The Origins of San Francisco's Homeless Problem

Taken from JRE #1719 w/Michael Shellenberger:

[robertcallister]

Why don't we ever talk about the shutting down of mental asylums as being a major contributing factor to homelessness, as well?

[rowdy]

I'm a recovering meth addict and what got me out of it, was I stopped being a victim and started facing my dragons one at a time. Yes, I had childhood trauma, but I realized that as an adult, I had control over my behavior. What happened to me was affecting me and my ability to respond instead of react to situations. I finally realized what was behind my reactions and started slowing down & responding to situations. I still have difficulty sometimes when I don't realize I've been triggered, but I'm able to deal with issues more quickly. Any fellow addicts/alcoholics out there: the power is within you & you are worth it!

[tsarinahonolulu]

I was a homeless couch surfing, non drug using college student in San Francisco. There is zero help if you are normal. I couldn't even get food stamps. I was told to get pregnant. Insane city.

[saullarios]

One of my close friends and former boss was a narcotics detective in California. He told me that you can try everything under the sun but the likelihood of a 45 year old man who is addicted to meth changing his ways is basically zero. However, the likelihood of stopping a 16 year old kid from ever picking up drugs by providing sports, Education and mentorship is far greater. Unfortunately, the most effective way is to improve the next generation and he started a free non profit boxing program that provided HW tutoring, mentorship and training. Solutions exist. Fund them.

[maybeyoureright]

I was a homeless addict until the age of 29. Allowing these "tent cities" discourages homeless people going to the shelters. The shelters have resources (or access to resources) available that are vital to their health, well being and potentially their recovery.

The things that go unnoticed in these tented areas are often tragic. There's no one to look over the more vulnerable. The environment that cultivates in these places is detrimental to everyone involved.

[Mainecoon_Izzy]

I lived in San Francisco when I was 34. Put my truck in storage across the street from my studio apartment between Sutter and Bush on Leavenworth. I worked on Geary Street in a hotel pretty nice hotel I might add. I had a great life running around until I met up with the wrong people. Soon after I was doing meth smoking it putting it over marijuana in a bong getting it from people who took it out of their mouth wrapped in a plastic baggie and hand it to me so disgusting. I didn’t care how gross it was I was so out of character I would do anything to get this shit… Except prostitute that never came to be thank God. Eventually my sisters husband my amazing brother-in-law brought a huge suburban SUV up packed it up my whole studio apartment, took my 4Runner out of storage packed it up and headed back home for Carmel Valley, California. Funny because back then my rent was $1, 000. a month. When I gave my notice of departure to my landlord, he said he would lower my rent by $200 making it $800 a month. So I would agree with you, it wasn’t the rent. I had to fight for my life from the drugs which had captured and hooked me and held me prisoner.
God bless you Joe, so love your interviews

Edit: Now living my dream life completely clean and sober I don’t even mess with beer anymore.

[michaelguidry]

I was a homeless heroin addict for 6 yrs. I've been clean for 2yrs and now work in a drug rehab. The fact is that most addicts want to get high, do nothing and get something for nothing (social services). U gotta want to not live like that and the truth is a majority will not put forth the effort.

[ppumpkin]

Imagine an open and free discussion of this country's problems without the distortion of legacy media, it must scare the hell out of politicians.

[Yamas]

My problem is that in Seattle, the way the system works is you have to be late on payments to get assistants. I work at homeless shelter and these guys get a whole apartment paid for, yet people trying to not be homeless are not a priority.

[darindthomas]

I’m literally in San Francisco right now, its my first time here, and I’m with my fiancée and our child. I was completely unaware of the homelessness in San Fran before visiting. In the 6 hours I’ve been here I’ve seen a prostitute shooting heroin on the bus stop, and guys peeing out in public, one person completely exposing himself. I can confirm, that the union square area is completely packed with homeless people

[skunkworksstudios]

Joe victorious against CNN is the best thing I’ve seen all week.

[MMC-jpgl]

Many, many people have had difficult childhoods. It's no excuse to destroy yourself and others. It is a blessing to hold people, adults, accountable for their actions and help them get free, healthy and whole. Aiding them to slowly kill themselves isn't compassion, it's cruelty. God bless~

[RealRandomReview]

The 9th circuits decision on homeless camping was a big contributor to the problem as well.

[redwood-in-stereo]

In the past 40 years, there’s been a major reduction in mental facilities in California. In 1970 there were around 40, 000 facilities in California. Today, less than 4, 000.

[jcfra]

The "victim" or "victimization" mentality is so dangerous and corrosive to any healthy society.

[goodwifeweaver]

My mother has been a drug & alcohol counselor for 30+ years, and believes one of the biggest problems with addiction in the US is the quality of treatment available here. Treatment for the poor is notoriously bad and usually run for-profit with contracts with the state, and most of the companies running rehabs are trying to cram as many people in as legally allowable while providing the lowest-cost treatment they can. Most are 28-30 days, which is usually not adequate for someone with a serious addiction to opiates or amphetamines. My mother has also worked in self-pay rehabs that are outrageously expensive ($10, 000+ a month), but provide far better care, longer stays, healthy meals, specialized classes in yoga, meditation, tailored addiction philosophies, etc. Those who can afford these places have much better outcomes. Unfortunately, if we want to reduce the drug epidemic in this country, we need to shift our entire health care system - and that doesn't seem to be anywhere close to happening.

I personally worked in mental health as an intensive case manager for people with the most severe mental illness, and can attest to the difficulty of keeping many of these folks housed. In a lot of cases they were simply too paranoid to maintain housing, and it was close to impossible to house them in supervised facilities, which is what some needed. I had one guy who literally punched out his mother's car window and tried to strangle her because he thought she was working with the CIA against him, and court still refused to commit him. It wasn't until he stripped all the insulation off every electrical cord in his apartment and ran them under rugs to protect himself from the CIA "listening" to him that we were able to place him in a hospital.

[ReynaSingh]

The problem started because no one in charge knows what they’re doing

[barbeonline]

My recollection is during the Feinstein decade as SF's mayor there was a huge tent city on the expanse of lawn outside city hall. Many folks couldn't understand how a mayor who had no solution or even response to the growing crisis was somehow qualified to become a US senator.

[sppsports]

After living a year in San Francisco's Tenderloin area... I never want to go back. Needles. Homelessness. Poop on the floors. Everything smells. Screams late at night of downright insane people walking the streets drugged out of their minds. Homeless people stealing things from CVS stores in broad daylight. San Francisco is a beautiful city in general - it's very rich, the architecture is incredible, and it's located right near the ocean. But the city has been totally ruined with all these issues.

[kirimusik]

Should post the full episode, man. Heard it on Spotify and it's one of the great ones.