San Francisco Saint Mary’s Cathedral Drenches Homeless With Water To Keep Them Away

CBS ^ | March 18, 2015

[DaveMSmith]

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — KCBS has learned that Saint Mary’s Cathedral, the principal church of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, has installed a watering system to keep the homeless from sleeping in the cathedral’s doorways.

The cathedral, at Geary and Gough, is the home church of the Archbishop. There are four tall side doors, with sheltered alcoves, that attract homeless people at night.

“They actually have signs in there that say, ‘No Trespassing,’” said a homeless man named Robert. But there are no signs warning the homeless about what happens in these doorways, at various times, all through the night. Water pours from a hole in the ceiling, about 30 feet above, drenching the alcove and anyone in it. The shower ran for about 75 seconds, every 30 to 60 minutes while we were there, starting before sunset, simultaneously in all four doorways. KCBS witnessed it soak homeless people, and their belongings.

[ansel12]

A lot of times people get distracted by some keywords and forget how narrow a particular discussion actually is, in this case a lot of people saw “homeless” and started thinking and posting about all the issues, and problems, and annoyances that we have with them, rather than focusing solely on this narrow story about the water system.

Thanks for posting.

[DaveMSmith]

Thanks for posting. I have learned that each of these people has a story, if one is willing to listen. And some may very well be veterans of the Iraq/Afghanistan conflicts. I try not to think of anyone less than myself but least of all a vet who has served and is struggling.

Mental illness and addiction go hand in hand. Again, I personally know low bottom cases that came back. It is only by God's Providence they recovered and they are considered miracles.

Related to this, a hot topic in my church community are cities that are banning feeding the homeless. (See More Cities Are Making It Illegal To Hand Out Food To The Homeless) The reasoning seems to be the cities want to concentrate services for the homeless to one area. Some would argue that they want to create a ghetto and hide the problem. Tough problem, but I think the church should do everything it can and be vocal about it.