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San Francisco, the city that is home to various leading technology companies such as Apple and Google and Silicon Valley, is now dealing with an alarming increasing number of drug dealers and homeless people on the streets.

In 2022, San Francisco was ranked number 1 for the highest GDP growth, marking 4.8% growth.

Currently, in the city, it is very common to see homeless people lying on the streets or living inside tents.

Streets such as Tenderloin are known as one of the most populated areas for homeless people.

In 2022, it was discovered that out of the 7,750 homeless people in San Francisco, nearly half of that population, are living on this street.

In addition, it is estimated that the current homeless population is 13% higher than the 2017 population. 

Although there were many homeless people in the past as well, one of the biggest causes that is being emphasized is the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Once the pandemic broke out, shelters were faced with restrictions that limited the number of people that they could hold.

Due to this capacity restriction, more homeless people ended up living on the streets.

Another issue regarding the homelessness in San Francisco is due to drugs.

On the streets, civilians can sometimes spot people standing still, who are ones that are addicted to drugs.

California is one of the few states that legalized certain drugs such as Marijuana.

In the Tenderloin district, it has been discovered that drug dealers are selling other various drugs such as narcotics and fentanyl.

Drug overdose is not only causing these people to come out on the streets but also forcing these homeless people’s deaths.

Drug addiction is causing this issue in San Francisco. In fact, it may be worsening the severity of the issue.

In January of 2022, the Mayor announced an emergency plan for helping the homeless, especially those living in the Tenderloin district.

In June of the same year, the city announced to resolve this issue, “It shall be the police of the City to offer to every person experiencing homelessness in San Francisco a safe place to sleep.” 

The city has been seeing positive improvement once these goals have been implemented for the city.

The city’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) planned an initiative that consists of spending $607 million for funding until 2028. 

Additionally, the city has set a goal in the beginning of 2020 to provide 1500 housing units.

By the end of 2022, the city was able to go beyond their goal by providing 2,402 beds for both adults and children. 

As the world is now returning back to normal from the COVID-19 restrictions, cities such as San Francisco are also making active efforts to bring these streets back to life.

The city now focuses on finding the solution that meets the equilibrium between poverty, homelessness, housing, and drug overdose.

As more and more solutions are being implemented, San Francisco once again sees hope in not only solving the issue but also providing these homeless people safe shelters.