San Francisco’s Republican Party has pushed forth Proposition F that will require drug screenings for welfare recipients. Separately, Proposition E will limit the time police may patrol certain areas. There has been a large uptick in the number of San Franscico residents on the CalFresh state program, increasing by an alarming 42% (64,800) from 2019 to 2021.
Opponents of the measure believe homelessness will increase in the city. “It is deeply disturbing that in the middle of an unprecedented overdose epidemic, voters got a misleading and performative ballot issue that demonizes welfare recipients rather than helps them,” Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, told reporters, claiming that this measure is a ploy for red votes.
Mayor London Breed firmly supports the new measures and says the city will provide new treatment measures for addicts. “This is how we get more people the help they need and change what’s happening in our city,” the mayor stated. “We’ve added treatment beds, helped 5,000 people get medication assisted treatment & are implementing new conservatorship laws to get our most vulnerable into care. Prop F will build on this work to get more people help,” London noted.
Residents no longer feel safe in the city. One only needs to visit San Franciso to see how dire the drug epidemic has become. The city has over 9,000 homeless shelters available to those in need, but many shelters require drug screenings for admission. No one can force these people to seek help. So, the current welfare state basically pays people to remain sick, addicted, and living on the streets. The opioid epidemic has destroyed the city, claiming 752 lives in 2023 alone. The situation is rapidly declining and major changes were necessary.
The city spends billions to treat the symptoms rather than the source of the problem. FY2021-2022 say the city shell out $1.1 billion to combat homelessness. There are countless programs available for those who needs help such as CalWORKS and County Adult Assistance Programs (CAAP). They have designated Shelter-in-Place hotels, Safe Sleep sites, and various programs that make it easier to decline help and continue living off state and city resources.
Prop F is intended to curb addiction and homelessness. Although there are many layers to the homeless crisis (drugs, mental illness, etc.), but the city has made it an option not to work and live off the government instead. Those condemning the measure for permitting people to hit rock bottom do not understand that the city simply cannot continue allowing addiction to be a lifestyle choice.
