This is where we differ. I think we both agree we need more housing for people. That said, once we get the housing I think there needs to be way less toleration. I would ban things like setting up tents/sleeping on sidewalks/in city parks, open-air drug use, and panhandling. The purpose of arresting them wouldn't be to send them to prison, but to get them help. These homeless people all need mental health evaluations. A good amount belong in mental health institutions, others might be able to perform basic jobs, and others just need to get off drugs/get their shit together, because their brain isn't totally gone.
In Portugal they get people to go to treatment. In Oregon, almost nobody goes to treatment. It's just write them a citation and off to buy their next meth/fentanyl hit. Watch this from local Oregon news:
You'll love Adams in NY. He slashed mental health budget and is involuntarily committing ppl in hospitals to keep them off the streets so they (us) foot the bill.
Honestly, mental health services should be provided by the state or even the federal government, not the city government.
If you make SF a safe heaven for LGBT while you persecute it everywhere else, you'll end up w/high per capita LGBT. If you make Cali. a sanctuary state while you persecute undocumented everywhere else, you'll end up w/high per capita undocumented. If you make Cali homeless friendly while you persecute everywhere else, you'll end up w/high per capita homeless. Quite simply, if LGBT were accepted, immigrants welcomed, or the reality of homeless creation in an increasingly "trickle up redistribution of wealth" model was accepted, we wouldn't have this concentrations of the homeless across the nation.
Sorry but homelessness in America is a business for hundreds of for profit and non profit organizations and government employees dedicated to solving homelessness. It's like police; no crime needs no cops so crime is a business for cops and trying to defund the police will get you spikes in crime. Homelessness is a misnomer used to avoid saying vagrants with substance abuse and mental problems; it's shorter and doesn't point to the reason these people are on the streets. Republicans got tired of funding mental and drug abuses facilities so threw everyone in the streets. It was cheaper for a while but 40 years later it's a lot more expensive. Truth is, all these people should be institutionalized and triaged with one group than just needs a little push to get back into society, another group that needs mental and substance abuse help for some time before they can go back to society and finally the last group that should live in assisted care for the rest of their lives.
Free country for me but not for thee? Maybe we can ship them to a territory and call it a reservation, let them rule themselves and establish their own system of government.