Wildfires and Homelessness, Too

San Francisco's homelesness gets all the publicity, but other cities in the Bay Area have major problems, too.

In the North Bay Santa Rosa struggles with biggest homeless camp in county history: [bold added]

(Photo from Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

Kat MacKay is tired of screams erupting around her at night. She’s tired of the outbreaks of syphilis and stomach flu in the nearby tents, the stench of trash, the rats and mice chewing anything resembling food.

MacKay is one of 300 people living at the biggest homeless camp Sonoma County has ever seen, a mile-long sprawl of tents alongside Highway 12 at the southwest end of Santa Rosa on county parkland. Still, there are two things the 19-year-old likes about the settlement: She can stop hunting for places to sleep, and she has lots of company in her misery.

Santa Rosa, 60 miles north of San Francisco, has a population of 180,000 and is wrestling with 3,000 homeless. Far wealthier San Francisco has a population five times as large and can't solve the problem of 7,000-10,000 homeless.

Like most people I know, I have tried to help with time and money. But continued proximity to the tents, drugs, and unsanitary conditions also degrades our own neighborhoods and hardens our hearts. So I feel some compassion for the people of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County, too.