San Francisco's homeless count shows slight increase, but progress on sheltering
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco has completed analyzing data from the latest count of homeless in the city. The city says the overall number of homelessness is up slightly, but the city says it is making progress in getting people off the streets.
The latest point in time count of San Francisco's homeless population was in January.
The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing said the count found just over 8,300 sheltered and unsheltered homeless residents in San Francisco compared to just over 8,000 two years ago.
The city said part of the reason for the increase is more people taking advantage of shelter opportunities. "More people experiencing homelessness are sheltered now than ever before and we've seen a 13% reduction in street homelessness and tent utilization across the city," said Emily Cohen from San Francisco's Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.
City leaders said that the reduction in people on the streets is an encouraging sign. Especially in those neighborhoods that have long battled homelessness. "So both in District 5 and District 6, which include the Tenderloin and SoMa, we're seeing a 21% and 22% decrease in unsheltered homelessness respectively," said Cohen.
Over the last month, San Francisco has stepped up efforts to clear tent encampments throughout the city. The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing said so far they have not seen a spike in people accepting offers of shelter, but said it's hard to predict the new policy's long-term impact.
"I think it's a little too early to tell," said Cohen. "Our homeless outreach teams are out there offering services, shelter benefits, health care. You know, connections to those types of services every day. They're out there every day engaging with those people in encampments."
People on the streets on Wednesday said those efforts in San Francisco have forced those experiencing homelessness to wander, sometimes out of the city. "Some of the people are just BART-ing a few stops down and going out to places where they can still set up a tent," said Cody. "Oakland I believe. You know, they're just finding other places to stay at."
The city says the data show there were increases in the homeless count in some areas because of expansions in shelter beds in those neighborhoods. The report also shows an increase of people living in their vehicles in the southern parts of the city.
In the past few weeks, in addition to the crackdown on tents, the city has also stepped up enforcement of those living in RVs, specifically ordering the RV community that had been located on Winston Drive, and relocated to Zoo Road.
The site near the zoo is now cleared, and the city's Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing said they've contacted many of those who lived in that community, and have them on the path to permanent housing. "We helped eight families with children sign leases this week, and we're continuing to work with 14 more families that were on Zoo Road," said Cohen.
The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing says this latest data will help them follow trend lines and plan for how the issue of homelessness is developing.
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