Who we are and where we come from

Recently I got together with a younger friend and she told me about the opinions some of her young, financially successful friends had about homeless people.  She was upset and angry with her friends as they were blaming San Francisco’s homeless problem on the recently recalled District Attorney, Chesa Boudin. They told her she did not understand the reality of the situation, she was not in San Francisco, as they were.

Well, I am in San Francisco all the time. As a floral designer, I go to the San Francisco Flower Market.  Before moving to Sonoma, we lived in the Castro district of San Francisco for 10 years. Yes, what I see every week in San Francisco is horrible and heart wrenching, but it did not happen overnight and it is not the fault of a man who won a very recent election and then was recalled.

I grew up without a safety net, I realize that at any time bad things can happen to anyone. My family lived paycheck to paycheck and what little they had, they could never use to bail me out. My sisters and I were able to finance college educations with our low paying jobs, grants and small loans, but that is not today’s reality. Today’s world is so expensive.  To live a middle class life, own a small house and drive a car are beyond the reach of most people in America. I count myself as very lucky.

People my age (71 or so) often say to me that there are lots of jobs, so why are these people not working?  These people just want to live on the street and do not want to work or be housed. It is their fault that they are in this predicament.

As I drive through the Tenderloin in San Francisco, I do not just look at the sorrow I see on the streets and sidewalks, I look up, too.  These are the hotels people live in, and they are a horror.  No wonder people would rather live in a tent.  I read that women are assaulted in homeless shelters.  What little homeless people have is often stolen from them.  And in all of this, where are the wealthy? Today I read about a tiny home community in Petaluma and how these can be built for $15,000 each. This community is housing people with dignity and helping them get back on their feet.  

Why are the wealthy not using their vast resources to help the homeless? Why do people like the Mattsons have enough money to buy millions of dollars of real estate and do nothing with it? Why did the county not step in and help Homeless Action Sonoma get their tiny home project done here in the Valley? Why can’t they help by funding projects that give people safe shelter, hope and dignity?

We look for easy answers and the easiest answer is to blame the victim or find a quick and easy scapegoat to target. The truth is far more complicated, our society has changed drastically during my lifetime.  My little $100 donations here and there are a drop in the bucket.  For those with more and those in government, it is time for you to take responsibility and stop looking for the easy way out.