San Francisco Declared One Of World’s Filthiest Slums

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San Fransisco voted world's filthiest slum

San Francisco has been declared one of the world’s filthiest slums, with conditions dirtier than slums found in third world nations such as Kenya or India. 

According to an NBC investigation, great swathes of the city are covered in feces and needles, as hospitals overflow with patients that have fallen ill due to the contamination.

NBC reports: How dirty is San Francisco? An NBC Bay Area Investigation reveals a dangerous mix of drug needles, garbage, and feces throughout downtown San Francisco. The Investigative Unit surveyed 153 blocks of the city – the more than 20-mile stretch includes popular tourist spots like Union Square and major hotel chains. The area – bordered by Van Ness Avenue, Market Street, Post Street and Grant Avenue – is also home to City Hall, schools, playgrounds, and a police station.

As the Investigative Unit photographed nearly a dozen hypodermic needles scattered across one block, a group of preschool students happened to walk by on their way to an afternoon field trip to citiy hall.

“We see poop, we see pee, we see needles, and we see trash,” said teacher Adelita Orellana. “Sometimes they ask what is it, and that’s a conversation that’s a little difficult to have with a 2-year old, but we just let them know that those things are full of germs, that they are dangerous, and they should never be touched.”

In light of the dangerous conditions, part of Orellana’s responsibilities now include teaching young children how to avoid the contamination.

‘There’s Poop in There’

“The floor is dirty,” said A’Nylah Reed, a 3-year-old student at the preschool, who irately explained having to navigate dirty conditions on her walks to school.

“There is poop in there,” she exclaimed. “That makes me angry.”

Kim Davenport, A’nyla’s mother, often walks her daughter to the Compass preschool on Leavenworth Street in San Francisco. She said she often has to pull her daughter out of the way in order to keep her from stepping on needles and human waste. “I just had to do that this morning!”

The Investigate Unit spent three days assessing conditions on the streets of downtown San Francisco and discovered trash on each of the 153 blocks surveyed. While some streets were littered with items as small as a candy wrapper, the vast majority of trash found included large heaps of garbage, food, and discarded junk. The investigation also found 100 drug needles and more than 300 piles of feces throughout downtown.

Reports to 311 of Needles and Human Waste in San Francisco Have Steadily Risen Since 2008

Dried Feces can Lead to Airborne Viruses

“If you do get stuck with these disposed needles you can get HIV, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, and a variety of other viral diseases,” said Dr. Lee Riley, an infectious disease expert at University of California, Berkeley. He warned that once fecal matter dries, it can become airborne, releasing potentially dangerous viruses, such as the rotavirus. “If you happen to inhale that, it can also go into your intestine,” he said. The results can prove fatal, especially in children.

Riley has researched conditions across the poorest slums of the world. His book titled, “Slum Health,” examines health problems that are created by extreme poverty.

San Francisco Compared to Some of the Dirtiest Slums in the World

Based on the findings of the Investigative Unit survey, Riley believes parts of the city may be even dirtier than slums in some developing countries.

“The contamination is … much greater than communities in Brazil or Kenya or India,” he said. He notes that in those countries, slum dwellings are often long-term homes for families and so there is an attempt to make the surroundings more livable. Homeless communities in San Francisco, however, are often kicked out from one part of town and forced to relocate to another. The result is extreme contamination, according to Riley.

‘We Aren’t Addressing the Root Cause’

“Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable,” said Supervisor Hillary Ronen. “We’re losing tourists. We’re losing conventions in San Francisco. All of this is happening because we aren’t addressing the root cause, which is we need more temporary beds for street homelessness.”

Ronen believes San Francisco has been too focused on permanent housing for the homeless and that the city has neglected to provide enough temporary shelter, which can provide the homeless a respite from the streets. The city currently has about 2,000 temporary beds. Ronen, however, believes an additional 1,000 are needed, at a cost of about $25 million.

