Maybe it's a joke, but a dark sardonic one.

I'm close friends with a former director of mental health for SF and later Contra Costs counties. Many of the homeless in sf have been in jail before, and jail is more often a source of trauma than a gateway to full health. Many of these people simply need to be on their meds to survive in normal society, but poverty and homelessness make taking meds a lower priority for them than finding food and a bed.

In terms of tax spending: the most needy are only "3 percent of the homeless people in the public health database, but they account for a third of all costs. Treating them in emergency and urgent care costs $50 million a year, or nearly $150,000 per person on average." link

Mental healthcare in sf is a complicated problem that is multiplied by the high cost of living and the lingering bias against mental health. Treating the 3% is an attainable goal, but there are not enough beds in sf to support all needy people as they attempt to build normal lives. In its simplest form, it's 'just' a housing issue.

r/sf seems to think violence against the ill is a reasonable response to the ugliness they see while walking to work at some app factory. This sub is a swamp.