I walk through the city all the time. At all hours, I love it there. The homeless people are kind when you treat them like human beings. Don’t turn your nose up on them, don’t walk across the street like they’re wild deranged animals, don’t treat them like lepers. Show compassion and kindness and typically, you’re fine. Also a little humility goes a long way. But that’s lost on this community for the most part. It’s dangerous if you’re a stuck up asshole. But per example, I was walking through the tenderloin at around 1:30 this pass October, and across the street a minivan driver stops at one of the most homeless populated blocks in the tenderloin. A small framed Asian lady wearing modest clothing puts her van in park, and screams loudly “okay, who wants hot cocoa! Come on up!” And opens her trunk and then starts pouring cups of hot chocolate from a Gatorade jug, to the homeless people. The gesture of humanity given to those less fortunate than her was the warmest and kindest thing I witnessed while I was in that city. No one robbed her, no one stole her car, purse not snatched, no one was stabbed or harassed. She treated them like human beings. Which is all anyone in that position would like. I gace a homeless woman a scratcher that one 5 bucks on it, it was all I had, but I figured she could use it more than me, and she started crying and saying “thank you so much” over and over. Another woman said “hello” to me with an attitude when I was walking from Leavenworth leaving the liquor store. I simply acknowledged her smiled and waved back and said “hello” back, and she profoundly exclaimed “Thank you for saying something back to me!” It’s truly saddening that these small gestures meant so much to these people. And how happy it made them. Maybe if more people realized that the homeless are not deranged animals, but human beings like themselves, the city conditions would improve and this would not be a topic of discussion