It's because we don't criminalize homelessness as aggressively as other major cities and the homeless population is concentrated near downtown where the SROs and social services are located. Keep in mind that it's generally not simply poverty but mental illness or a history of abuse/violence that separates the homeless here vs. the working poor in the favelas and slums of the third world.
>> "It's because we don't criminalize homelessness as aggressively as other major cities"
I don't think that matters - the op's point still stands. Do you think criminalising homelessness solves the problem? It just (poorly) hides it. There may be a different between the 'working' poor and the mentally ill that you point out but I'd be willing to bet the mentally ill aren't left to live on the street and fend for themselves in Cuba.
I was pointing out a difference between the reasons for poverty (mental illness, etc.) between the homeless and people who live in poverty in third world countries (political/socio-economic oppression, etc.).
I don't believe in criminalizing homelessness as it's a public health issue but I would contest the opinion that it poorly hides it. Look at any thread about New Yorkers complaining about SF and count how many times they talk about how the streets of New York have so many less homeless people. Of course, they probably don't understand the reasons very well (Rudolph Giulianis war on the homeless, etc.) but it certainly seems effective at hiding it when you either lock up homeless, force them to go underground and out of sight, or buy them a bus ticket to sunny California.
I agree with you that criminalization doesn't solve any real problems, it just sweeps them under the rug. Short of wide public support and funding for an expansion of social services, housing, and in some cases institutionalization, I don't expect any solution to the problem anytime soon.
Do you think that poor social service provision is a more important factor than the the homeless being insufficiently criminalized? If you do, you should probably clarify that.
I read this as the commenter implying other places do criminalize the homeless more, not that criminalizing the homeless more is good or ideal. Simply pointing out that the reason you see more homeless around in SF is that it's not aggressively criminalized. Not sure why making that statement carries the implication that they should be criminalized.