“We need to find a source of revenue,” said Ronen. “Whether that’s putting something on the ballot to raise business taxes or taking a look at our general fund and re-allocating money towards that purpose and taking it away from something else in the city.”

‘Human Tragedy’ in San Francisco

Until the problem is fixed, Mohammed Nuru, the Director of the Public Works Department, is charged with the towering task of cleaning the streets, over and over again. “Yes, we can clean, he said, “and then go back a few hours later, and it looks as if it was never cleaned. So is that how you want to spend your money?”

The 2016-2017 budget for San Francisco Public Works includes $60.1 million for “Street Environmental Services.” The budget has nearly doubled over the past five years. Originally, that money, was intended to clean streets, not sidewalks. According to city ordinances, sidewalks are the responsibility of property owners. However, due to the severity of the contamination in San Francisco, Public Works has inherited the problem of washing sidewalks. Nuru estimates that half of his street cleaning budget – about $30 million – goes towards cleaning up feces and needles from homeless encampments and sidewalks.

A single pile of human waste, said Nuru, takes at least 30 minutes for one of his staffers to clean. “The steamer has to come. He has to park the steamer. He’s got to come out with his steamer, disinfect, steam clean, roll up and go.”

Asked if he’d be willing to give up part of his budget and allocate it to more directly addressing the homeless problem – which would likely alleviate his cleaning problem – Nuru said, “The Board of Supervisors, the mayor – those are decisions that they need to make.”  He added, “I want to continue cleaning and I want to be able to continue to provide services. The Public Works Department provides services seven days a week, 24 hours a day.”

Ronen acknowledges that finding the money to provide 1,000 additional beds for the homeless may very well take years. The city is planning on opening three new Navigation Centers for homeless people by the summer, but two centers will also be closing.

“We’re not going to make a huge dent in this problem unless we deal with some underlying major social problems and issues,” she said. “There’s a human tragedy happening in San Francisco.”

100 Comments

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  1. No! The problem is the city is spending HUGE amounts on ILLEGAL aliens, leaving vets AND SENIORS to fend for themselves

  2. Dung and needles. Sounds like liberal paradise. Isn’t that what the aspiring liberal’s basement cave is comprised of?

    • Yeah, we just love piles of shite and needles.There’s nothing comparable to the smell of it as we walk our miniature dogs to buy our organic crap.

  3. The democrat utopia . Why anyone would vote democrat is beyond all comprehension . They endorse racism , hate , lying, thieving,illegals,pedophilia , terrorism , shieting and peeing in the streets and who knows what else..

        • I was born and raised in the Valley, spent two years in Marin, and have LIVED in San Francisco since 1981. We have our problems, but it is still a beautiful city and a wonderful place to live. Don’t come here if you don’t like it. We won’t miss you.

          • YES YOU WILL, SF USED TO BE A TOURIST DESTINATION. THAT MEANS MONEY IN THE CITY.

          • I was in san francisco before you were born! you are an idiot if you think san francisco is a safe/clean place now! what a wasted life!

      • Yes! It is true so far anything and everything Democrats accuse Republicans of Democrats are Guilty of. Democrats have created all of this and more we haven’t been hit with yet!

      • Now hold on..
        Are they usually in favor of early release for criminals?
        Are they usually in favor of no incarceration for non-violent crime?
        Are they in favor of open borders?
        Are then in favor of sanctuary for illegals?
        Do they see skin color and racism behind every single conservative ideal?
        Do they show contempt and hate towards those who disagree with them?

      • christine? where do you live? are you in san francisco? every thing that the man said was/is true! go see!

