“Free Phone Numbers Won’t Work In SF…”

So says a writer of an opinion piece in the San Francisco Chronicle today. She writes: “While the [phone] program may prove useful for those inclined to better their situation, it is unlikely to have an impact on the chronically homeless.”

Although I don’t agree with all of her points in her laments over homelessness in this bay city, she does touch on some hot points that I have addressed in this blog.

For example, the “false” notion that there are less homeless in SF since the city began their Ten Year Plan: “City officials seem determined to put on a happy face when it comes to combating homelessness. But it's hard to believe any of them actually live here. For the residents of San Francisco, the blight of homelessness has only gotten worse over the years, and today it has reached critical mass.”

The fact that public benches are being taken away because people who are homeless are filling them up. “It's gotten to the point where many city parks are devoid of benches or suitable areas for visitors to sit because they would all be filled with sleeping or passed-out homeless.”

What’s sad, is that this editorial piece could be published in any city in America—just change the name of the city—and it would be relevant.

(Pic from http://blog.busbank.com/)