NEWSOM: NO MORE HOMELESS DRUG MONEY

Fresh from trips to Chicago and New York, Supervisor Gavin Newsom has
returned with a message for The City's homeless: The buck stops here --
literally.

He plans to introduce legislation Thursday examining whether The City
should be so generous in handing out free checks to the needy.

Compared to other counties, San Francisco is much too easy. The Catch-22 is
that $343 isn't enough to afford housing, Newsom said, yet it's enough to
feed other needs -- primarily substance addictions.

"Tragically, money isn't used for purposes as intended, and that's the real
tragedy of our General Assistance program," he said. "If we continue on
this failed path, it should be no surprise to anyone we will manifest the
same results. Money is not enough to turn your life around."

GA money should be redirected instead toward expanding drug and mental
illness programs, he said.

A 1990 survey of San Francisco shelters found about one third of those
entering substance-treatment programs were homeless.

Alcohol is the most frequently abused substance, while heroin and crack
come in second.

Though The City spends $50 million for an array of more than 40 programs
that offer treatment for substance addictions, there is still more demand
than available resources. At least 1,000 people are on waiting lists for
treatment.

"Other health systems spend more money on the problem," said Jim Stillwell,
director of community substance services.

But a recession and a projected shortfall of more than $100 million in The
City's budget means more spending is unlikely.

Newsom is right, said Dr. Pablo Stewart, a psychiatrist at the Haight
Ashbury Clinic who has treated patients with substance addictions for 20
years. The City should stop feeding addictions of the homeless.

There is a big problem handing people a free GA check, Stewart said.

"It is the most ridiculous thing that we do," he said.

In nearly every case, most of that cash will be spent on substance
addictions, he said.

"If you have a demonstrated pattern of being unable to control your money,
it's obvious that you're not able to handle money, so why would I give you
money?" Stewart said.

Homeless advocates disagreed.

Sister Bernie Galvin of Religious Witness with Homeless People, an
interfaith advocacy group, said it is unfair to stereotype all homeless
people as drug or alcohol addicts.

"I think we need to have a compassionate understanding of the harshness of
such an existence," Galvin said. "People living lives of misery can easily
fall into seeking temporary relief."

In San Mateo County, General Assistance recipients receive only $58 in
cash, though they are eligible for up to $296. The rest of the amount is
paid directly to landlords or utility companies in vouchers. The San Mateo
Board of Supervisors approved the system in 1993.

Stewart said The City could give money with checks in place. For instance,
he said, the homeless should have "payees" look after their money as they
did at the veteran's center where he used to work.

"You didn't just give these guys money, because we knew what would happen
- -- it would go toward drugs and alcohol," he said. "These guys didn't like
it, but that's the way it was."

Walden House, a drug treatment program, also has a "co-payee" program,
spokesman Chris Canter said, because addicts need assistance with money
management.

"The only thing that's important to addicts is getting high," Canter said.
"I have a motto: Don't spare change, invest in change."

In 1996, the Board of Supervisors agreed to spend more of the budget on
substance-addiction programs to provide Treatment on Demand. The City
spends more than any other municipality. But has it made a difference?

The Department of Public Health claims The City now treats close to 15,000
addicts -- about 2 percent of its roughly 750,000 residents.

While that might be encouraging, San Francisco still needs to better
coordinate its drug-treatment programs for more effective results, Stewart
said, and homeless advocates need to accept that being homeless is not an
excuse for using drugs.

"Homelessness is a natural progression of untreated substance abuse,"
Stewart said. "Homelessness is secondary to the substance problem."