Mayor Breed cleared the underpass area of the Merlin Street encampment which many considered a public hazard. These city-owned parking lots will be kept clear of vagrants in the future. All that's really changed for the 60 people of the tent community is the city has dispersed them to the streets of San Francisco. Some without their possessions.
Of the 8,000 homeless people on the streets of San Francisco at the start of the coronavirus in 2020 barely 2,000 actually received shelter of some sort, with 1,730 in hotels and 260 in sanctioned encampments.
Some streets are littered with makeshift shelters. Some tents, other coverings propped up with traffic cones, and the scene wouldn't be complete without cardboard boxes. Some homeless people don't bother with shelter at all and sleep on the sidewalks.
One perfect example highlighted a homeless woman delighted to have a room in which to shower and sleep. Because of the 22:00 curfew she consistently missed the opportunity to sleep in her room. She delivered food for DoorDash.
She followed the rules for permanent housing eligibility but if she couldn't get into her room when she finished work she had no choice but to pitch her tent. She could go into her room after 07:00 to rest but she missed her boyfriend and friends who didn't qualify for accommodation. Like she says:
“They’re making it hard to live a normal life. Do you want me to have a job? Or do you want me to sit in my room all day and do nothing?” Linda Smith
In January 2021, Linda's boyfriend Jay died of an overdose. Distraught for days, she didn't prepare for the city works clean up crew coming in to clear the area. Some of the other encampment members helped her get Jay's and her belongings onto a hand cart but city workers allegedly stopped her and threw her things in the trash compactor.
Let's not apportion blame
While I am on the side of Mayor Breed most of the time, her comment about unhoused people sometimes treating the cleanup crew poorly made me sad. If my possessions and those of my recently deceased boyfriend were taken from me and I watched as the compactor destroyed them, I too would behave poorly. There's no smoke without fire. People in positions of power don't always behave with empathy.
Abigail Stewart-Kahn, the former director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing supportive blamed the homeless for not accepting their allocations.
Jennifer Friedenbach, the executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, understands the reasoning behind 10% of homeless people allocated accommodation by the city's supportive housing department going back to camping on the street. With one in ten of the rooms assigned but unused the system is failing the homeless.
A definitive disconnect between the needs of the homeless, the requirements of non-profits proof of identity, and the administration of places for people living on the streets getting into rooms that lie empty desperately need to be addressed.
SFPD Tweets good news.
Some areas still have a ways to go.
Some areas need more attention than others.
Community engagement
In full SF engagement community-style, Mayor Breed's Downtown Recovery Plan for San Francisco will see returning workers, tourists and residents welcomed, guided and assisted by fifty Community Ambassadors.
The responsibilities of the ambassadors include reporting to public services any street maintenance and cleaning needed. They'll provide wayfinding and hospitality services to commuters and tourists. They will engage with people in distress and communicate with the appropriate City Services.
For the Mayor's proposed two-year plan to invest $7.5 million to expand the presence of Community Ambassadors in Downtown transit hubs and key tourist destinations to go into action by the end of the summer, it must be approved in the budget. The proposed budget will be introduced on June 1, 2021.
I believe Mayor Breed has directed much of her energy to resolve serious matters in her city. No one person can achieve success overnight. With the people on her side, she will keep working to make San Francisco a place to enjoy for everybody. She's certainly made a positive start despite some setbacks from the drug dealers who, no doubt, will not gently go quietly into that night. (Dylan Thomas said the original.)
We're rooting for you, Mayor London Breed!
Sources
San Francisco has money and a new plan to tackle homelessness. Will it finally change things?
1 in 10 San Francisco Housing Units for Homeless Sit Vacant
Mayor London Breed Announces Investments in San Francisco's Downtown and Economic Recovery