  4. I have visited san Francisco for the last 30 yrs at 2 yr intervals. My first visit in 1987 my friends there took me on a tour. There were scenes like described in this story even then. As the years took their toll I saw this increase and spread. Not only confined to specific parts of the city. over the first 10 yrs these areas were cleaned up and the people affected were moved on. Over the last 20 yrs these areas were not cleaned up and basically became no go zones. this is not limited to SF I also saw this happening in L.A MAYBE EVEN AT A WORSE RATE. Probably the 2 most desperate cities I have watched decline are New Orleans and Las Vegas both of which we stopped visiting 10 yrs ago. America is a open sewer effectively. 20 trillion in debt plagued with crime, murders, disease, poverty, Illiteracy and desperation. and Godlessness. As America rejected God and his principles so it declined to the state it is in now. The state of the Union as it is so described is, a modern day Sodom and Gomorra . America cannot be fixed it is like a festering sore that becomes gangrene to the point where the limb has to be amputated. The Amercian amputation will be the nuking of America. It is very very close now.

    • Belief in gods has nothing to do with anything. Economics does. Look to the growing gap between the super-wealthy and the rest of us if you want to understand this situation. Trickle-down does not work. Corporatism does not work. The deliberate destruction of public education and unions does not work. Spending inordinate amounts on militaristic exploitation does not work. History has shown this over and over again.

    • I’m very sad to say that you are right about a [mostly] godless society and modern day Sodom and Gamorra. I pray that it will not take amputation or nukes to clean it up. I can hardly watch anything on television anymore without being offended by way too much sex, and perverted sex at that, drugs, violence, stupidity and just plain junk. But the worst is that the elderly and vets and children don’t seem respected or cared for … for all the yacking about being politically correct and love (allowing gays to marry) we sure do a crappy job of loving our fellow man anymore.

  5. Democrat ran. The results of these cities speaks for itself. It is the final product of what you get when you let Liberals take over. Want more of this? want this in your cities? Keep voting Democrat then. They’re the only ones I’ve ever seen that could tear up a steel ball with a rubber mallet.

  6. Geniuses in SF. But they’re doing the right thing by being a haven for criminal aliens. Mayby their darling Kamala Harris will be our next president.

  7. THE IMAGE ON THIS ARTICLE IS IN OAKLAND CA< NOT San Francisco!!!!! Fix it please. This keeps going around and it's irresponsible misinformation!

    • I was trying to figure out where that was since I’ve never seen any place in SF that looks that bad — yet. I expect the situation to get worse everywhere as the Trump economy takes hold over the next year or so.

      • If only can liberals parasite corrupted politicians will put their hate towards president Trump aside and,
        do something about the epidemic, the city might just become what it used to be…#Greenberg2018

        • They can’t put their hate aside for our President. And furthermore, they deserve more obama style decrepit lack of leadership and government. they don’t deserve a good president and can’t admit that he wipes the floor up with obama. But the dumb liberals think that trump should have cleaned up every slum that exists in every state in America in a year, but they were fine with slackjaw knuckle dragging do-nothing obama for 8 years, successful in nothing but tearing us down, further and further, his wish from day one. Then they turn around and say things like they miss him and what a good president he was. WHAT A JOKE.

    • Not sure what your point is – are you saying Oakland is a bigger shthole, or the pic does not do SF shthole justice?

  8. ⚠️ Depending on how you look at it….. well done Gov. Brown !! You are a gift that keeps on giving !!

    • I know, right? That 6 billion dollar surplus is just so horrible! Whatever shall we do without a deficit?

      • They didn’t know they were gonna have it. It still isn’t enough. The HSR to hell isn’t anywhere near done, and the bill keeps going up and up; right up Yerry Browns ASS!!

  9. I must be living somewhere else because I’ve been in SF since 1981, and I’ve seen exactly two piles of human poop and zero needles.

    • I suggest you take a walk between Powel going up the street on Hyde..also just off Market. or maybe in the bart stations, Civic and Powell, where these pest will literally take a shit in front of you. And you know what the Bart Staff will say to you if you end up complaining. “That is not our business, akss muni to do some….” Just Pathetic

    • I live in a small mountain town in Georgia, and I’ve never seen human poop on the streets! Or needles! EVA! Even when I lived in ATL. Never saw that crap either!

