Where were the encampments? ^KH
— SF311 (@SF311) February 26, 2016
"Where were the encampments?" tweeted San Francisco's Information and Services hotline at 4:21 this morning...to no one? To us all?
Sure, they could have been responding to an @er and made an error. But maybe this was more of a meta-statement, addressing, perhaps, the contentious hearing called Thursday by Supervisors Malia Cohen and Jane Kim, during which "supervisors questioned city staff about progress toward unifying homeless services and policy under the newly created Department of Homelessness," Bay City news reported.
Or, were they addressing comments like that of Division Street tent city dweller Mark Arroyo, who told ABC7 that "I told everyone to pack up and go. And just go. Go to the hills and eventually you will find a place to hang out."
Perhaps it was a reaction to the news, reported by the Ex, that "the Homeless Outreach Team, which connects with homeless persons on the street, has lost hundreds of temporary housing beds, decreasing from 330 beds in 2004 to today’s 65 beds." The result, they say, of illegal conversions of those units by the Academy of Art.
Maybe 311's tweet was the only way they could respond to the New York Times' report that homeless people are currently involved in "a standoff" with Mayor Ed Lee, with one Division Street encampment resident saying “I kind of want to stay put and fight it out."
In any case, as you know, San Francisco has set 5 p.m. today as the deadline for residents of the tent city to leave the area. Will they go to Pier 80? Stay and get arrested? Or go elsewhere, prompting still more questions like "Where were the encampments?"
Previously: Will The Remaining Tent City Homeless Get Arrested On Friday?
Pier 80 Shelter Fills Up As Tent City Sweeps Continue
City To Clear 'Tent City' Homeless Encampment Within 72 Hours