While I understand and vociferously advocate the need for massive change in macro-level societal priorities in order to address the root causes of drug/alcohol addiction, poverty and homelessness, I do not understand why it is that folks like Paul Boden, the director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, fail to address the immediate needs of both those camping in the park and those whose tax dollars pay for the park to be used as a park.
I get the distinct impression from Mr. Boden's statement here (and I've gotten similar impressions in Nashville at times by some advocates) that society is supposed to simply ignore the problems created by some of those who find themselves mired in poverty until such time as we initiate the massive social changes needed to permanently end these problems.
Ain't gonna happen folks, and lemme tell ya - "it ain't rocket science," when Mr. and Mrs. American family strolls through the park with their 2.7 kids and the family dog and finds used syringes, condoms, "tramp-trash" and broken beer and whiskey bottles lying where their children are supposed to play and their dog is supposed to run, you're not going to garner much sympathy from them later when it comes time to ask them to support causes and/or legislation related to assisting the problems of the Homeless.
There are plenty of Homeless folks I know in Nashville who understand this too, and they get downright ticked off when one of their own "shits in the bed." They recognize that simply because they are Homeless doesn't mean they are exempt from the basic responsibilities of and to humankind and society. They know damned good and well that what they do reflects upon all of them and they act accordingly because they also know how easy the average citizen's heart is to harden.
They had no doubt that the increasingly unchecked behavior of some, and especially the more belligerent stoners and mouthwash ("wash") drinkers, was going to have serious repercussions for everyone at library park, and so were not really surprised at all at the recent effort by the city to bring some order to the area.
The simple fact of the matter is that just because you're poor or Homeless doesn't give you the right to disregard laws, violate common decency standards and generally act like an ass until the rest of us do something to fix it for you, and the majority of Homeless recognize this. Believe it or not, most also live within the rule of law and keep their living areas neat and clean, but you'd never know it, since there's no way to tell they've even been in a particular area, kind of a "leave no trace" philosophy. I think most folks would be surprised to see just how many people were living on the streets all over Nashville and her burbs because they'd never have guessed that so many were right under their noses.
Sure, the approach San Francisco is using most certainly could be done better - every approach has room for improvement - but at least they're doing something that attempts to assist the Homeless as well as correcting a dangerous public problem, and if you think having dirty hypodermic needles and used condoms lying around in a public park doesn't demand immediate attention and correction, then something is terribly wrong with your perception of problems.
I wonder whether Mr. Boden's own perception would change if he were to step on one of those dirty syringes and contract Hepatitis....or something much, much worse....
Meanwhile, as Mr. Boden complains, San Francisco has worked to assist the Homeless, and two years ago established a best-practices model put into action by Project Homeless Connect.
A recent news article in Forbes highlights the efforts by the PHC in Springfield, Mass:
"Project Homeless Connect started in San Francisco two years ago and has been adopted by about 130 cities nationwide. "This is the first time in a while that I've felt like anyone wants to help me," Tim Cressetti said Friday after having his shoulder-length
hair cut to ear level inside the MassMutual Center. Without a job, Cressetti ran out of money to pay his rent in June and has been staying in a homeless shelter. His last haircut was about a year ago. "I've felt like everything was against me," said Cressetti, 52. "It was like I was the only person in the world." The idea behind Project Homeless Connect is to place as many social service providers as possible under one roof. The Springfield event included representatives
from homeless shelters, housing authorities, substance abuse treatment centers and state and federal benefit agencies. Attendees applied for state identification cards and copies of their birth certificates - essential documents needed to get a house, job or disability benefits. But some of the longest lines were for free haircuts, massages and eye exams."
| Our Mission | ||||
 The mission of Project Homeless Connect is to rally the city to support and create lasting solutions for homeless San Franciscans. Project Homeless Connect (PHC) is a national best practice model that originated in San Francisco under Mayor Gavin Newsom in October 2004. PHC is now implemented in 106 cities across the United States as well as Canada, Puerto Rico and Australia. Every other month over 1000 community volunteers partner with city government, non-profits and the private sector to provide a one-stop shop of health and human services for homeless San Franciscans. Services include medical, mental health, substance abuse, housing, dental, benefits, legal, free eyeglasses, California ID, food, clothing, wheelchair repair and more. The goal of PHC is to provide easy access to services that support the transition the of City's homeless off the streets and into housing. As of February 2007, 18,486 volunteers have provided services to 18,217 homeless San Franciscans. Goals  The goals of PHC are:
History in Brief In October 2004, 278 volunteers engaged in a survey of the San Francisco downtown homeless population, which consists of a 60-square block area in the Tenderloin District where 85% of the City's social services currently exist. Over 2 years later, San Francisco enlists over 1000 volunteers every other month to engage homeless San Franciscans and connect them to needed services and housing. Project Homeless Connect is breaking the myth that people do not seek assistance and services and would simply prefer to be on the street. The data proves that when people are approached in a respectful and kind manner, and with available and appropriate resources, they are eager to accept help towards self-sufficienc |
167 homeless camps removed from S.F.'s Golden Gate Park, city says
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
In the past month, city workers have cleared out 167 camps in Golden Gate Park and have provided services as small as hot showers and as big as housing to 164 homeless people, Newsom administration officials say.
