Robert L. Terrell

During the past week or so, propaganda mavens for Mayor Gavin Newsom’s administration have launched a high profile campaign designed to convince the public that massive success have been achieved regarding San Francisco’s tragically large population of homeless people.

Primary focus is being placed on the mayor’s highly controversial “Care Not Cash” program, which provides “supportive housing” for homeless people instead of monthly cash payments. According to the mayor and his minions, the program has proven to be a resounding success. More than 2,500 people have reportedly been removed from the streets and into affordable housing wherein they are provided the means and assistance to live off the streets and out of sight. My best sense is that the “out of sight” portion of the social equation is the most important component for the Mayor and the rest of the success has been achieved crowd. Moreover, it goes without saying that the San Francisco Chronicle is playing an prominent and important role in distributing the success is at hand mantra regarding municipal homelessness. In addition to prominently displaying congratulatory stories about the mayor and Care Not Cash, the Chronicle continues to deploy C.W. Nevius to wage pit bull-like assaults on homeless people in general, and those who support them in particular.

Nonetheless, to my knowledge during the years that the Newsom administration has been implementing the Care Not Cash program the Chronicle hasn’t devoted notable time and attention to the living circumstances of the homeless people being hustled from the streets by the Newsom administration. Where are the people being housed? What are their living circumstances? Who is providing them “supportive Care?” What more do they need? Are their quarters temporary or permanent? What does the Health Department think of the quarters being provided via Care Not Cash? I pose these questions because anecdotal information I have received over the years from acquaintances deeply involved in providing services to homeless and other destitute people suggest that the living conditions of most of those being hustled from the streets by the city administration are abominable, if not criminally negligent. In any event, it seems reasonable to assume that the people in charge of The San Francisco Chronicle are not particularly interested in obtaining and distributing answers to questions such as the ones presented above.

No one familiar with the local power equation should be surprised that The San Francisco Chronicle’s staff of see-no-evil reporters consistently support Mayor Newsom’s largely ineffectual efforts to make city government serve segments of the population which subsist outside the charmed circle composed of those who are comfortably wealthy. We understand that one of the Chronicle’s most important functions is keeping alive the notion that San Francisco is a playground for wealthy people. Homeless beggars mar the beauty of the fantasy. Although his agenda is synchronous with the one being pursued by The San Francisco Chronicle, Mayor Newsom has more ambitious objectives. He aspires to higher office. He is apparently positioning himself to run for Governor, and, if all goes well, and lightening strikes, President of the United States. But…in order to make it happen, he has got to be able to show substantive success regarding the signature issue he rode into the mayor’s chambers here in San Francisco. That issue, and none other is as important, is homelessness. Without a record of genuine achievement regarding homelessness, his way forward politically will be blocked.

Nonetheless, according to official estimates, San Francisco has the highest per capita number of homeless people of any major city in the United States. The rough consensus shared by those who claim expertise is that there are from seven to 10,000 homeless people residing on the streets of San Francisco. City officials contend that 3,000 or so of that population consists of chronically homeless people. Unfortunately, despite moderate success, Mayor Newsom’s Care Not Cash program is fatally flawed. This is due to the fact that it was never intended to provide life-changing assistance to the vast majority of the city’s homeless people. Nonetheless, by focusing only on “the chronics” the program set the bar for success so low that minimal achievements could cited as resounding success.

That is exactly what has happened. Therefore, these days the aforementioned propaganda campaign is being by the mayor, his staff and The San Francisco Chronicle convince the general populace that Gavin Newsom is a resolute, noble, effective, visionary, compassionate solver of social problems. In the meantime, thousands of homeless, destitute people continue to populate San Francisco’s streets in much the same manner as they did before Gavin Newsom coined his rhetorically clever slogan about cash and care. Moreover, invaluable time and opportunity have been lost, and needless human suffering continues unabated.

The people of San Francisco deserve better. And this is particularly the care regarding the 7,000 or more members of our community who are homeless, and essentially ignored by the mission accomplished, success-is-at-hand crew over at City Hall, and the callow, we-have-your-back-covered, fellow travelers at the San Francisco Chronicle.