Hunger Striker

Tired of the sex shops, drugs, and crime in his neighborhood, Roger Huang decided to get city leaders' attention. He sat outside city hall 33 days on a hunger strike.

Huang runs the San Francisco Rescue Mission in the Tenderloin district, so named for its rough character. At least 48 liquor stores and 14 porn shops do business in the 35-block neighborhood. Some 10,000 homeless people pass through the neighborhood each night. With three major crimes per hour, Tenderloin averages two crimes per resident per year.

Huang was employed in the neighborhood in 1985 when he felt led to minister there. Leaving work one day, he found his car had a flat tire. While waiting for a tow truck, Huang watched a group of teens pick on a younger boy, and he wondered what he would do if it were his son. For the next eight years, Huang worked two jobs to support the mission. Huang also started a Christian school.

Huang's hunger strike impressed the city hall crowd. Mayor Gavin Newsom initiated ...