Mayor London Breed said a “very aggressive” sweep of San Francisco homeless encampments will start in August, after a recent Supreme Court ruling cleared the path for widespread enforcement.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled that enforcing rules against homeless people for sleeping outside doesn’t violate the Eighth Amendment’s “cruel and unusual punishment” clause.
On Thursday, Breed celebrated the ruling and said the city plans to change its protocols and may begin issuing criminal penalties against homeless people.
“Thank goodness for the change in the Supreme Court decision,” Breed said at an election debate hosted by a local firefighter’s union. “Effective August, we are going to be very aggressive and assertive in moving encampments, which may even include criminal penalties.”
The chronically homeless, the ones that are hardest to get off the street, are difficult to house for reasons besides availability or cost, though.
And we could still fund a facility and staff to house and treat them and it would be cheaper than the current emergency services and courts costs. It would also be more humane and prevent massive encampments from forming.
They dont want to stay though. You have to realize that some people just dont think the way others think. Call it mental illness, call it mental differences, call it whatever you want. But some people are just not compatible with homes.
That’s probably the case for some but not the vast majority. I’m sure there’s plenty who would like an opportunity to get back on their feet, speaking from past experience, some are just mentally ill and need mental health help to get back and to those who just prefer the streets they can go back.
I’ve had this idea for some kind of concrete hut type of structure for those types of homeless people to use, that way it’s easily cleaned out. It would just be a way to keep them out of the rain and give them a safe spot. Maybe add a wooden bench type of platform to give them a spot off the ground. You could place them in out of the way areas, along with a bathroom/shower building. Basically an official homeless camp. Just pay homeless people as janitors to keep things tidy.
