san francisco
The library turns off the WiFi at night to drive away the homeless
A homeless woman sleeps across from the Eureka Valley Library. The wall painting was refreshed by the city, the left half of the sidewalk has now been converted into a green strip.
© Godofredo A. Vasquez/ / Picture Alliance
San Francisco is grappling with an ever-growing homelessness crisis. A library is now taking action against the people living on the street in its very own way – and is cutting off their wifi.
Tents along the highway, entire castles made out of mobile homes and people who sleep across the sidewalk during the day: Anyone who roams San Francisco or nearby San Jose is confronted with the misery of rampant homelessness in the Bay Area at every turn. A district is now trying to get the problem under control with a bizarre measure.
This is shown by e-mails that an activist published on Twitter a few weeks ago. City Councilman Rafael Mandelman and local residents pressured the Eureka Valley library to turn off free Wi-Fi overnight. “That probably makes sleeping around the library less attractive,” said a resident in an email. The library is said to have finally given in to pressure after a meeting. And since last August, the network has been switched off at night, reports the local newspaper “Mission Local”.
criticism of the shutdown
The measure is not the only one to get the problems around the library under control. However, she is the most heavily criticized. Planting the sidewalk, putting up bike racks, and refreshing a painting on the opposite facade also served to make it more difficult to set up tents around the library. With the WLAN switched off, however, those affected by homelessness would be deprived of an important opportunity to improve their situation.
An e-mail to the city’s library administration explained that free access to the Internet is essential for maintaining contacts, applying for jobs or applying for state aid. That’s why the city should please lift the night lock again, according to the author.
ways out of disadvantage
In fact, this also corresponds to the way American libraries see themselves. The American Library Association also emphasizes that public and free access to education and information is traditionally seen by libraries as an important means of compensating for the social disadvantages of poor social groups.
Stiftung Warentest
These six simple tricks will make your WiFi better
The library in Eureka Valley is the only one in the city that turns off the wifi at night, the spokeswoman for the local association confirmed to “The Verge”. A few years ago, the city was the first to hire its own social worker in order to be able to respond to the special needs of homeless library users. According to estimates, around 8,000 people in the city are currently affected by homelessness, which corresponds to almost one percent of the population. The situation is tense across the region: three of the ten US cities with the highest levels of homelessness are in the Bay Area around San Francisco.
Success not proven
How successful the measure is remains controversial. While residents and the city administration point to a decrease in the number of people camping in front of the library, this cannot be directly linked to the fact that the WiFi was switched off because of the additional measures. A study commissioned by the library in 2017 was unable to show any connection between turning off the WiFi at night and a decrease in crime. A second study in 2021 also showed no evidence of a decrease in crime.
In the meantime, a campaign is picking up speed that calls for the nightly WiFi to be switched on again. More than 50 residents have submitted an application, reports “The Verge”. At the time, 16 residents spoke out in favor of switching off. The main demand of the current counter-movement: not to make life difficult for the homeless with simple measures. But to tackle the causes of their situation.
Sources:Twitter, Mission Local,The Verge, PBS, American Library Association