I see a lot of comments about how it’s gotten terrible recently etc.
I’m not from the US, but I’ve been to SF a number on times (>5). The first time was in 2006 for apple WWDC, as a student, and back then I already witnessed a number of people wandering in the streets, mostly passed out or wandering, but I also saw peopoe shouting at the air, and defecating and throwing stuff.
At the time I was told this was a legacy from the post-Vietnam era, where many veterans flocked there due to the dem leaning of the city which provided an expectation of help, and also mostly the nice weather, but ultimately they did not get support.
From that point on things developed. Veterans from other wars, and then generally any people with life issues, were attracted to that location which fits their unfortunate, crazy situation - drugs, a barebones support network that provides food (?), and the fact no one bothers them anymore..
At least that’s what I was told.
In recent years I’ve noticed more of the situation, but tbh nothing that surprises me from the earlier observations. I didn’t see ANY numbers so that may or may not be the case.
I am interested in someone validating or correcting my perception
Half of the problem is that San Francisco- and the bay area as a whole- ignores their drug and homeless problem. Ironically the drug rate in San Francisco matches that of most large cities, but you don't see the problem in other cities because most of the drug users do it in the homes rather than on the street.
The bay area has the lowest rate of homeless shelters per capita of any major metro in the united states. Whether you're talking Atlanta, Miami, or Boston (regardless of weather), every other city has more homeless shelters and programs to house people. This gets people off of the streets and, at a minimum, gets them in a place where they can take advantage of other programs to deal with health and addiction problems.
In the bay area these people stay on the streets while hundreds of charities get small amounts of money to help, but with no real central coordination or group that's in charge of spending that money effectively. As a result you've got a ton of people on the streets, as well as all the consequences of that.
I suspect a reason for the lack of homeless shelters is a lack of urgency- elsewhere in the country, it is dangerous to be outside for extended periods due to either heat or cold, depending on where you are and the time of year.
People- both on the streets and in control politically, don't have much urgency in providing shelters as a result.
I do agree there's a lack of urgency, but I don't think that's related to the weather. I think it's more than weather, as even other cities in good weather areas manage to do better than the bay area.
Yeah I think this is a huge part of it. I'm in Chicago now and there's construction everywhere all the time. The Bay Area won't build housing, which drives up the cost of land and housing everywhere else in the area. This makes it harder to build shelters.