And it's not just homeless people receiving services - 30 dogs living in the park have been moved into housing, too.
Every day for a month, a team of police officers, city officials, health workers and members of the city's Homeless Outreach Team has visited the park at 4 a.m., looking for camps and rousting homeless people living in them. City officials say that while it's a seemingly endless task - more homeless people move in just as old camps are cleared out - they are making progress.
"Everything we're doing in Golden Gate Park is about connecting homeless people with the services that they need to get back on their feet," Mayor Gavin Newsom's press secretary, Nathan Ballard, said Tuesday. "That's how we measure success."
But some homeless advocates say they've seen it all before and that until societal problems - including lack of sufficient government funding for affordable housing and drug treatment - are addressed, the situation in Golden Gate Park will never change.
"This is the worst case of deja vu I've had in years," said Paul Boden, director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, a coalition of homeless advocacy groups based in San Francisco.
He said every mayoral administration since Art Agnos took office in the late 1980s has conducted a similar sweep - often timed for election season - and has provided the same sorts of statistics showing the numbers of homeless people they've helped. He said it's great for a particular person to get shelter or mental health services, but that shouldn't be proof of success.
"The issue isn't about these individual people," Boden said. "The issue is why do people in general continue to find themselves living in Golden Gate Park? The causes stay exactly the same. It's not rocket science."
The problem came into sharp focus last month when The Chronicle reported that the park was littered with homeless encampments and hypodermic needles despite Newsom's pledge to clear out the park last fall.
The Chronicle returned Monday and found many encampments and hypodermic needles cleared out of the obvious spots, including Chicken Hill near the popular tennis courts. But it wasn't hard to find new camps set up farther into the brush - even within a stone's throw of headquarters for the city Recreation and Park Department.
Newsom administration officials have said their initial effort last fall was a 90-day initiative that they didn't have the resources to sustain. The camps and the intravenous drug users returned. This time around, city officials have vowed the work won't stop. The city's new budget contains $2.8 million in additional funds for the park, including gardeners, custodians and homeless outreach workers.
The outreach workers have kept a tally of each day's progress, and Newsom's administration released the statistics - dating back to July 25 - to The Chronicle.
So far, officials say, 164 people have received such services as talking to an outreach worker, being referred to a psychologist, taking a shower and moving into a shelter. Of those 164, 25 have left San Francisco altogether through the city's Homeward Bound program, in which the city provides a free bus ticket home and a ride to the Transbay Terminal.
In addition, 30 dogs have been moved out of the park. The Homeless Outreach Team last year began finding building managers willing to accept dogs in their single-room occupancy hotels. Workers with the team have said many homeless people have dogs and would never agree to move into housing if it meant being separated from their animals.
Seven people living in the park have been arrested for felonies and seven for misdemeanors, and 13 have been arrested on outstanding warrants. Ballard said he didn't know the specifics of those arrests.
A whopping 236 citations for infractions - including camping in the park - have been handed out as well. If history repeats itself, however, those likely will be directed to traffic court and dismissed.
Progress in park
Results reported since July 25 on encampments and litter in Golden Gate Park:
236
citations issued
167
camps cleared
164
homeless people who have received services, including 25 who accepted bus tickets home
30
dogs moved out
311
The city's phone number to report encampments in a city park
E-mail Heather Knight at hknight@sfchron
Newsom moves to give police freer hand to clear homeless from parks
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
(08-22) 16:12 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Police officers would be able to arrest people camping in Golden Gate Park or any other city parks at any time of day under new changes to the parks code introduced by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.
The proposed ordinance to amend the park code includes new language prohibiting anyone from modifying "the landscape in any way in order to create a shelter or accumulate household furniture or appliances or construction debris in any park."
That language is much broader than the previous rules, which prohibited people form constructing or maintaining actual structures or tents. The new wording would allow police officers who spot obvious encampments -- including those with sleeping bags, tarps or cooking devices -- to arrest people using them even during the daytime, according to Yomi Agunbiade, general manager of the city's recreation and parks department.
"The way it was written before, it was really hard to enforce," Agunbiade said. "All this has done is broaden the definition, and it makes it a lot clearer about what camping is."
Newsom's proposed legislation also expands the no-sleeping-in-
E-mail Heather Knight at hknight@sfchron
