San Francisco’s spiraling homelessness and opioid crisis drives away business

superbeets · Jul 3, 2018

[h=2]'I come from a third world country and it's not as bad as this': San Francisco’s spiraling homelessness and opioid crisis drives away business, as now a $40million convention cancels because members are too scared to walk the streets alone[/h]

San Francisco's ongoing problems with drug use and homelessness are causing one convention to the pull the plug on its meeting, with board members telling city officials they no longer feel safe walking the streets. Joe D'Alessandro, the president and CEO of S.F. Travel, told the San Francisco Chronicle that a big medical convention said it would not have its semi-annual meeting in the city as planned. Board members had three main concerns about hosting its meeting in San Francisco: open drug use, threatening behavior and mental illness on display.

superbeets · Jul 3, 2018

[h=2]'I come from a third world country and it is not as bad as this': San Francisco’s spiraling homelessness and opioid crisis drives away business as $40million convention cancels saying members are too scared to walk the streets alone[/h]

A big convention said it was canceling its meeting in San Francisco because the rampant drug use and homelessness is making board members feel unsafe
The Chicago-based convention said it had three main concerns: open drug use, threatening behavior and mental illness on display
Last year, a board members was allegedly assaulted near the Moscone Center, where conventions are usually held
Tourism is a big business in San Francisco, bringing in around $9billion a year and employing 80,000 people
City officials and hotels are urging Mayor-elect London Breed to increase police foot presence and mental health services so tourists feel safer
Roughly 7,500 people in the city are homeless and an estimated 22,000 are intravenous drug users

superbeets · Jul 3, 2018

San Francisco’s spiraling homelessness and opioid crisis is starting to drive away business and tourists as a huge $40million medical convention cancels after its attendees complained they were too scared to walk the streets alone.
DailyMail.com's shocking photos of San Francisco, on Tuesday, capture a city in turmoil; with homeless people passed out on the sidewalks, shooting up in the streets and begging for survival.
The issue has become so dire that Chicago-based organizers of a five-day, semi-annual medical convention, which attracts around 15,000 people and pumps $40 million into the local economy, have announced they are moving the event to Los Angeles.
They are blaming the appalling state of San Francisco's streets where open drug use and threatening behavior are now common.
Post-convention surveys also found the city's rocketing levels of homelessness and people suffering from serious mental illness on the streets, meant that some members were afraid to leave their hotel. One board member was assaulted near Moscone Center last year.
And there are fears that this cancellation could be the tip of the iceberg.

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San Francisco’s spiraling homelessness and opioid crisis is starting to drive away business and tourists. Pictured, a smartly dressed man walks past two homeless people on the city's streets

superbeets · Jul 3, 2018

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A $40million medical convention cancelled it's semi-annual after its attendees complained they were too scared to walk the streets alone. Pictured, a homeless man sleeps in front of City Hall in San Francisco

superbeets · Jul 3, 2018

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A homeless man, and his dog, begs on the street, in San Francisco, California on July 03

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The Chicago-based organizers of the five-day, semi-annual medical convention, said that post-convention surveys found the city's rocketing levels of homelessness and people suffering from serious mental illness on the streets meant some members were afraid to leave their hotel

superbeets · Jul 3, 2018

If the city doesn't act soon to clear up it's streets, tourism officials warn that it will have a fire impact on tourism - San Francisco's biggest industry, generating $9 billion a year, $725 million in local taxes and providing employment to around 80,000 people. Conventions represent almost 20 per cent of the tourism revenue, bringing in $1.7 billion of the business.
'It's the first time that we have had an out-and-out cancellation over the issue, and this is a group that has been coming here every three or four years since the 1980s,' said Joe D'Alessandro, the president and CEO of S.F. Travel, who declined to name the convention.
'There was a time when the biggest obstacle to having a convention here was that it can be expensive,' he said, 'but now we have this new factor'.
D'Alessandro said other conventions have also expressed concerns.

