For years, San Francisco police have ordered tents removed from city streets — at times slashing them with knives. But amid the pandemic, the city is launching five open-air encampments, replete with services like showers and food.
Then COVID-19 hit. The Bay Area-wide shelter-in-place order was instituted March 17, and Split Bread furloughed its workers, at least, Swift still hopes, temporarily. She and her boyfriend reached into their savings to weather the financial storm, their housing dream dashed.
"Sitting on an open space in the Temporary Transbay Center is basically the same thing as being in a shelter," said Gloria Li, a neighbor in South of Market who sits on the citizen advisory committee of the TJPA, and wrote to the agency to voice her concerns."They're sharing common space. It will be a train wreck for everybody."
"These makeshift encampments lack adequate social distancing as well as access to hygiene and sanitation, creating a public health hazard for encampment occupants and neighbors," Mandelman said in a statement. The last site in the works is probably the least far along: a former McDonald's site in the Haight neighborhood, near Golden Gate Park, on Haight and Stanyan street. Supervisor Dean Preston has publicly touted the site, but did not respond to KQED News to speak about the effort.
Brandon Conrad, 29, from Pacifica, also struggles with a drug problem. His mother thinks he has housing, and he doesn't want to tell her he's homeless. He's trying to help himself, but wishes the city could give him a leg up to stay safe from COVID-19 during the pandemic.
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