Anyone who has read up on why the timeline for clearing the park was moved up knows this isn’t about punishing the homeless or reclaiming public spaces. It’s because the drug use and violent crime in the encampment has literally become so pronounced that social services workers can’t safely access those who need assistance anymore.

The city doesn’t have an unlimited budget. It’s about doing the most amount of good for the most amount of people, and the extent of the encampment has become unmanageable and is preventing those who are desperately in need of services from getting them.