[DaveMSmith]

but what now? Forcible removal? Cops at the doors every day?

Ummm.... MINISTER to them?

Pope Francis builds public showers and a barbershop for the homeless of Rome

[Mrs. Don-o]

They already have free public showers and barber shops in SF. How do you get the homeless to use them? There are restrooms inside the Cathedral they can use, and they won't even do that! So, more to the point, how do you get them not to urinate on the doors?

Is it just or kind to subject the school children and old people who attend weekday masses, to face these unsafe and unsanitary conditions caused by drug-addicted and mentally ill people who will not move? Is it fair to the homeless themselves, to allow them to live in this kind of squalor?

As I said before, I think we should bring back involuntary admissions to residential drug and mental health treatment facilities. That might succeed as truly ministering to their needs.

But I don't think the legal systems allows that anymore

[RobbyS]

The archdiocese has facilities already. But what if you have a lot of people who don’t want to use shelters etc? Remmeber that feel-good story of the NY cops who bought the homeless guy a pair of shoes out of his own pocket? Two weeks later the guy was walking barefoot and it was winter. He doesn’t like shoes.