October 5, 2007
Citation, All I Ever Wanted. Citation, Having to Get Away
With Gavin caught up in a tough re-election campaign against...ummm...well...huh.... he's started playing up his street people street cred. Recently, he announced a plan to deal with all the vagrants caught doing vagrant-like by sending out "Homeless Outreach Teams" to deal with it. The teams consist of police officers and social services and when they catch somebody doing something unpleasant, they're supposed to give them a choice between going into outreach services or being issued a citation, which as far as we can tell, is the handing out of giant frowny faces that will be put on a giant white board in the local police station. The program will be focused on targeted areas around Union Square and SOMA, read, tourist traps. Apparently, tourists don't appreciate seeing people defecate in the streets while riding the Cable Cars and eating soup in a sourdough roll-- kinda gives new meaning to the phrase "San Francisco Treat." Gavin has been putting putting some of these policies into effect lately but is now making a bigger deal out of it.
This, of course, was accompanied by a big press conference on Wednesday detailing all of Gavin's success so far on the homeless issue, mainly on how well Care Not Cash has been working so far. To take away some of his thunder, homeless advocates had a dueling press conference where they attacked the Mayor for how well Care Not Cash has been working so far. Piling on was Chris Daly who leaked the memo on Gavin's new plans and used it as a way of attack Gavin’s emphasis on citations over housing.
Photo of Gavin trying to figure out where the ultimate Frisbee game is from the Examiner
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for the record, I'm not a tourist, and I don't like looking at people take a shit on the sidewalk either.
What pola said.
Jon, what's your point on this? You use a lot of sarcasm, but then don't say anything at all! Are you related to Rumsfeld or something? Or did you just want to be cute with the title 'cause you're going to see the gogos?
Personally, I am a resident, not a tourist. I welcome his efforts. My personal experience is that, in my neighborhood anyway, the city does seem to be improving along the lines of street trash and vagrants. I'm sick to death of seeing trash, filth, piss, shit, shopping carts all over the place.
What pola said.
Yeah, I don't get this either. Does this mean everyone besides tourists are in favor of public defacation? Why? Because it intimidates all the suburbanites and red-staters and shows off just how hard-core lefty progressive we are in SF?
All it "shows off" is that we don't have our act together, like, at all.
what J said
I saw one of these interventions occuring a few days ago on 3rd and Harrison. The cops just stand back and watch as the gentle city workers try to convince them to get help. I'd be shocked if it works.
Of the several homeless that wander around this area, the guy they were talking to is one of the craziest. I hope he somehow is convinced to get help, because he could never pull himself up by his bootstraps, but he is truly awful to be around.
The 50% of homeless who aren't seriously crazy just need a boot to the head.
A citation? If they don't agree to get help, they get a citation? What does that accomplish? If they don't accept social services, they need to be ARRESTED. And not just in tourist areas. It needs to happen everywhere in the city. I am sick of seeing the city I work, live, and pay takes in treated like some outdoor toilet and criminal playground.
Shelter or jail. Enough already.
Years ago they put up posters in Brixton Tube station with the headline: 75% of street crime in Brixton is done by these men: This was followed by twenty or so pictures of said criminals, with their full names. It's about time we named and shamed some of our more persistent gutter shitters. Or bring back the stocks.
There has been 46,684 citations written since Mayor Gavin Newsom took office.Our elected mayor, has wasted $7,868,743 tax payer dollars on "quality of life" citations.
Funny,
I just saw a great story on how consumer credit has reached disaster proportions, and that many,many people are going to become homeless and jobless due to foreclosures and bankruptcies.
I want to volunteer to kick Bushy Hyde in the head, when I see them on the sidewalk.
If the citations were only @()$*!@*# ENFORCED we would not have this problem. But, because the police fail to arrest those who skip out on the citations, and the DA fails to prosecute, we get exactly nowhere with this.
