She was sitting on the sidewalk of Julian Street in the Mission, surrounded by people also suffering from homelessness and addiction, when she noticed men who looked like bodyguards approaching. Mayor Daniel Lurie, wearing a navy jacket with the collar flared, followed closely behind before stopping to speak with her, she recalls.
“‘We’ve got to change something out here,’” Phillips remembered Lurie saying. “‘You’ve got to help me help you.’”
Across the city, people living on the streets have similar stories. Since taking office in January, Lurie has made a habit of talking to homeless people, pulling over his Rivian truck to offer shelter, or pausing a stroll to ask someone not to use drugs in public.
