We estimate that our homeless population over the past two years has doubled, from 2,500 to 5,000. Meanwhile, public safety, public health, tourism, and the image of our city have all been harmed. Every neighborhood, every major intersection, every city park, every hotel, restaurant, condo building, and apartment building has been negatively affected by this policy.
Worst of all, our homeless have been living in unsafe, unsanitary, and unregulated campgrounds, with massive amounts of human waste and physical trash piling up, where hard drugs are being sold, and where predators commit stabbings, violent assaults, and even rapes on a daily basis. In spite of these sobering facts, our city leaders refused to admit this reality.
Should it require 23 months to overturn a policy that 58 percent oppose? We were willing to make this investment of time and energy. Not everyone would be. Now our city turns its focus to actual, proven solutions for homelessness.
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