Familiar scenes in San Francisco weeks after APEC cleanup
- San Francisco went through extensive cleaning ahead of APEC
- Residents wonder why the effort can’t be sustained
- ‘We clean up nice and we can do this,’ said a local official
A woman gathers possessions to take before a homeless encampment was cleaned up in San Francisco, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Cities across the U.S. are struggling with and cracking down on tent encampments as the number of homeless people grows, largely due to a lack of affordable housing. Homeless people and their advocates say sweeps are cruel and costly, and there aren’t enough homes or beds for everyone. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
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SAN FRANCISCO (NewsNation) — Just a couple weeks after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) convention in San Francisco, many of the areas that were cleaned up for the event are looking much the same as before.
The APEC aftermath in some downtown areas looks as problematic as before — and along a few blocks, perhaps even worse.
At all hours of the day, some streets are lined with people openly selling or doing drugs while other sidewalk areas are lined with homeless tents and garbage.
Some residents are frustrated and seem resigned to it after a lot of high hopes that APEC would be a turnaround.
The show San Francisco put on for foreign dignitaries proved the possibilities. Now, it’s leaving many to wonder how and why it can’t be sustained.
“What APEC, I think, showed us is, we clean up nice and we can do this,” said District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey. “We are still a great city when we have adequate police staffing and we put our minds to it and we have cooperative partners, we’re poised to come back. This shows we can do it.”
The miles of security fencing, however, are gone now. And so is the law enforcement surge of 1,000 officers.
Dorsey acknowledges that the concerted cleanup in his district pushed more illegal activity into others.
But even with more police, homelessness in San Francisco is no easy fix.
“People come here for this,” said Jim, a formerly homeless man who spoke with NewsNation. “The weather’s milder. It’s easier to get social services here than a lot of other places, and there are lots of other people doing the same thing so you feel like you’re with a community.”
Dorsey believes the key to a San Francisco turnaround is replenishing the police force — which is down about 500 officers.
