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San Francisco is a picturesque, historic city with friendly, helpful locals, restaurants selling delicious food and great, cheap shopping. But…
We’ve been in San Francisco now for four days and one thing is becoming abundantly clear – if you’re mentally ill, poor and crippled then Bush’s America ‘aint helping ya!
The city seems to have a serious homeless problem and it’s evident right in the heart of downtown San Francisco. Ride the 7 line from Powell/Market to Castro/18th St and you can’t fail to notice the poverty first hand. Most doorways have someone huddled within them, begging for small change,with their life’s possessions in an old shopping cart next to them.
Even around The San Francisco Center at the bottom of Powell, a souring temple to American consumerism, most corners have someone ‘begging a dime’ from the tourists.
Sadly, it all combines to make you feel unsafe, and sometimes threatened, as you wait for a trolley back up the hill – particularly at night.
Most Cities around the world have a homeless problem and it’s not unusual to see people begging, but what is unusual is the feeling that these people need medical help and support – which doesn’t seem to be there for them.
I don’t know the whole story and I’m sure there are people dedicating their time to helping. But as you sit in you’re hotel room being bombarded every ten minutes, on all channels, by the ‘best’ American advertisers can throw at you – it does make you think about what’s happening only a few blocks away.
