Housing
San Francisco’s Former ‘Night Minister’ Is an Ardent Housing Advocate
A short documentary reveals how a spiritual leader walks his faith by night in a city gripped with homelessness.
At night, the neighborhood also turns into a kind of parish. Since 1964, an ordained “night minister” has offered comfort and support to those in need around these streets. For 11 years, this was Reverend Lyle Beckman’s vocation: Every night between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., he’d stop and converse with people in the Tenderloin: the homeless, mentally ill, sex workers, addicts, and those down on their luck. Sometimes he’d offer crisis counseling, a pair of socks or a blanket, or a quiet prayer. Always, his job as director of the nonprofit San Francisco Night Ministry was to provide a human connection, in the hours when fear and isolation surface most.