Hacker News Reader

I would love it if people who think SF's homeless problem is easily solvable would create startups to solve it.

Unfortunately they're all busy making the fourth, fifth, sixth, electric scooter company

Solving homelessness is a very high bar, and I don’t think anyone thinks that’s an easy issue to tackle.

However SF is uniquely failing to prevent feces, needles, and condoms off the streets. To prevent public daylight IV drug abuse in the densest city center. To prevent tens of thousands of car breakins from happening on organized crime scales. All while spending ever more money putting little band aids on the problem, like increased budgets for feces removal.

These aren’t problems most cities faces on that scale, why is SF struggling so much comparatively?

I think the climate has a big role in this. In NYC you see the same homeless ppl for about a year, then the hard winter weather hits and they (hopefully) head somewhere warmer. NYC citizens don't have these difficult conversations that SF citizens have looming over them, because the climate conveniently and quietly wipes the slate every year. SF on the other hand can be a forever destination with outdoor livable weather year round.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com