{"id":28199,"date":"2023-08-30T12:44:03","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T19:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=28199"},"modified":"2023-08-30T12:44:04","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T19:44:04","slug":"stop-the-sweeps-vs-save-our-streets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/08\/30\/stop-the-sweeps-vs-save-our-streets\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSTOP THE SWEEPS\u201d VS. \u201cSAVE OUR STREETS\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by\u00a0Sebastian<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0August 28, 2023 (BeyondChron.org)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A homeless encampment sweep on Van Ness between Eddy and Larch. Aug. 22, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Ness at Center of Conflict<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On August 22 morning, the day before the rally outside of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals<\/a>, I received a text message from my friend who lives on the 700 block of Van Ness Ave, \u201cBreaking: Sweep on Van Ness happening now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A homeless encampment sweep on Van Ness between Eddy and Larch. Aug. 22, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I went to Van Ness to observe the sweep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The property owners of 725 Van Ness Avenue<\/a> immediately installed their steel planters<\/a> in front of the building which the unhoused occupants of the big tent called home for a few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The big tent was removed and the steel planters were installed outside 725 Van Ness Avenue. Aug. 22, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unhoused people who refused the city\u2019s offer of shelter and services just waited on Eddy and Larch between Van Ness and Franklin before they came back to the very same spot where they were before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By noon after the Healthy Streets Operations Center (HSOC) team left, the tents were back in front of 799 Van Ness Avenue.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tents are back in front of 799 Van Ness. Aug. 22, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents and businesses on the 700 block of Van Ness Avenue I talked to were furious and frustrated seeing that the tents were back again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like going into a circle,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They had been complaining to the city about that homeless encampment for months concerning the open-air drug market and use, the crimes, the destruction of their properties without cause, the fires, the unsanitary and unpassable sidewalk conditions, and the noises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They showed me the signs they made for the rally outside the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 23<\/a> exhibiting the damages to their properties caused by the unhoused people from the encampments on Van Ness and Larch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rally signs made by residents and businesses on Van Ness and Larch. Aug. 22, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As \u201cStop The Sweeps\u201d vs. \u201cSave Our Streets\u201d could go to the Supreme Court<\/a>, something must be done now to relieve the city\u2019s inhumane street conditions and provide shelter and housing for the unhoused people who are willing to leave the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governor Gavin Newsom announced on August 23 that he would add $38 million to the homeless encampment sweep funding<\/a> to be distributed throughout the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will be more sweeps as well as resistants<\/a> to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can\u2019t keep Spinning Around Like A Record.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hoped to find possible amicable solutions by attending the rally outside the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have friends on both sides,  team \u201cStop The Sweeps\u201d and team \u201cSave Our Streets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I listened to their arguments during the rally with an open mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team \u201cStop The Sweeps.\u201d Aug.23, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team \u201cSave Our Streets.\u201d Aug.23, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After listening and talking to both sides as well as law enforcement officers during the rally, I came up with these ideas as possible temporary solutions until the lawsuit is finally settled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.Offer unhoused people and drug addicts shelter, rehab, and treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.Offer a one-way bus ticket home; especially if they are not from San Francisco and refuse shelter, rehab, and treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since it will take the city years and billions to build more shelters and permanent housing for unhoused people,<\/a> there is a third option to be considered, the \u201cAdopt-A-Homeless\u201d program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cAdopt-A-Homeless\u201d<\/a> program idea had been proposed in Miami, FL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By all means, I don\u2019t mean to be insensitive or sarcastic to team \u201cStop The Sweeps\u201d but we and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors should look into this program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unhoused people, who are unwelcomed<\/a> by team \u201cSave Our Streets\u201d on their sidewalks, could be adopted\/housed by team \u201cStop The Sweeps\u201d on their sidewalks, front or backyards, or spare bedrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This way, team \u201cStop The Sweeps\u201d doesn\u2019t have to worry again about unhoused people getting swept by the city or encountering law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unhoused people will feel safe and can do whatever they want under the compassionate supervision of the team, \u201cStop The Sweeps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A chalk message on the sidewalk outside the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Aug. 23, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This, by all means, doesn\u2019t release the city\u2019s responsibilities from building more shelters and permanent housing for unhoused people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unhoused people have the right to housing and housed people have the right to safe, clean, and vibrant streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a group in the Castro called \u201cGays Against Blight\u201d proposes sidewalk planters<\/a> to beautify their gayborhood, it shows that San Franciscans from all walks of life want to save their streets to revive the vibrancy of their beloved City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Either unhoused or housed people should be used as pawns in a sickening political game by folks who don\u2019t understand life on the streets and its harrowing effects on residents and businesses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Sebastian\u00a0on\u00a0August 28, 2023 (BeyondChron.org) A homeless encampment sweep on Van Ness between Eddy and Larch. Aug. 22, 2023 Van Ness at Center of Conflict On August 22 morning, the day before the rally outside of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, I received a text message from my friend who lives… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1004,1003],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28199"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28200,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28199\/revisions\/28200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}