Editorial:
Several ballot measures appear to offer hope in dealing with S.F.’s homeless problem.
San Francisco’s homeless situation is growing worse. The numbers remain unchanged despite a battery of programs, costs are skyrocketing, and fundamental management flaws remain. Scores of sidewalk tents, shiny as Easter eggs, are the latest symbols of failure.
In response, city leaders have fresh plans that will come at a hefty price. Mayor Ed Lee — who played down the issue in his first term — is boosting the homeless budget by over $80 million. The money will go to service-laden housing and a quick-strike program that transports homeless groups to centers that offer treatment, pet care, and even bus tickets out of San Francisco.
These are the latest initiatives in ending a problem that has dogged city leaders for decades. Mayor Willie Brown, now a Chronicle columnist and political consultant, once declared the problem unsolvable, while his successor, Gavin Newsom, pushed major changes to take away welfare cash.
The responses moderated the problem but never solved it. Crackdowns on car camping, bans on aggressive behavior, and court-ordered mental health treatment have all been debated and partially tried. But the numbers — 6,600 last year — haven’t budged in several years.
San Francisco could be at another pivot point. There are a number of factors: the city’s rising wealth that is growing the city budget; the public’s fed-up attitude; and a willingness to try new initiatives. City lawmakers, both progressive and moderate, want a change.
The new ideas build on what works and what is missing. Lee is planning a June ballot measure to raise $20 million for improved homeless shelters and expansion of the Navigation Center concept that offers concentrated one-stop help. Another money-raising ballot measure sponsored by Supervisor Mark Farrell could follow in November.
City Hall is moving toward a single homeless-serving agency. Simple as it sounds, there is no effective tracking system for homeless adults and families who cycle through the city’s multitude of programs. Time and money are wasted for both clients and city workers because no data is saved. That’s a failing that must be fixed.
The city’s humanity is bound up in the problem. Major sweeps aren’t likely to happen, as shown by the city’s milder policy of cleaning up camps but not removing them.
But city leaders can’t ignore a need for social limits in handling a crisis that batters San Francisco’s livability and its conscience. It’s time for solutions that get at the root of homelessness.