San Francisco, known for its liberal political climate and also a profusely staggering numbers of homeless people on the streets, have been put into their own deadlock as there were controversial proposals made to to keep the homeless population in public parks caused public outrage and worries.
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Business owners and residents have been complaining of the enormous pressure the lockdown has caused, and now complains that the tents erected on doorsteps will become a disaster for their business and local work.
San Francisco recently opened its first “Safe Sleeping Site” in the shadow of City Hall, providing a supervised and physically distanced area where unsheltered residents can legally camp in tents. A second designated site has also been selected and is expected to open soon. With the added dangers of a virus spreading unchecked through the city’s shelters, officials have been forced to reduce capacity out of a need to create physical distancing, leaving many with nowhere else to go but on the street. And while the city has also secured more than 2,000 hotel rooms to house the unsheltered, the effort to craft a more long-term solution has opened a new battle among those tasked with solving the problem.
“It’s already been really, really hard. This has been our reality for many years and this is just making everything more challenging,” said Kelly Cutler of the Coalition on Homelessness, an advocacy group. Some of the city’s residents, however, are increasingly disturbed by what they’re seeing on the streets. “It’s unsafe. It’s unsanitary. Whatever is going on here, it’s inhumane,” said Mike Abuyashi, owner of an auto shop in the city’s Tenderloin district. “It’s like, you know, you come to work and you want to focus on what you’re here for. Then you have all the craziness going on.”
The San Francisco Parks and Recreation Department have rounded up the list of public properties in civic nature that can be provided as a property for the encampments, and this too has been struck with clear opposition. Parks, parkings lots and vacant spaces are absolutely necessary, says the public health officials. Opening up the city’s parks, including parking lots and other vacant space, for temporary shelter would help address the urgent need for space, said city Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer. The parks department oversees 11% of city-owned land, according to Fewer.
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