History of Homelessness and San Francisco City Policy
During the 1980s, homeless people began appearing in large numbers in the
city, the result of factors that were affecting the country at large combined
with San Francisco's attractive environment and forgiving policies: economic
and social changes, the popularity of new addictive drugs, and the wide
dispersal of Vietnam veterans are often cited as reasons for the growth of the
problem. Mayor Art Agnos(1988-92) was the first to attack the problem, and not the
last; it's a top issue for San Franciscans even today. Agnos
allowed the homeless to camp in the Civic
Center park,
which led to its title of "Camp
Agnos."
The failure of this lenient policy led to his being replaced by Frank Jordan in
1992. Jordan
launched the "MATRIX" program the next year, which aimed to displace
the homeless through aggressive police action. And it did displace them - to
the rest of the city. His successor, Willie Brown, was able to largely ignore
the problem, riding on the strong economy into a second term. Gavin Newsom, while working to increase the
amount of supportive housing, is attempting to solving
the homeless problem by making the homeless as uncomfortable as possible so
they are forced to utilize services (even though there are currently not enough
services) or leave the city.
Through increasing use of homeless sweeps, property
theft, and anti-homeless police citations, the city of San Francisco has made a notably aggressive
attempt over the past three years to decrease the visibility of homelessness. Homeless people are routinely displaced and
told to "move on," as an attempt to make them less visible.
Large-scale homeless "sweeps" are frequently used as a tactic to
accomplish this.
Agnos Administration
1988: Sweeps
in Golden Gate Park,
Civic Center and Cole
Valley
1989: Mayor
Agnos orders Police Chief Frank Jordan to sweep Civic Center
Plaza of the 60-100
people living there.
Jordan
Administration
1992:After the
passage of Prop J (put on the ballot by Mayor Jordan), the City outlaws
aggressive panhandling. Alvord Lake
(part of Golden Gate
Park at Haight and Stanyan) was closed
during the evening.
1993:
The Matrix Program began. Between August and December, 5,602
citations are issued to homeless people for Quality of Life offenses. More
citations for sleeping and camping in the parks, drinking in public,
obstructing the sidewalk and sleeping in the doorways were issued in the first
months of Matrix than in the five previous years combined. The Transbay Bus
Terminal, home to more than 100 homeless people, locked its doors to them. A
program serving many of the Terminal's severely mentally ill residents was also
shut down. Virtually every City park was closed at night by the Rec. and Park
Commission. Food Not Bombs began getting
arrested for serving food to homeless people in Civic Center
Plaza.
1994: After
the passage of Prop J put on the ballot by Mayor Jordan, panhandling around ATM
machines was prohibited. After the
passage of Prop V put on the ballot by Mayor Jordan, all single adult welfare
recipients began being fingerprinted. "No parking from 2:00am to
6:00am" signs were put up by the Port Authority on a street in China Basin
where most of the City's mobile residents resided. Mayor Jordan declared
to the media that there were armed criminals posing as homeless people and
using their shopping carts to transport weapons. He ordered the SFPD to arrest
people in possession of shopping carts. The people of San Francisco openly express their outrage at
this proposal and no one gets arrested. 11,562 citations issued for
life-sustaining activities.
1995:
In August, Mayor Jordan
planned Matrix II, "Take back our Parks," a multi-departmental
intensive sweep of Golden Gate
Park, and uses it as a
media moment in his mayoral campaign. Homeless people lost property and were
displaced. Mayor Jordan
ran an unsuccessful ballot measure (Prop M) to prohibit sitting and lying in
commercial districts around the City. 14,276 citations were issued for
life-sustaining activities.
Brown Administration
1996: 50 homeless people were evicted from a lot in the Bayview referred to as "Land of the Lost". The
City settled out of court. Mayor Brown declares Matrix is over. SFPD formed
"Operation Park". 2-6 police officers on each
shift were assigned to roust and cite homeless people in the parks of their
district. 17,532 citations were issued
for life-sustaining activities.
1997: Massive
sweeps of Golden Gate
Park began. Mayor Brown
asked to borrow the Oakland Police Dept.'s night vision-equipped helicopter to
locate homeless people illegally sleeping in the park, but was denied. Homeless
people lost property and were displaced from the park. Homeless people were
prohibited by the SFPD and DPW from taking their property from the park and
were told they could retrieve it another day. Since this time, a special crew
of Rec. & Park employees was been formed and maintained in order to
identify and destroy homeless encampments in parks around the city. An
encampment between Bayshore and highway 101 was
cleared by Caltrans and the CHP after the 25
residents organized a massive cleanup. Caltrans
created a special unit that sweeps homeless people and their property from
under bridges and highways. 15,671 citations issued for life-sustaining
activities.
1998: "No
Loitering or Sleeping" signs are placed in public parks around the city. Civic Center
Plaza is remodeled,
removing the fountain, adding two children's playgrounds, and the park is
cleared of homeless people. A police officer was assigned to monitor the park. A
huge encampment was swept across the street from the now Pacific Bell Park. The residents
negotiated with the private property owner and worked out a plan for residents
to vacate the property that gave them some time. Many residents relocated to
the Mission Rock shelter that opened nearby during the same time. City Outreach
workers helped with the transition. The Board of Supervisors made it illegal to
drink in parks where poor people congregate (Round 1). The Board of Supervisors
passed an ordinance making it possible for police to cite people for camping
and sleeping in UN and Hallidie Plazas.
