeless veterans are "placed in permanent housing or in temporary housing with an identified permanent housing placement" by the end of 2015. Last year the city opened 250 Kearny Street to provide housing and support services for 130 veterans, and last week Mayor Lee announced new funding that will enable the city to acquire the additional supporting housing units it needs to meet its goal.

The Veteran Mural Project's press release for the dedication ceremony argues that despite these steps forward, the homeless veteran population in the Tenderloin still faces many obstacles when it comes to finding adequate shelter in the district — such as long waits for housing, a lack of physical and psychological health services, and violent attacks. 

To learn more about the new mural and hear first-hand accounts of challenges homeless veterans contend with in the Tenderloin, stop by Veterans Alley at 1:30pm today. Also known as Shannon Street, it's located between Post and O'Farrell, parallel to Jones and Taylor.