San Francisco residents spend $2,000 on boulders to stop homeless people from sleeping on sidewalks
A San Francisco residential side street was reportedly covered with boulders after a group of neighbors in the area decided to come up with their own solution to keep the homeless away.
The neighbors claim that this is their endeavor to keep the homeless and drug dealers away as a burgeoning homeless crisis hits the city. The residents claimed they haven't been getting any assistance from the authorities and decided to take matters into their own hands.
The group has been attending city meetings and filing reports with the city for the past six months to seek a solution to the crisis, however, they say they haven't received any help, according to KGO. One of the residents of the neighborhood, while talking to the outlet, said that they decided they had had enough after a turf war one night.
"It got to the point where everybody was just done. People had knives and guns and people were out fighting, carrying on and waking up people in the neighborhood," a resident, who did not want to be identified, said. He added that a group of neighbors collectively decided to buy 24 boulders which have now been placed on their sidewalk in an attempt to discourage homeless people from camping there.
The neighbors also organized a fundraiser and raised over $2,000 for the boulders through a Facebook campaigning. One of the residents in the area, Lisa McEachron, said: "I don't know if it's a long-term solution, but at least in the short term, they seem to be working in keeping the tents off the sidewalk."
Another neighbor agreed that the boulders have helped in keeping the homeless a bay: "They really need to be there. They have helped."
Danielle, who lives a few blocks away, however, told CNN she thinks that instead of putting boulders, the neighbors could have focused their efforts on fighting for housing for the homeless. "I know the reality of homelessness and moving people from one sidewalk to another doesn't solve it," she said. "It's as if the people who are for them have the attitude not to deal with problem."