San Francisco mayor taking hard line approach to city's homeless

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell is promising an aggressive crackdown on homeless encampments in the city's Mission District -- he says those camps will be cleared out this week.  

He is going to be taking a hard line approach to the problem -- promising to clear out tents set up along sidewalks in the Mission.

There have been sweeps before but campers returned days later or simply moved a few blocks away.  
The mayor says this time will be different.  This week, city crisis teams will be reaching out to homeless people in this neighborhood trying to get them into a shelter program.

Those who refuse help -- will have their tents cleared out this week.  

The mayor told the San Francisco Chronicle that the city has gone from being compassionate toward homeless people to enabling them.  

As a supervisor, Farrell was behind legislation that allows the city to remove tents as long as they provide alternate shelter and give one day’s notice. 

Organizers from the Coalition on Homelessness SF says sweep won’t work, “you can’t make people disappear."