ARTICLES

Get Out of Town

City Hall Ready to Drop Hammer on Homeless

By Eric Reslock

When the board of supervisors' analyst released results of a survey on the cost of homelessness in San Francisco on December 31, it unleashed a political free-for-all with five competing proposals in San Francisco, a new initiative by the governor, plus legislation in Sacramento. A city known throughout the world as a beacon of tolerance has had enough of being a beacon for indigents. The issue is expected to dominate the next mayoral election. Supervisors Hall and Newsom are tapping the sentiment of business owners and residents who feel there are too many homeless and too much human waste to dodge while walking in the city. The San Francisco Chronicle ran an editorial on February 10, "Throw the bums out. It's long past time to get tough on homelessness." The editorial wanted the number of shelter beds decreased and says that panhandlers should not be given any money at all. "Chase them away from locations where the elderly are vulnerable such as near ATM machines," said the article.

Since coming under the care of homeless advocacy groups, many find they have permanent access to city services with no strings attached -- at least as long as they live. Newsom, who is expected to run for mayor, said in a January 25 Chronicle piece by Rob Morse, "Seven hundred people have died on my watch and I'm not interested in holding hands and singing 'Kumbaya'."

The board's survey shows the city of San Francisco expects to provide assistance to 94,215 people, of which an estimated 7,300 are homeless during the 2001-02 fiscal year. In direct services, the city expects to spend about $73 million, compared to $31 million in 1993-94. Total spending on homeless is expected to be over $104 million in the current budget cycle. Supervisor Newsom believes the figure could be as much as $200 million when grants to non-profits are factored in.

The analyst's report was requested by Newsom. His January 7 proposal would make panhandling on medians and city-owned parking lots and other public places punishable by a $500 fine and possible jail time. He also proposed more shelter beds and a fingerprinting system to identify homeless people who use city services. His proposed cut in general assistance cash grants from as much as $395 a month, to $50 has homeless advocates hopping mad. Supervisor Hall introduced a plan a week later, like Newsom's, that would crack down on panhandling and public defecating. Hall's plan calls for doubling the number of shelter beds to approximately 3,500 and proposes to make toilets in city parks and parking garages accessible to homeless people. On January 12, senate leader John Burton (D-San Francisco) announced he was crafting legislation creating a statewide office of homelessness to "coordinate resources between regional governments." Senator Burton is also rumored to be running for mayor of San Francisco.

Supervisor Hall said in a January 14 San Francisco Chronicle piece that he believes an outright ban on sleeping on the streets is needed after building more shelter space. Supervisor Chris Daly followed with a plan that would require the department of public works to remove human excrement and hypodermic syringes. He also wants to create access to showers and laundry facilities. Hoping to trump everyone, another possible mayoral candidate, supervisor Tom Ammiano, on January 28, called for a state constitutional amendment that would make the state pay for housing, health care, and food for mentally ill people.

While the media and general public seem to welcome city hall's aggressive attention to the issue, homeless advocates are apoplectic. On February 7, supervisor Newsom had to be escorted by police from a news conference at the Next Door shelter on Polk Street after about 50 homeless protesters surrounded him as he tried to get back to city hall.

Earlier demonstrations have been more docile, like the January 13 protest where Franciscan friars and other religious stood on the median on Van Ness Avenue begging and holding signs protesting Newsom's proposal to make it illegal to beg in public. The Franciscans have several facilities to help homeless in the Tenderloin area.

Father Louis Vitale, pastor of Saint Boniface in the Tenderloin, confirmed that friars from St. Boniface participated in the protest on Van Ness Avenue. When asked whose responsibility it is to care for homeless people, he replied, "I think the community at large, public and private, all have a responsibility to tend to the needs of the poor. It's not one more than the other." Asked if begging is a good use of a homeless person's time. Father Vitale responded, "From our perspective, we realize that there are more people who are desperately poor than many might think. For those who have no other resource, they beg." Father Vitale said the long-term goal for the friars is to help those in need, in accordance, he said, with Matthew 25 (Mathew 25:35 says, "For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in...").

A friar who asked to remain anonymous, said, "Begging for alms is a universal right. That's why we are protesting the proposal." Asked if many of the homeless are just bums who are capable of helping themselves, he replied, "It's not our duty to question why people are asking for help. We simply give it."

The friars at St. Boniface work at Saint Anthony's Dining Room at 121 Golden Gate Avenue, in the heart of the Tenderloin. They typically serve over 2,000 meals per day 365 days a year. On February 27 there was a line from the front door to Jones Street waiting for the doors to open for a hot meal. The foundation also runs a free medical clinic that provides primary and urgent care services to children and adults who have no health insurance. Approximately 20-30 percent of the patients are homeless.

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