I just got back from 4 days working in SF. The homeless / mentally ill are everywhere but not as numerous in most places as I expected.
What is a apparent is that it only takes one mentally ill person per block to cause a problem. Every retail business has to keep a security guard at the door while they are open to move the homeless away from their door.
I walked about 8 blocks to and from work each day. The biggest issue was puke and crap on the sidewalks. I never saw anyone in the act but I constantly looked down to avoid stepping in puke or poop.
The most surprising thing about the visit is that virtually all the homeless I saw were severely mentally ill / very high on drugs.
I have seen homeless in cities all over the world and what is different in SF is the high percentage of people with mental illness / drug use.
The biggest Safety concern I had was walking past a mentally ill woman scratching dirt out of cracks in the sidewalk with a screwdriver, knowing she could stab you in a flash with that filthy screwdriver and it could kill you. I gave her a wide berth and other people were walking past her within a couple of feet.
It is illegal to smoke in public but the smell of weed is everywhere. When walking down the street, I never went more than a couple of minutes without smelling burning weed.
I saw very few people smoking cigarettes.
I hope Ga can hold off a few more years before it is legalized here.
What is a apparent is that it only takes one mentally ill person per block to cause a problem. Every retail business has to keep a security guard at the door while they are open to move the homeless away from their door.
I walked about 8 blocks to and from work each day. The biggest issue was puke and crap on the sidewalks. I never saw anyone in the act but I constantly looked down to avoid stepping in puke or poop.
The most surprising thing about the visit is that virtually all the homeless I saw were severely mentally ill / very high on drugs.
I have seen homeless in cities all over the world and what is different in SF is the high percentage of people with mental illness / drug use.
The biggest Safety concern I had was walking past a mentally ill woman scratching dirt out of cracks in the sidewalk with a screwdriver, knowing she could stab you in a flash with that filthy screwdriver and it could kill you. I gave her a wide berth and other people were walking past her within a couple of feet.
It is illegal to smoke in public but the smell of weed is everywhere. When walking down the street, I never went more than a couple of minutes without smelling burning weed.
I saw very few people smoking cigarettes.
I hope Ga can hold off a few more years before it is legalized here.
