December 18, 2007
The Week in Nevius
Chucky appears to be back on the homeless beat this week with two stories about it. One is something that might piss people off, the other something that might not piss people off. We'll start with the one that might piss people off one first so we can cheer everyone up at the end with the one that won’t piss people off and make the post heart-warming, just in time for the holidays.
Today's column deals with the idea that some homeless people need longtime care more than anything else. The thing that'll make homeless advocates get their knickers in a bunch is the idea that if those particular homeless people don't want help, we should force them get the help. All this according to Niels Tangherlini-- paramedic, social worker, homelessness go-to-guy. Tangherlini thinks this way because of the fact that just a few homeless people are the ones hospitalized the most. According to a 2005 Chronicle report, 362 individuals made up 3,869 visits to the hospital, all at a cost of roughly $11 million. Malcolm Gladwell, he of "Tipping Point" fame, has noted this too, primarily in the New Yorker but it's hard to remember what he said as we mainly read it to come up with jokes for the cartoon contest.
On Sunday, Nevius presented an idea to help, mainly aping Portland's approach to the homeless. Portland has created a bunch of rules to keep people off the streets but has asked the business community for a little something-something to provide the homeless with better services, like actual bathrooms. Portland's approach appears to be working as there are less numbers on the street than before and street crime is down. Gavin and his posse has met with Portland officials to go over this and kinda dug it. We couldn't help note, however, that those attending the meeting with Portland officials mainly included Gavin's people and Supervisors Elsbrand and Alioto-Pier: ie those who do a little Gavin slurping. Guess the invites to the others got lost in the mail.
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Let those who are drinking themselves to death do it cheaply for the city. You may have to register to see the NYT link, but an excerpt is:
"Last year, King County created a list of 200 "chronic public inebriates" in the Seattle region who had cost the most to round up and care for. Seventy-five were offered permanent homes in a new apartment building known by its address, 1811 Eastlake.
Each had been a street drunk for several years and had failed at least six efforts at sobriety. In a controversial acknowledgment of their addiction, the residents — 70 men and 5 women — can drink in their rooms. They do not have to promise to drink less, attend Alcoholics Anonymous or go to church."
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See: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/05/us/05homeless.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
I think we could all use some additional street toilets in the city. It isn't just the street loiterers that need to go, what about us folks stumbling home from the bar? :)
I was distracted by the cartoons, too, but I think Malcolm Gladwell said that it would be cheaper in the long run if the city put all of the homeless in no-frill SROs and gave them money for booze, (or free booze, all Soviet style.) That way they wouldn't clog up the ERs whenever it got cold or if the ol' DTs started kickin' in again.
Please. Just last month I saw a guy taking a crap in the bushes OUTSIDE the public restroom (which was open, since it was DAYLIGHT) in our park. and he's hardly the only one I've seen do this. Please explain how a toilet would fix that problem?
CW Nevius is right about one thing: people who live here and pay taxes are getting sick of this shit (no pun intended).
There are a lot of single men and women in this town who are chronically-partnerless. There are a lot of homeless people in this town who are chronically drunk. I think we have a solution, or at least a screenplay.
Everything has costs .... our accomodation of chronic drunks and dope heads is slowly but surely costing the City its tourism industry and the related affordable housing policies come at the expense of students and middle class families getting squeezed out of the City because the costs are transferred to them more or less.
Let's repeat that info. from the article:
362 individuals made up 3,869 visits to the hospital, all at a cost of roughly $11 million
This is the death spiral of a drunk and drug addict - the only thing that will end it in most cases is death. How much do we want to spend on them as they make their way towards killing themselves? I don't know the answer to that, but we may find out in June and November at the polls.
Sure, the business community could kick in for services. In fact they already do, via something called "taxes."
Money is not the issue here. An environmental study on 100yds of bike path probably costs $11million. The issue here is that ERs and other emergency services are constantly picking up the same dickheads and while they're doing it, they can't treat a heart attack victim or a retarded kid stuck in a bear trap.
Agreed - resources are more than just money - resources are time, attention, quality of life, etc. and so on.... how selfish is it for these folks to eat up such an overwhelming portion of San Francisco's resources when nothing will stop them from hurting themselves (getting drunk or high), nothing except their body ceasing to function that is.
What is the your point Jon? That because serial enablers Daly, Ammiano, Sandoval and Mirkaream-me were not part of this effort that it is not worth further study? Props to Nevius for rallying the previously silent majority to get vocal about this problem, much to the chagrin of the establishment (i.e. advocates).
That rightwing jackbooted facist, Chuck Nevius -- the nerve.
Nevius is my hero, as is that guy Tangherlini. One for bringing to light the work that a hero does and the other for being the example.
This guy should be running District 6, not that worthless windbag Daly.
C.W. Devious.
http://www.chrisdaly.org/?p=55
Shut it Daly. You are like the boy who cried wolf. Nobody cares what you have to say on this matter (or most others) anymore. You have proven yourself to be an unequaled failure as a Supervisor. Just be quiet and crawl back to your hole. You are irrelevant.