Elihu, this would pay for itself in a weekend if those cited were presented with a simple choice:
1. pay the ticket,
2. WORK to pay the ticket at minimum wage scrubbing the streets, or
3. go to jail.
Instead our so called system lets people get away with it. And it's no wonder SF has a well deserved reputation as a trash pit.
I'll add one more option: 5150. If you can't comport yourself sufficiently to avoid using the streets as a toilet, you are a danger to yourself and others.
Oh, and harmreduction: being homeless does not mean you have to be an asshole. Why do you excuse anti-social behavior?
What AJ said.
If the hobos are going to golden shower and crap the sidewalks with no end in sight, can we at least sprinkle kitty litter?
It's biodegradable therefore PC.
And don't forget- the city gives away free tokens to the homeless so that they can use the municipal self-cleaning bathrooms. WTF? Why would anyone choose to shit on the street? All I know is that I can tell it's human when my dogs try to eat it. Disgusting. Come here and lick mommy's face, babydoll. That's a good girl.
Point of clarity: Religious Witness with Homeless People scheduled their event first… (Newsom's event wasn't announced until 8.10 p.m. the previous night.) Hardly a case of their stealing his thunder.
5150 does not really work! Sure, the homeless people get a chance to get a bath and a psych evaluation at SF General, but housing such people in the hospital is EXPENSIVE! Plus, it's a maximum of up to 72 hours. If you shove them in a shelter, it's cheaper on the city.
There are several points I could make but why repeate the same thing that has been said for the past 20+ years:
1) Why dose someone have to be labled a "criminal" just because they are homeless?
2) If the city were put their efforts into housing, mental/substance councling then San Francisco tax payers money wouldn't be wasted on punishing someone just because of their income status.
3)Have you ever tried to use one of the free toilets that are scattered about downtown at 3 o'clock in the morning? They are either closed or out of order.
4) It is ilegal for SFPD to "arrest"someone in this city for if they in violation for an infraction
Elihu, you are completely misrepresenting this issue.
Nobody is proposing criminalizing someone's INCOME level. It is ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR that is the problem. And this is the behavior that the commenters here, as well as many other San Franciscans, are sick and tired of being excused and coddled by the so-called "homeless advocates" and their enablers in City Hall.
SF spends vastly more on affordable housing, Care Not Cash, etc. than any other city of its size, and we have a vastly worse homeless problem. Spending on housing may help with the lack of housing, but it does not fix the problem of antisocial behavior. Your claim that this problem cannot be fixed until everyone who ever wanted a home in SF in the whole world has one at SF taxpayers' expense is just absurd.
Many other cities do not tolerate the kind of behavior that is being discussed here. In fact, SF is really the only marginally civilized city that does. We need to stop.
I do not excuse anti-social behaviour. That is why BushyHyde's suggestion of violence irked me.
I hate the idea of humans emptying their bodily fluids in the streets and sidewalks. If all the stores, restaurants, and hotels would allow homeless people to use the facilities, as they are required to by law, and ALL people had safe, clean, sanitary places to live, no one would have to face the indignity of "breaking" hygienic laws.
Issue is dead at this point, but "boot to the head" is hyperbole! Hello!!!
I am a non-violent person, but I do support tough love.
Harmreduction: The point I think you don't understand is that there is a large percentage of people who refuse help. The chronic homeless that seem to irritate San Franciscans the most fall into two camps:
1) They are too addicted to substance or too crazy to ever accept help OR help themselves, they simply don't care. They will not voluntarily live in housing. What do we do with those people?
2) The ones who are either 100% sane/drug free, or only marginally addicted/mental. They have made a lifestyle choice either through aversion to hard work, or just enjoyment of the street lifestyle. What do we do with these people?
The third camp is one that doesn't seem to be the focus of any animosity from the general public (that I'm aware of): People who are down on their luck and truly want to move back into 'functioning society'. The people typically takes advantage of city services and do not remain on the streets very long. Hard work + government/charitable help typically = improved quality of life!
Agree/Disagree?