San Francisco may take bold steps to deescalate confrontations between police and the homeless, as a new proposal under consideration calls for a new team of compassionate emergency responders.
Cindy Keener has been on the streets for almost 20 years and said in that time she's seen interactions between the police and the homeless turn violent. That's why she's calling for a safer, more dignified response to the unhoused.
"We really think a program like this would help and not give us and hand out, but a hand up," she explained.
That's the goal of CART, the Compassionate Alternative Response Team, launched via a Facebook Live event Tuesday.
CART’s John Stiefel said instead of going to police, homeless complaint calls would be transferred to CART, which would in turn send two-person response teams. "They’ll be providing a homeless-centered response, focusing on the well being of the unhoused person rather than the complaint of the caller," Stiefel said.
The $6.8 million proposal still has to be approved by the city, but Supervisor Matt Haney - who represents the Tenderloin - believes it's time for a change in how San Francisco handles the estimated 65,000 homeless calls that police get every year.
"What we are doing right now is a failure, it is not working, it’s ineffective and it’s actually dangerous," Haney added.
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