From a recent column in the San Francisco Chronicle:
Last week, Christine Oastler came down from Ontario for a vacation. She had a classic San Francisco experience.
She was appalled.
She was hassled by aggressive panhandlers, “scared” by drunken street people, and even spat upon in front of the Metreon shopping center.
“It’s stunning to me,” she said. “I’m a well-traveled girl. I’ve been to Europe, the Mediterranean and New York. How can San Francisco, that claims to be this tourist mecca, let this happen?”
“I’m from Canada,” she said. “I accept the snow. I think it is like San Francisco accepts the homeless.”
I first visited San Francisco 15 years ago and was shocked at the number of homeless. I returned to San Francisco to attend Macworld 2008. Appallingly, despite being one of the richest cities in the country, the situation appeared to be even worse.
Admittedly, I was only in San Francisco for a week. I have no idea the cause of the problem, or what efforts have been made to solve it. But during our daily short walk from our hotel in the business district to the Moscone Center my brother and I ran into multiple homeless, at every corner, from early morning until late night. My brother gave money to several homeless people the day of our arrival before quickly realizing he hadn’t budgeting enough money to continue.
San Franciscans are not shy in espousing their cities beauty, art scene, restaurants, and open-minded residents. They’ll tell you they’d live no where else. I rarely hear them speak of the homeless roaming the streets.
I doubt that’s by accident. and that’s a shame.