The story is as old as America: the haves and the have nots. Mention “homeless,” people’s eyes glaze over, “can’t we talk about anything else?” But here we are. San Francisco. Visiting for work. We have been here numerous times over the past two decades for various work-related trips. There has always been a homeless problem in San Francisco, LA, San Diego. The temperate weather, decades-long failed government policy, are two of many reasons for the problem, but this last visit we felt things have gotten worse.
The city felt like a refugee camp of tens of thousands of mentally ill and addicted people roaming the streets. seeking shelter, while millions stepped over the bodies with their eight dollar artisanal lattes and $15 chia oatmeal on their way to work in the gleaming towers along Market Street and the Embarcadero.
Every American city has this problem, but instead of stepping over the bodies, we stopped. We looked. When we could, we asked their names. When we know a person’s name, our chances of forgetting them lessen. They become real. They are human, just like us. They are our fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers. We know this, but we don’t want to be reminded.
This problem is too big to ignore.
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Video Interview with Tanya Dove, mother of seven, grandmother and former crack addict for more than 30 years.
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