Move-in Day With Two No-Longer-Homeless Men

Move-in Day With Two No-Longer-Homeless Men

Photographs by Jim Goldberg / Magnum Photos

Text by Francesca Mari

Audio reported and edited by Stephanie Foo

The brick exterior of the Minna Lee Hotel, a newly opened supportive-housing complex in San Francisco’s South of Market district, is zagged with metal fire escapes, an unintentional reminder of the building’s history. Seventeen years ago, a fire gutted what was then a residential hotel, displacing more than 36 low-income occupants. It took two years to renovate the building but more than 15 years to reopen it. On a recent Wednesday, the Minna Lee’s final two occupants were moving in. In the bright and clean community room, Chris Young, a 44-year-old wearing a newsboy cap and accompanied by a regal Staffordshire bull terrier, introduced himself and pointed to his possessions, all of which were contained in several clear garbage bags, a box, and a gray plastic tub. Per housing policy, they were waiting to be checked for bedbugs. Young was the 49th person to be housed in one of the building’s 50 units since it opened in June. Number 50, Davin Bryant, a broad-chested man with strawberry-blond hair and tribal tattoos, was carrying his few belongings, including a box of paints, into the community room. In just a few minutes, both men would see their respective units for the first time. They were furnished with a twin bed, a dresser, a chair, a refrigerator, a Crock-Pot, and a microwave.

If they found the rooms suitable, they could sign the lease the same day. This year, San Francisco housed more than 2,000 people; supported 15,000 more with shelter, health care, and other services; launched a database to track the homeless; and opened 300 new SRO units. Still, despite the city’s efforts, more than 4,300 people sleep on the street on any given night — a number that has remained stubbornly persistent. Young and Bryant had spent 14 and 15 years on the street, respectively, and the fact that they’d procured a permanent address was still sinking in. When Young passed by the Minna Lee’s 24-hour security desk, he asked how the sign-in procedure worked. “There’s no signing in,” the attendant said. “That’s for your visitors.” The director of one of the programs running the Minna Lee turned to Young. “You’re home.” 

Chris Young

Davin Bryant