SF tourist industry struggles to explain street misery to horrified visitors
It&#x27;s actually very easy to explain.<p>Homeless people are attracted to places with nice year round weather. SF provides that.<p>They are also attracted to places where they are tolerated or accepted. The people of SF are very tolerant of the homeless. As one of the commenters here says: &quot;I bring cash, you run out after just a block or two.&quot; Sounds like a great place to be homeless.<p>As for root causes, homelessness is mostly caused by drug addiction and mental illness. According the the National Coalition for the Homeless:<p>&quot;A 2008 survey by 
the United States Conference of Mayors asked 25 cities for their top three causes of homelessness. 
Substance abuse was the single largest cause of homelessness for single adults (reported by 68% of cities).<p>Substance abuse was also mentioned by 12% of cities as one of the top three causes of homelessness for 
families. According to Didenko and Pankratz (2007), two-thirds of homeless people report that drugs 
and&#x2F;or alcohol were a major reason for their becoming homeless.&quot;<p>As for mental illness, according to a research summary compiled by the Treatment Advocacy Center:<p>&quot;Approximately one-third of the total homeless population includes individuals with serious, untreated mental illnesses&quot;<p>More affordable housing will not offer relief to the homeless because their state is largely caused by addiction and mental illness, not by high housing prices.