Five Myths About Homelessness in San Francisco

We are a group of 11 friends and 8 children who have been spending the last couple months learning about homelessness in San Francisco. We've learned a lot, and have come across some faulty assumptions, especially in our own minds.

Myth #1. Those who experience homelessness want to live in tents; tons of shelter beds go unused. 

We've heard this a lot: that the people on the streets want to be there. They don't want to go to shelters where they can't bring their partners or pets. They want to be free to use drugs on the streets.

While that may certainly be true for some people, the data indicate a very different problem. The San Francisco 90-day emergency shelter system operates 1,203 beds and the waitlist is 1,092 people deep (as of this writing on 4/27/18).

Furthermore, San Francisco's most recent homeless census counted 7,499 people on the streets. It's highly unlikely that the vast majority of these folks want to be out there. The easier explanation is that there aren't enough beds.

The SF Chronicle acknowledges there may be some unused beds each night, but that's more a result of no-shows or other technicalities. Perhaps if we allocated shelter beds more efficiently, this myth would go away faster.

Myth #2. San Francisco is a magnet for the homeless because it's sunny and the services are plentiful.

We've heard many variations on this theme, probably because people have heard headline numbers on the amount of money that the city does spend on homelessness. 

To the contrary, 69% of respondents in the homeless census indicated that they were San Francisco residents when they became homeless. And 55% of those respondents had already lived in San Francisco for ten or more years! If you talk to a random homeless person on the street, they are almost four times more likely to be a long-term San Francisco resident than to have moved here from out-of-state.

With regards to services, another SF Chronicle report puts it pretty bluntly: "A homeless person can get a one-night emergency shelter bed quickly. But anything else — supportive housing, longer-term shelter beds, mental health care, substance abuse services — requires a waiting list. If the waiting list is even taking new names. Some are so long, they’re closed."

It's true, San Francisco does spend a lot of money. But we are not overflowing with abundant services that make us a magnet for those without shelter. Which brings us to ...

Myth #3. San Francisco spends over $40,000 per homeless person with no impact to show for it. We'd be better off just giving people the money.

This type of comment comes out of sincere frustration and we get it. People see tents all over the city; subway stations are dirty; sidewalks are dirty too.

The problem is big but San Francisco is probably not over-spending either. Numbers like the above come from taking a numerator like $305 million (the amount spent on homelessness and supportive housing) and dividing by the 7,499 people counted in 2017. But the majority of that budget goes towards supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals or eviction prevention to keep people from becoming homeless in the first place. In other words, if we didn't spend that much money, we'd have even more homeless individuals on the streets. Homelessness is a tough problem ... and arguably an expensive problem.

Myth #4. Mental health is the "real" problem.

This statement can sound smart and enlightened. And mental health is a certainly a real challenge —nationally about 13-15% of homeless individuals are mentally ill.  But we probably overestimate what's happening because we've witnessed public displays of paranoia and delusion, for example.

Our group spent time with a psychologist who counsels homeless individuals in San Francisco. It's easy to presume that people start with mental health challenges that spiral out of control into homelessness. Our new friend told us that quite often the persistent isolation and struggles of being homeless are factors that lead to the mental health issues (e.g., anxiety, depression). How many of us would still keep it all together if we were out on the streets for six months?

For a good number of people, the homelessness itself is a root cause of their mental health challenges.

Which brings us to the last myth ...

Myth #5. The homeless are the problem.

We discovered that it's really easy to think about the abstract problem of homelessness and then to see a homeless person as the problem. Homelessness is a problem. Homeless individuals are people. They are sons, and they are daughters. When we view them as problems or projects, we overlook their intrinsic dignity.

We learned that really simple things can make a difference in the restoration of dignity: eye contact, respectful conversation, slowing down to acknowledge people and their lives. 

And we learned first-hand about Lava Mae, an organization that is striving to bring what they call "radical hospitality" to the streets.

Ultimately, we recognize that housing and homelessness are super-complicated, especially in a place like San Francisco. While we continue on that journey of learning, it's a no-brainer to assist in rekindling the dignity of people who are already on the streets.

That's why we started our Dignity Challenge. We are in our final days and we'd love it if you'd join us in funding hot showers, warm meals, and excellent service for those who are experiencing homelessness. Would you help us meet our goal of $37,500? We will match dollar for dollar to get there.