    • I have visited regularly since the mid 70’s. There have always been the problems of any city but not what the article makes out and certainly not the Hell many posters describe. A lot of willful ignorance infects this country.

  10. And that ladies and gentleman is the Utopia city the liberals corrupted politicians parasite always dreamed of having. San Francisco became a shithole fo the irresponsibles laws the liberals have passed, like Prop47.These imbeciles literaly legalized crimes in the city. Now, I just found out that they have another program where they provide neddles to these pest drug addicted, Okay. What is going to be next,?. Buying them the drugs. Yet, the veterans are left behind. and anyone knows where are the veterans homeless. Not among these self destructive group, but more separated under the freeways where some would be readings, some just waiting for someone to hand out afee bucks. REally, We want to see changes ? We will have to vote liberal governor and mayor out of office.
    They are helping destroying this beautiful city…#Greenberg2018

  11. “Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable,” said Supervisor Hillary Ronen. “We’re losing tourists. (Losing tourists? Shame on you. Shame on all of you. Help these people! There’s no excuse for this sort of neglect. And don’t say something stupid like, “they don’t want help.” This is so wrong.

  12. JUST RUN THEM OUT OF TOWN, AND TELL THEM NO YOU CANNOT CAMP HERE. Use your vagrancy laws! If they will not go to a help center, then run them out of town! You do not need more beds, that will just bring in more tent dwellers. You have to stop babying them and enabling them. It is really not hard. Too many people think we all owe them something!

  13. Allow folks the opportunity to work for a living and I mean to make a wage that will pay for housing, food, transportation, clothing, etc. Keep housing down to an affordable amount. When I look at what houses costs in huge cities…it is ridiculous. A few getting richer and richer with each passing year and millions just trying to make it….the chasm is so wide that we end up doing everyone an injustice. Think about it….one man becoming a multibillionaire just because he can manipulate property, food prices, transportation, etc. just because he can get richer and richer. Something is sadly wrong with this picture….everyone needs a job…..every company needs a workforce…….surely there is an answer here. No one in this country should have to live on the street!

    • I agree! we think we are so great – and allow children, seniors and disabled and vets to live on the streets.

  14. I live 30 miles from San Sh*thole and have all my life. I had go there last year and look at the entrances and exits to the freeway only to see entire streets lined with homeless people begging. If you live there and can’t see it, or the feces and needles everywhere, you must live on Snob Hill. The entire city is pathetic. If you like paying exceptionally high taxes with ZERO return on your money. go ahead and defend this lunacy!

  15. One of the most beautiful cities in the US and has ended up like this. One of the many reasons I am voting out all Democrats in California.

  16. The lady says the root cause is not enough beds for the homeless. That’s hilarious. The root cause is the increased homeless problem caused by the Dems.

    • More specifically, the Democrats cannot afford to lose the illegal invader or homeless votes; without them they are sunk…

  17. “Asked if he’d be willing to give up part of his budget and allocate it to more directly addressing the homeless problem – which would likely alleviate his cleaning problem” …. if this is true, then why hasn’t any of the money spent by progressive cities alleviated the problem yet? San Francisco, LA, New York, Baltimore, Seattle … each spends more and more on addressing the issue, raising taxes to pay for it, … and the problem only grows and grows.
    Can’t you figure out that progressives are the problem, homelessness is merely one of the symptoms.

  18. Try driving via 880 into SF (1 trip caused 6500.00 damage to my vehicle) and park your formerly nice vehicle on the north side of the street with a valid and needed Handicap badge.
    Return 4 hours later – no vehicle (towed & impounded), walk 3 agonizing miles through the liberal, sanctuary crap results to city impound lot, pay $578.00 (amount continuously increments significantly by the hour/day). Realize this is exactly what corrupt Democrat politics (State/county/city) looks like. Drive home, with the greatest desire to leave this screwed up state ASAP.

