San Francisco Mayor London Breed has ordered city officials to provide homeless people with bus tickets out of town before offering them shelter or housing, a controversial policy that pushes the city’s homelessness problem onto other towns.
Cynthia Hewlett packs her belongings into multiple suitcases and holds her dog, Max, as she waits to board a bus to a nearby motel after city crews finish cleaning up her homeless encampment as part of Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe initiative, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, in Los Angeles. Mayor Bass’ signature program, Inside Safe, was implemented as a pilot project as part of City Hall’s broader efforts to encourage people to shelter in place, and of the roughly 2,000 people who were provided temporary shelter, only 255 of the roughly 3,500 people citywide have found permanent housing this year. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
of San Francisco Chronicle report:
Mayor London Breed on Thursday ordered city officials to offer homeless people bus tickets out of town before offering them shelter or housing options.
The mayor’s new executive order marks a shift from current practice and comes amid an increased crackdown on homeless camps following a recent Supreme Court ruling giving city officials more power to enforce anti-camping laws. San Francisco officials have stepped up complaints and arrests of homeless people who refuse to go indoors.
Thursday’s directive is the latest sign of Mayor Breed taking a firm stance to address the city’s homelessness and drug overdose crises. She is in the middle of a tough re-election fight with many voters focusing on the conditions on the city’s streets and the unsheltered homeless population.
Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) issued an executive order to speed up the removal of homeless camps, an issue that has vexed his administration as well as Democratic officials at the local level across the state for the past few years.
The Supreme Court ruled last month that removing homeless people is not a “cruel and unusual punishment” that violates the Eighth Amendment. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass criticized the decision, but in reality, it will help her and other officials across the state address a problem they’ve neglected for years.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
