The Police Department, whose chief reports to Ms. Breed, told officers in a memo on Wednesday that they can now cite people for violations that included sitting, lying or camping on sidewalks; obstructing people’s ability to walk in public spaces; and creating a public nuisance through conduct that is “offensive to the senses.”
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On Thursday, Ms. Breed directed city officials to offer bus tickets to homeless people before providing them a shelter bed or other services. It was the starkest sign yet that San Francisco had changed its tack — and stood in contrast to Los Angeles, where leaders criticized Mr. Newsom for issuing an executive order last week encouraging them to sweep homeless encampments.
Homelessness in America
Supreme Court Ruling: The justices upheld an Oregon city’s ban on homeless residents sleeping outdoors, a decision likely to reverberate across the country as cities grapple with a growing homelessness crisis.
Los Angeles: Days after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered local officials to dismantle homeless encampments across California, leaders in Los Angeles County pushed back.
New York City: The number of people older than 65 who are living in shelters is growing quickly, in an unheralded sign of New York’s affordable housing crisis.
“San Francisco will always lead with compassion, but we cannot allow our compassion to be taken advantage of,” Ms. Breed said in her busing order. “We will not be a city with a reputation for being able to solve the housing and behavioral health needs of people across our country.”
On Monday afternoon, the mayor made a personal visit to the sidewalk alongside the D.M.V., a few days after homeless campers had been warned their tents would be cleared through notices that were stapled to nearby trees.
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