  19. HOW ABOUT USING THE MONEY THE STATE GETS FROM THE PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT AND USE IT ON THE PEOPLE NOT THE ILLEGALS AND CRIMINALS?

  20. She said the root cause was, “not enough beds for the homeless” WRONG It is policies that allow illegals to take jobs and hospital space, closed mental hospitals, the failed war on drugs, and a species of liberals that attempt to legislate a perfect world where people who don’t work are catered to. If you can’t make it in overpriced SF get to a place where you can afford to live. Start by going where there is work and APPLY

  21. this is happened because you’re a city run by so called “compassionate” liberals who are too spineless or stupid to do the right thing.

  22. YOU know they are NOT normal if they believe electing more Democrats in CA will solve one of their problems.

    Democrats created the water rationing problem, the rabid homeless problem, the criminal illegal problems, put the state into BKY. Their high crime rate, their illiteracy problmes, their child abuse problems, etc.

  23. Well per as usual, the liberal answers are to make the changes that will entice even more to come..they never learn.
    Unless they are willing to tolerate drug use in their proposed new shelters, addicts will prefer to stay on the streets. I hate to say this, but the only answer to all of this, is incarceration and FORCED treatment, but liberals and the ACLU, think helping them to maintain their lifestyle is the answer.

  24. You can vaccinate a million times over its conditions like this that make places like China the highest vaccinated country have epidemics. Saniation is everything. Look back to 1910 and look at sanitation or lack of and see why people died then

  25. I think they should take a bull dozer and shovel it onto the mayors front lawn. If the homeless do not move they go with it. I hate seing pictures of the once beautiful city of San Francisco.

  26. Where to find the money? YOUR CITY IS RIPE WITH MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES! You know where the money is..go after it.

  27. This “supervisor” claims need more temporary beds, says 1000 ought to do it. Along with 25 million dollars, Now I know SF is VERY expensive but $25000 for each TEMPORARY bed,. Just WOW!

  28. I wished there was someway to direct all asylum seekers to sanctuary cities such as San Francisco. Since these asylum seekers are released with a court date and no intention of showing up for it, perhaps we could let San Franciscians get a good taste of their ideology.

  29. This is Nancy Pelosi’s district!! How about we put a tent up for her and leave her down there for a week or two?? How and why do they keep reelecting her??? Who in their right mind let’s their people live like this in America?? She is one sick woman to ignore this!!

    • I’m assuming it is for the buildings to house the beds. You’d think they could find a vacant building, fill it with army style bunks, build kitchen facilities, and call it good. An old Kmart could fit a LOT of beds and already has bathroom facilities. They could add cheap walls and doors to meet fire code. If it’s good enough for boot camp, it is good enough for the homeless.

      Any crime committed in the facility is an automatic felony with no probation allowed.

  30. You have Kamala Harris and the policies she implemented to thank for this situation. Such as “safe injection sites” which was, and is, a big incentive for drug users to move there.

  31. you know, New Orleans is basically covered in the same debris, only it has nothing to do with the homeless population

  32. “We’re not addressing the root cause”. No kidding. “The root cause” is the liberals you keep electing in California. Start electing conservatives in 2020 and they ‘may’ be able to turn things around in 10 or 15 years.

  33. That is because the housing is so expensive as they are giving to illegals and their families that regular citizens cant afford to live in a house. Exp: 450 sqft apt cost $650,000.00. No joke. Look it up.

  34. I was in San Francisco for a few days in the Summer of 1967. Granted, the Haight was full of hippies (I was one) but there were no hard drugs around, the people you met were nice, interesting or both and it was safe to walk around at 3 in the morning. I don’t think I want to go back! I would suggest a massive work camp, run on Army models, out in the country. If they don’t like it, give ’em a one-way bus ticket back to wherever they came from and jail them for 2 years if they show up back in town without a damned good reason. Honest people do NOT have to put up with this crap!

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