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An Unremarkable Event in the Tenderloin

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Re: An Unremarkable Event in the Tenderloin

#71

Post by nahname »

djmdjm wrote: post #30

What's remarkable about this is how the poster finds these casual encounters with homelessness "unremarkable". No other western city that I have visited has the massive, in-your-face homelessness as SF. I don't know enough about the causes of this phenomenon in SF to suggest what can be done about it; I'm sure they are complex, multi-factorial and politically fraught, but the level of homelessness in SF and (almost)…

Westwood in LA was pretty similar. I would guess the climate and the excess change is the primary draw.

As a visitor to the US, I find the homeless there very emotionally saddening.

I had a morning routine in LA where the same guy would greet me and everyone around. I just started buying him breakfast each day and he was always very appreciative. Saw a lot of people grabbing food out of garbage cans. Another guy with no legs crossing 10 lanes of traffic. Just a painful reminder of how much harder life could be.

I wasn't as regular with my routine in SFO and admittedly moved apartments further from the tenderloin. I ended up scaring more homeless whenever I walked through the tenderloin than scared me. But I still found it depressing to have to face that each day when I knew I could make a meaningful difference to many of the people I saw.

Re: An Unremarkable Event in the Tenderloin

#72

Post by stuntgoat »

I was shocked when I came from NY to SF. The streets are incredibly dirty and some of the homeless are in really bad shape. Someone posted this link on Twitter (I saw it here on HN a bit later), and I got some insight as to why this is the case.

http://www.sfweekly.com/2009-12-16/news/the-worst-run-big-ci...

Re: An Unremarkable Event in the Tenderloin

#73

Post by bmmayer1 »

djmdjm wrote: post #30

What's remarkable about this is how the poster finds these casual encounters with homelessness "unremarkable". No other western city that I have visited has the massive, in-your-face homelessness as SF. I don't know enough about the causes of this phenomenon in SF to suggest what can be done about it; I'm sure they are complex, multi-factorial and politically fraught, but the level of homelessness in SF and (almost)…

Welcome to California.

Re: An Unremarkable Event in the Tenderloin

#74

Post by doktrin »

djmdjm wrote: post #30

What's remarkable about this is how the poster finds these casual encounters with homelessness "unremarkable". No other western city that I have visited has the massive, in-your-face homelessness as SF. I don't know enough about the causes of this phenomenon in SF to suggest what can be done about it; I'm sure they are complex, multi-factorial and politically fraught, but the level of homelessness in SF and (almost)…

> No other western city that I have visited has the massive, in-your-face homelessness as SF.

SF is unique not in the size of the homeless population, but in its distribution.

The linked study refers to metropolitan areas (thus including Oakland as part of the SF Bay), but SF ranks 12th in the nation behind Tampa, Seattle & San Jose among others [1]

In both DC [21] and to a lesser extent Seattle [8], for instance, you could quite conceivably live, work and play in areas without visible signs of homelessness (including the commute in between).

In SF, of course, this is impossible. Certain parts of Market street (bordering on the Tenderloin) are about as run down as a major downtown area gets in the developed world.

[1] http://b.3cdn.net/naeh/a18b62e5f015e9a9b8_pdm6iy33d.pdf

Re: An Unremarkable Event in the Tenderloin

#75

Post by geebee »

chao- wrote: post #67
geebee wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the mid-90s, when I lived in New York, panhandlers would follow me several blocks while negotiating for change (you got tokens? I take subway tokens!). In Paris in the mid 80s, the same thing happened constantly in the metro station. Panhandlers would also come up to you while you were stuck in traffic, ask you to roll down your window, and try to bum money off you. It was constant. I was punched by a bum in Dubli…

though someone did try the old trick of pretending to "find" a ring, ask if it belonged to my wife, insist on handing it to her, and then asking for money I don't understand this, and if someone did that to me, I would be utterly confused. What's the basis for giving someone a ring that they would know isn't theirs?

To induce a feeling of obligation. I accepted a gift, now I should give a gift in return. This way, they trade a ten cent ring and ask for a 10 euro note in return.

She tossed the ring on the ground so it clattered and jumped up, "is this yours? Oh, well you keep it...", you know, that kind of crap.

Re: An Unremarkable Event in the Tenderloin

#76

Post by ixacto »

I tried to give a homeless person information on DSHS where they would be able to recive $200 month in food benefits (WA) plus who knows how much in TANF (welfare), and got told to fuck off to my face.

My pity for the homeless has diminished since then.

Re: An Unremarkable Event in the Tenderloin

#77

Post by brownie »

dclowd9901 wrote: post #52
djmdjm wrote: post #30

What's remarkable about this is how the poster finds these casual encounters with homelessness "unremarkable". No other western city that I have visited has the massive, in-your-face homelessness as SF. I don't know enough about the causes of this phenomenon in SF to suggest what can be done about it; I'm sure they are complex, multi-factorial and politically fraught, but the level of homelessness in SF and (almost)…

Local law enforcement has told us that, off the books, many East coast cities have actually paid to fly their homeless out of their areas into other parts of the country, California (namely San Francisco) because of their homeless-friendliness. People wonder what happened to all the crime and homeless in NYC? They were flown out west.

I've had people from Portland tell me that, on noticing the high number of homeless people around. Not sure if I believe that...

Re: An Unremarkable Event in the Tenderloin

#78

Post by yannk »

unkleruckus wrote: post #37
djmdjm wrote: post #30

What's remarkable about this is how the poster finds these casual encounters with homelessness "unremarkable". No other western city that I have visited has the massive, in-your-face homelessness as SF. I don't know enough about the causes of this phenomenon in SF to suggest what can be done about it; I'm sure they are complex, multi-factorial and politically fraught, but the level of homelessness in SF and (almost)…

I live in the Mission and work in Soma. I ride my bike under a stretch of 101 where there are usually several people sleeping. I am not sure if this is "accepted" or not but everyone seems to just ignore it completely.

It pretty much describes every single spot under 101 in the city...

17th has become worse in the recent months/year

Re: An Unremarkable Event in the Tenderloin

#79

Post by bitcartel »

irollboozers wrote: post #33

I don't know what it is, but posts like this make me feel like HN is waking up and realizing the world isn't just 'social networks for dogs', and that there are real social problems out there needing to be fixed. There is a trend happening. This post is powerful because it's recognition. The act was powerful because it was recognition, which then led to real action. If judging by recent posts on HN, hopefully posts l…

I posted this a few months ago. Worth watching.

VIDEO: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/social-issues/poor-k...

San Francisco is the most expensive place in America to find a home, but that doesn’t deter the 400,000 people coming each year to the Bay Area in search of a new home and a new life.

Eleven-year-old Sera, her sister and her mother moved to San Francisco in 2009. But when the economy collapsed, her mother lost her job and the family now survives on her $600 monthly unemployment checks.

After five months in a shelter and more than a year in transitional housing, the family has moved to a one-room rent-subsidized apartment in the Tenderloin — a neighborhood synonymous with drugs and violence — while they wait for subsidized housing to come through. But they are just one missed rental payment away from returning to the shelter.

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