Caltrans did a massive sweep of property under
bridges and highways. Castro merchants organized an anti-panhandling campaign
called "Create Change" that urged people to give money to charities,
not panhandlers. The District Attorney began a "3 strikes and you're
out" policy for people found drunk in public. 18,590 citations issued for
life-sustaining activities.
1999: Officers
from the North Beach District take photographs of homeless people claiming they
were creating a scrapbook. They distributed copies of the pictures to local
merchants ordering them not to sell alcohol to anyone in the pictures because
they were "habitual drunkards." The City settled the ensuing lawsuit
out of court. The story made Reader's Digest. The Rec. and Park Commission made
it illegal to drink in parks where poor people congregate (Round 2). An
encampment near Battery and Broadway was swept
by DPW and a fence was erected by Caltrans and again,
Caltrans did a massive sweep of property under
bridges and highways. The Mission Rock shelter is closed. Nearly 45 people
documented that their property was destroyed during the sloppy closure. Supervisor
Amos Brown introduced anti-panhandling legislation, calling it the
"Pedestrian Safety Act." The Board of Supervisors voted against it. Mayor Brown ordered homeless people to be
charged with felonies if found in possession of a shopping cart. After a week
of bad press, he then claimed he never ordered it. 23,871 citations were issued
for life-sustaining activities.
2000: The
City Attorney began prosecuting homeless people in traffic court for Quality of
Life offenses. This program cost the city $250,000 and was a dismal failure in
its stated purpose of connecting homeless people with the services they
supposedly refuse. A permanent fence is erected around the DPW station at
McAllister and Larkin Streets after our friend Trent is found there dead from
an overdose. 17,954 citations were issued for life-sustaining activities.
2001: UN
Plaza starts its remodeling, lawns are closed, the
fountain is shut down. All benches are removed in a midnight attack, costing
the city $24,000 in overtime. A large encampment under the Cesar Chavez Circle highway overpasses
was swept by DPW. Property belonging to homeless residents was videotaped being
thrown into the back of a city garbage truck. After the tape aired on a local
news channel, Mayor Brown claimed the incident was staged by homeless
advocates, and the homeless person the newscrews
interviewed was an actor. 75 homeless people were displaced and many lost
property. A fence was erected by Caltrans. The
District Attorney replaces the City Attorney in traffic court prosecuting
Quality of Life offenses until the new fiscal year began and such enforcement
was taken out of DA's budget. The District Attorney started prosecuting
California Penal Code 647(j), a misdemeanor that makes it illegal to lodge on
public or private property. Homeless people begin to spend more time in jail. The
City spends $30.8 million to incarcerate homeless people. 9,134 citations
issued for life-sustaining activities.
2002: A
large encampment is swept from Berry
Street. 100 homeless people are displaced and a
fence was erected by DPW. The City spent $13,644 on this sweep not including
the costs for the extensive police presence on the day of the sweep. Day
Laborers along Cesar Chavez Street
began receiving petty offense tickets from the SFPD in an effort to drive them
from the area. DPW started Operation Scrubdown,
targeting downtown streets and alleys. Workers would move homeless encampments
then hose down the area with nasty chemicals making it impossible to return to
that spot. DPW estimated that Operation Scrubdown
cost the City $11,000 every day. The Board of Supervisors passed a new law
prohibiting urinating and defecating in public, but no new public bathrooms
were opened. Three dogs belonging to homeless people were shot by the SFPD
within three months. 6,957 citations issued for life-sustaining activities. An
additional 2,035 misdemeanor lodging citations are also issued.
2003: "No
habitating in your vehicle between 10:00pm and
6:00am" signs are put up in China
Basin and Bayview districts. Homeless people living and caring for
the property behind Laguna Honda hospital were relocated. People accessing
City-funded homeless services were required to be electronically fingerprinted
and photographed before receiving any services. Homeless people were swept out
of Dolores Park by SFPD. A nearby drop-in center was closed indefinitely. Between
January and July, 7,004 citations were issued for life-sustaining activities. A
homeless man receives 30 days in jail as his sentence for a lodging citation.
Newsom Administration
2004: “Care
Not Cash” is passed and General Assistance checks are cut from $349 a month to
$59 a month. Anti-panhandling
legislation is passed, though city officials say social workers will be sent to
help panhandlers instead of giving them tickets. Social workers were out on the street for
less than a week. “Street cleaners”
begin washing the sidewalks of the Tenderloin (Market to California) three times a night with
powerful hoses. The street cleaners
spray the homeless while they are sleeping.
The homeless are required to be fingerprinted in order to stay in
shelters and there GA checks will be cut to $59 if they choose to stay in a
shelter. Changes in homeless policy have
led more homeless people to migrate to different neighborhoods or to squat in
houses of people on vacation or abandoned buildings. The city begins to work on creating
supportive housing for the “chronically” homeless.
Sources:
http://www.sf-homeless-coalition.org/civilrights.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco,_California