Megan Doudney holds daughter Nedahlia as she panhandles on Market Street. “I’m not harming her in any way.” Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle
Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle: Homeless mom panhandles on Market Street with newborn baby
San Franciscans know they’ll see all walks of life along Market Street, but a new fixture on the colorful thoroughfare has shocked even the most hardened city dwellers: a 6-week-old, homeless baby girl.
All day long, Megan Doudney, 34, sits on the sidewalk near the Four Seasons Hotel between Third and Fourth streets with little Nedahlia in her arms and a sign reading, “Anything helps.” The sight is alarming, even in this city where just about anything goes.
Pedestrians walking past do double takes, exclaiming, “Oh my God!” or “She has a baby!” But they’re not on some hidden-camera show. This is very much real life.
Several people have called 911, including when another homeless person’s menacing dog got in the baby’s face. Police have responded numerous times, and child welfare workers from the Human Services Agency have investigated whether the baby should be removed from Doudney. At first blush, it seems obvious that’s the right answer, but so far, the city is throwing up its hands. Apparently, the newborn is healthy and developing well, and isn’t going anywhere.
“I’m not harming her in any way,” Doudney told me as we chatted on the sidewalk the other day.
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WNU editor: I saw images like this one waaaayyyy too many times in Russia in the 1990s. Homeless and desperate girls in their early teens begging for money in front of the doors at the GUM shopping mall beside Red Square is an image that I will never forget.
In regards to San Francisco .... my brother lives in the Bay Area and I go see him once every year or two. San Francisco has definitely declined in the 20 years that I have been going there. The homes may be super expensive .... but the homeless problem is exploding.