San Francisco homelessness efforts show daytime improvement, nighttime challenges persist

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco doubled down on its efforts to crack down on homelessness and moved forward with plans Tuesday to clear out an encampment situated in a high-profile area long known for open drug use and homelessness.

City reclaiming public spaces

What we know:

Crews were out in the morning deep cleaning along 6th Street between Howard, Mission, and on Harriet and Russ streets. The effort reflected Mayor Daniel Lurie's renewed focus on reclaiming public spaces while expanding access to shelter and recovery services.

Patrols and street cleaning crews were out as signs warned that outreach teams were offering shelter and services during the sweep.

Mayor admits more works still needs to be done

Dig deeper:

Linda Candaleria said while conditions may appear better in the daytime, after dark, the street changes with open-air drug dealing and use.

She shared a photo taken from her bedroom window on Monday night showing crowds of people on the streets.

"In the nighttime they [are] over there, camped up," Candaleria said. "Like it's OK for them to do whatever the hell they want to do [but] it's not fair to the people that pay taxes here. It's like, why should we be subjected to all that?"

Businesses and residents along the corridor said there have been some improvements during the daylight hours, but they expressed frustration that clean-up is progressing slowly, especially at night.

"You can't even walk on the sidewalk. It's really bad. But, they're doing better," said Halim, who would only give his last name.

While the deep cleaning is underway, the city has restricted street parking along 6th Street for most of the week.

San Francisco Public Works said it is leading the clean-up effort with compassion to tackle the monumental task.

"This is something we could never do alone. We need to be working together," said Carla Short, with the agency. "This is a partnership with multiple city agencies, as always. You know, we're really leading with services first."

Lurie said while there has been progress in the area, there is still a lot of work to be done.

"Our daytime approach on Market Street, on 6th Street, we've seen improvements. Now, we need to see that at nighttime too," he said. "We're understaffed on that front. That's why we need to work through that. That's why we need to increase the number of police officers."

While that work continues, those living and working in the area hope to see more progress in the days and weeks to come.

Resident Christine Johnson said, "Honest to God, what needs to happen is they need to provide housing. They need to provide real, true help to these people."