St. Anthony's to close S.F.'s Marian Residence

Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 10, 2008

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/10/BA2210MDK8.DTL

Many of the women served at Marian Residence are severely mentally ill; some are recovering addicts. Others are victims of domestic violence, some are transgender women, and lately more are elderly and on fixed incomes.

Residents and staff members say each group presents unique challenges they doubt will be met in other homes. Many domestic violence shelters, for example, refuse to take homeless women, and transgender women are often turned away by both men's and women's facilities.

"It's brutal," said Boden, who was once homeless, of Marian's closure. "There's no other way to describe it."