ANOTHER Open Letter to Mayor Willie Brown

Dear Mayor Brown

I have recently returned to the United Kingdom from a trip to San Francisco. It really is an amazing city with so much to do and see.

We stayed at the St Francis Hotel on Union Square and were appalled by the numbers of homeless people forced to beg in the streets only a block or so away. I live and work just outside of London so am no stranger to the problems of homelessness. However, San Francisco\'s problem is so much worse than London\'s or for that matter many other large cities in Europe or the US. Quite frankly it left a nasty taste in the mouth being constantly assailed by requests for a dime or a quarter. Unfortunately, for this reason, it\'s unlikely that we will be returning to what is a very beautiful city.

I am surprised that the City hasn\'t taken more action. For example, the police could be given powers to move on the homeless away from the tourist areas. Fines could be levied and individuals who could not pay could be forced into City provided accommodation. Some obviously had drug and drink problems - they should be directed to rehabilitation centres. Businesses who are affected by the problem could spend money on posting notices outside of their premises informing homeless people that they will be subject to prosecution. Something also needs to be done about the \"shopping trolley problem\" - trolleys used to store the personal possessions of the homeless could be confiscated and abandoned possessions could be removed from the street - obviously they would be returned if the owner claimed them (although I doubt that many of the homeless would ever bother.)

I am sure that these measures would make a very real impact if they are carried through.

Of course, that\'s exactly what is happening already. All of the measures are being taken.

My wife and I saw some of these measures in place around the Powell/Market Cable car turntable. One man, causing no harm, was moved on by the police for sitting on a step in a doorway of a building being refurbished. The white lady sitting next to him drinking her Coke was left undisturbed - just how did the officer decide that one was committing an offence and the other not? As a Legal Director in a large insurance company, I was frankly appalled by the obvious bias and abuse of power.

The final irony is the fact that around 1 in 4 of the homeless, and possibly more, have a mental disability. I understand that you have legislation similar to the UK\'s Disability Discrimination Act which requires the State and companies to make reasonable adaptations for the disabled and not to discriminate against them. This legislation is obviously applied to all physical disabilities. I was impressed that all lifts and hotel doors etc have Braille symbols and that wheelchair access on the MUNI and to public buildings is so much better than in the UK. However, how can a society which is really committed to removing discrimination against the disabled, tolerate a situation where homeless people are so obviously discriminated against just yards from the St Francis hotel\'s new health club which has had a wheelchair lift costing many thousands of dollars installed to comply with legislation designed to prevent such discrimination.

I will tell all of my UK friends not to come to San Francisco until you have made genuine attempts to solve the problem of homelessness. You need to do this, not by illegal police harassment or illegal confiscation of the possessions of the homeless, but by genuine attempts to provide affordable low cost housing and proper support for the mentally ill.

I don\'t expect I\'ll get a personal reply to this but, believe me, your City\'s biggest asset is its beautiful location and its friendly people but you will get fewer and fewer tourists if you continue to treat the homeless as an underclass which can simply be moved on. It won\'t work and I suspect, deep down, that you know this.

Yours sincerely


Stuart G Reynolds LL.B