Guest Editorial: Hosing the HomelessCarol Harveybyline‚ Dec. 01‚ 2008At 4:00 a.m., the silent street waits. A row of swathed bodies slumbers along the Tenderloin Health Center wall at Leavenworth and Golden Gate. Brilliant lights stab the darkness. A siren screams. A police car hurtles just ahead of a Department of Public Works “flusher truck.” Seconds later, orange-vested men approach, shouting groggy sleepers off the street. People scatter, gathering belongings. A huge white vehicle roars past jetting a powerful water arc over struggling people. A phosphorescent halo spray glows eerily around carts, heads, and bodies. Memphis was there. “They run me off four times this morning.” He pointed. “I moved here and over there and up there, circling the block. They start at 2:30, 3:00 o'clock. You just keep moving. You’re tired all day. You don’t get no sleep. Three days ago around 3:00 a.m. they soaked me three times when I was asleep. They didn’t give me no warning. I was soaked through and through. |