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**Title**: San Francisco's Controversial Free Alcohol Program for Homeless Alcoholics

**Sapo**: A new program in San Francisco, funded by taxpayer dollars, will provide free alcohol to homeless alcoholics, sparking outrage among city residents. Community members and businesses in the Tenderloin district express concerns about the program's potential negative effects on crime and public safety.

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**Article**:

San Francisco has launched a controversial program that will provide free alcohol to homeless alcoholics, using taxpayer funds. The program has drawn mixed reactions from community members, with some expressing outrage and others voicing support.

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The program, approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, aims to address the city's rampant homelessness and alcohol addiction issues. It allocates funding to purchase alcohol and distribute it to homeless individuals who are struggling with alcoholism.

However, many residents and business owners in the Tenderloin district, where the program is being implemented, have raised concerns. They fear that the program will exacerbate crime, public intoxication, and disorder in an area already plagued by these issues.

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"That's bull," said one resident, Jessica Smith. "We're paying taxes to give alcoholics free booze? It's absurd. It's like giving a drug addict free drugs."

Adrian Roberts, owner of a small café in the Tenderloin, shared similar sentiments. "This will only make our situation worse," he said. "We're already dealing with rampant drug use and violence. Now we're going to have more drunkards on the streets, making it even more dangerous for us to run our businesses."

The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) also expressed reservations about the program. Assistant Chief David Lazar warned that the curfew would not be effective in addressing the underlying problems of homelessness and drug use in the city.

"Our challenges still occur at night," Lazar said. "Crowds of people that are there selling stolen property, selling narcotics. We have drug users all over. And the problem is that when you have businesses that are open, like liquor stores and smoke shops, it just attracts more people."

Despite the backlash, Mayor London Breed defended the program, stating that it is a "compassionate" and "evidence-based" approach to addressing homelessness and addiction. The mayor's office cited studies that suggest that providing free alcohol to alcoholics can reduce alcohol-related harm and improve their health and well-being.

However, critics argue that the program is misguided and will only perpetuate the cycle of dependency and addiction. They believe that the city should focus on providing affordable housing, mental health services, and job training to address the root causes of homelessness and addiction.

The debate over San Francisco's free alcohol program is likely to continue, as the city grapples with the complex challenges of homelessness and addiction. Whether the program will be successful in reducing alcohol-related harm or whether it will contribute to the city's ongoing public safety problems remains to be seen.