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A woman offers a homeless man her leftovers in San Francisco, California on July 03, 2018

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If the city doesn't act soon to clear up it's streets, tourism officials warn that it will have a fire impact on tourism - San Francisco's biggest industry

superbeets · Jul 3, 2018

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If the city doesn't act soon to clear up it's streets, tourism officials warn that it will have a fire impact on tourism - San Francisco's biggest industry

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A homeless woman uses a syringe to inject drugs into her leg on a sidewalk in San Francisco, California on July 03 - one of the many examples of open drug use on the streets

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The woman, who is surrounded by suitcases and the rest of her worldly belongings, is approached by a man moments after she injected herself

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Another homeless person (second from left) was seen using a syringe to inject drugs in broad daylight

City officials and hotels have begged Mayor-elect London Breed to increase police foot patrols and mental health services so tourists feel safer.
'I come from a third world country and it is not as bad as this,' one tourist told KPIX.
Another said things are so bad you 'can smell it'.
A report earlier this year by NBC Bay Area journalists found 100 drug needles and more than 300 piles of human feces during a survey of 153 blocks of downtown San Francisco.
If stuck by a used needle, one can be infected with diseases like HIV or Hepatitis. Fecal matter is also not just a smelly nuisance. As it dries, the germs become airborne and if inhaled, can prove deadly - especially for children.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Lee Riley warned the city was dirtier than some slums in India and Brazil.
'The contamination is… much greater than communities in Brazil or Kenya or India,' the UC Berkeley professor said.

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City officials and hotels have begged Mayor-elect London Breed to increase police foot patrols and mental health services so tourists feel safer

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A homeless man opens a door for a patron while begging for change in San Francisco, California on July 03

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Another homeless man rests near the cable cars of San Francisco which is dealing with a spiraling homeless population

Riley pointed out that slums in the countries mentioned are used as long-term housing for poor people, many of whom make an attempt to keep at least their homes and surroundings livable. But the homeless who live on the streets of downtown San Francisco are routinely being kicked from one encampment to the next, and therefore, don't feel a sense of obligation to clean up after themselves.
This results are 'extreme contamination.'
'The streets are filthy. There's trash everywhere. It's disgusting,' D'Alessandro told the San Francisco Chronicle.
'I've never seen any other city like this - the homelessness, dirty streets, drug use on the streets, smash-and-grabs.
D'Alessandro said tourists often list their grievances to him about the poor state of city streets.
And they're not the only ones with complaints. Several hotel managers and owners have also spoken out about the mess plaguing The Golden City.
Kevin Carroll, executive director of the Hotel Council, which represents 110 hotels, told the Chronicle: 'People say: "I love your city, I love your restaurants, but I'll never come back".'

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A homeless woman picks out garbage from a trash can in San Francisco, California on July 03

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A homeless woman rests with her dog and a trolley covered in American flags on Tuesday

superbeets · Jul 3, 2018

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D'Alessandro said tourists often list their grievances to him about the poor state of city streets

And the Union Square Business Improvement District has begun training retail workers on the protocol to follow if a severely mentally ill or drug-addicted person wreaks havoc in their store.
'We're desperate enough to expose ourselves to look for solutions,' Karin Flood, executive director of the business improvement district, told the newspaper.
Mohammed Nuru, Director of the San Francisco's Public Works Department, told NBC he estimates $30million - nearly half of the city's $65million street cleaning budget - is aimed at cleaning up needles and feces from sidewalks and homeless encampments.
D'Alessandro said he's heard complaints from convention organizers as well about the conditions of San Francisco streets to the pointing of not listing the city on their tour list.
Organizations that hold events in the city, including the California Dental Association and the National Automobile Dealers Association, wrote a letter in 2015 to late mayor Ed Lee about the state of the streets, reported The Chronicle.
The letter talked about gritty scenes on the streets of San Francisco including human feces and harassment by mentally ill people and drug users.
It went on to say that if the situation didn't improve, 'your city will see that citywide conventions will not rebook San Francisco and will choose other cleaner and safer West Coast destinations.'

superbeets · Jul 3, 2018

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City officials and hotels are urging Mayor-elect London Breed to increase police foot presence and mental health services so tourists feel safer

superbeets · Jul 3, 2018

'You may not know it, but tourists spend more money outside of the hotel than inside the hotel,' Hotel Council Executive Director Kevin Carroll told the Chronicle. 'Everything from restaurants to shopping to taking taxis.'
According to the San Francisco Gate, a recent count revealed that roughly 7,500 people in the city are homeless. Some people, however, believe that number is as high as 12,000.
During the 2017-208 year, San Francisco has budgeted more than $300million on fighting homelessness, including building more shelters.
CNN reported in May that there are an estimated 22,000 intravenous drug users in the city, many of whom openly inject in public areas. The city's drug problem was thrust into the spotlight when videos surfaced on YouTube of dozens of drug users sprawled on the floor at the Civic Center station openly injecting themselves with drugs as commuters hurried past.

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Board members told city officials they do not feel safe walking the streets because of the large number of homeless people and open drug use on the streets

superbeets · Jul 3, 2018

San Francisco’s spiraling homelessness and opioid crisis drives away business

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