Homeless in San Francisco
We trip over them on the sidewalk every day. We curse, hand them a dollar, or don't. We feel pity, sorrow, guilt and rage at their presence. The city spends $200 million a year trying to get homeless people off the streets and into a better way of life and though much progress has been made over the past couple of decades, the problem never goes away.The more able of the homeless find their way into shelters, counseling and housing programs. But the most chronically indigent, called the hard core, are so entrenched that they are particularly tough to cheap nfl jerseys pull up off the street into healthier lives. These 3,000 to 5,000 homeless at the very bottom are the most visible, and they give the city its dubious distinction of having what many call the most visible homeless problem in the country.San Francisco Chronicle reporter Kevin Fagan and photographer Brant Ward have been covering the homeless scene in San Francisco and throughout the nation for more than 10 years. They began their collaboration in 2003 by spending six months in the streets, parks and alleys with the homeless and those who deal with them health care workers, police, tourists, residents, business people, commuters in an attempt to answer the questions: How did San Francisco, one of the most sophisticated and cultured cities in the world come to have so many people living so blatantly, so openly, in misery? And what are the best ways to help them?These questions seem to always have new answers. This site presents Fagan and Ward's ongoing coverage. initiative, a homeless teen is returned by bus to her worried familySOLANO'S HIDDEN HOMELESS / THE COLONY: HOMELESS IN THE SUBURBSTHERE'S NO PLACE LIKE A HOME / After 6 years living out of vans and trailers, the Silver family moves into a 3 bedroom subsidized apartment and enjoys the simple pleasures taking a bath, watching movies together on the sofa, getting a fresh startSHAME OF THE CITY / SACRED SLEEP / At St. homeless turn lives around / On site medical, psychiatric aid makes housing program work at reasonable costSHAME OF THE CITY / Doctor's tough love helps plan succeedSHAME OF THE CITY: Q / Alioto's personal goal: ending homelessness / Ex supervisor picks council to produce report by June 30SHAME OF THE CITY: The Missing Homeless / Desperate search for Bridget sister, mother, addictSHAME OF THE CITY / Chance to solve homeless crisis / New mayor arrives as warring factions agree on solutionSilvers' plight touches hearts / Shower of gifts after homeless family's story toldSHAME OF THE CITY / A WAY OUT / Solving San Francisco's crisis of homelessness requires a sweeping, costly plan for housing and treatment and political unity that has been missing for two decades