London Breed Quotes

About one third of the people who are on the streets are mentally ill.

We know that all too often, homelessness and behavioral health challenges go hand in hand.

There is nothing compassionate or safe about relegating people, particularly those suffering from mental health or addiction issues, to sleep on our streets.

Most people, if you live in a big city, you see some form of schizophrenia every day, and it's always in the form of someone homeless. 'Look at that guy - he's crazy. He looks dangerous.' Well, he's on the streets because of mental illness. He probably had a job and a home.

The public thinks that homelessness is about not having any accommodation to go to.

There are three major social issues that this country is struggling with: education, poverty, and drugs. Two of them we talk about, and one of them we don't.

Certain people are more likely to use drugs because of whatever it is: They've suffered some trauma in their life. They have risk factors like mental illness, people with learning disabilities, with attention problems.

Sadly, youth homelessness is an issue throughout the country.

There is no single cause of homelessness, and vulnerable people, those with mental health problems and addictions for example, need support not punishment.

By incarcerating someone who is homeless or addicted or who suffers from mental health challenges, we only further destabilize that person and create situations where they are more likely to commit crimes in the future.

Homelessness, open air drug use and mental illness - which we all see in this city - are things we've been relying on the DA's office and the jails to deal with. That's really expensive, inhumane and ineffective.

There are five issues that make a fist of a hand that can knock America out cold. They're lack of jobs, obesity, diabetes, homelessness, and lack of good education.

So much progress has been made with topics like mental illness and drug abuse and sexual identity.

All the great artists had their dark sides. Look at Amy Winehouse or anyone who has achieved a certain level of success. Even Adele, and the people that you wouldn't put in the same category as a gangster rapper. These women have exposed their vulnerabilities, demons, and things that have hurt them.

In my family and in my community, I see people struggling with drug addiction, with poverty and the effects of generational poverty; I see people struggling with lack of access to healthcare.

I don't think people who are already burdened with social, economic, psychological situations, dysfunctional families, need to be burdened with other people with the same problems.

We have all learned that addiction and mental illnesses are illnesses, and I think a lot of people overlook that it is a chemical imbalance; it's like cancer, a sickness, and people need to see it as that.

Of course homelessness has many causes and the solutions are often frustratingly complex.

Many times, I left the prison thinking, 'I'm smart. I can make it. I won't get caught up again.' But you get off downtown Skid Row, and you're a target for all of the environmental harms in that area. The pain and trauma in that area is so thick, you can almost reach your hand out and touch it.

These diseases, both alcoholism and addiction, much like bipolar or depression and different illnesses, are still not seen as real diseases. People shy away from seeking help because it's viewed as being somewhat morally off the path, that they've lost their way.

The holidays are a rough time for the homeless, but it's a year-round problem we have to solve.

Many offenders have had immensely difficult upbringings and do not have the support of loving families and friends.

Homelessness and behavioral health challenges affect every neighborhood in San Francisco.

Homelessness is an umbrella term for a lot of different problems that need separate solutions.

We need to start identifying the triggers that aggravate mental health issues in our society - bullying, social media negativity and anxiety, gender based violence, substance abuse, stigma around issues such as maternal issues, etc., and we need to speak up about these more and get to the source of the problems.