Moving

SF Is Shifting Folks Dwelling on the Road Proper Into Empty Properties. Right here’s Why It Can’t Go Quicker

BWhen the Street to Home program was quietly launched in San Francisco last summer, it was intended to address two homeless problems at once.

It puts people living on the streets directly into housing, bypassing a long — and for some, controversial — referral process and waiting lists, and fills vacant apartments funded by the city, reducing a vacancy rate that has drawn the ire of some city officials and advocates.

Nine months later, the Street to Home programme, which was the first The freshhas been taking six to eight people off the streets and giving them homes each month, according to the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH), and is doing well.

There are also restrictions that prevent an early expansion, but officials say that's OK; the lessons learned will help speed up the placement of people in more than 9,000 assisted living units, including emergency shelters and other transitional housing.

“The goal is not to make Street to Home a huge program, but rather to use the lessons learned so that everyone in the housing process can benefit from an expedited process,” said Emily Cohen, HSH's deputy director of communications and legislative affairs.

With thousands of people living on the city's streets, authorities are under legal, economic and political pressure from many quarters. Businesses and residents are suing over street conditions, the legality of “citizen sweepers” has reached the U.S. Supreme Court and the actual number of homeless people is likely higher than the 7,754 reported in 2022. (In that report, HSH acknowledged that as many as 20,000 people in San Francisco may experience some form of homelessness each year and that there are four homeless people for every person or family that gets a home.)

The city has just conducted a new count; the final results are expected this summer.

There is a certain group of people for whom it becomes more difficult to find space if you put up any kind of barrier.

Chris Block, Housing and Accommodation Team Leader in the Homelessness and Supported Housing Department

The program's sole housing provider, Delivering Innovation in Supportive Housing (DISH), says 58 people have moved into its permanent supported housing units — typically larger buildings like the Minna Lee. Supported housing units include on-site services that can include health care, job training, food assistance and more.

The steady flow of new arrivals is just a fraction of the thousands of people living on San Francisco's streets, but there's also this promising number: One. That's how many people have moved out so far, according to DISH Director Lauren Hall. Cohen said she expects Street to Home's turnover rate to be higher than the systemwide rate because participants move in directly from the streets, but it's about the same.

“I'm really pleased that there is no more turnover in this matter,” said Jennifer Bolen, parliamentary assistant to Sup. Dean Preston, who last year called on HSH to halve the vacancy rate within 90 days; his fellow board members unanimously supported the non-binding resolution. “This means that people are being matched with apartments that suit them and that they would like to stay in.”

The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing said it has reduced the vacancy rate in assisted housing to 7.1 percent thanks to the Street to Home program and other measures. (Courtesy of HSH)

According to the agency, the program is responsible for more than a quarter of the roughly 200 vacant units HSH has occupied since May 2023. The vacancy rate has been a political flashpoint for years. In 2021, then-Sup. Matt Haney and others called for a hearing when the rate rose to 10 percent.

Not all units classified as vacant are available. Around 40 percent were recently unavailable due to repairs and other reasons.

Last year, Preston introduced its resolution three months after HSH quietly launched the pilot program. The vacancy rate has since fallen to 7.1 percent, which HSH officials attribute not only to Street to Home but also to other initiatives, such as a dedicated housing placement team and the allocation of more money for capital improvements to the housing stock.

A faster choice

Here's how Street to Home works. HSH's outreach team, which has closer contact with people on the streets, identifies those who are eligible and ready to move in. Because the program only includes a limited number of buildings, participants don't have much choice in choosing their housing unit, unlike those who participate in the general referral process. “This hasn't been a major problem so far,” an HSH spokesperson said by email. “We find that most clients are very happy to accept the housing offered to them.”

Once they've toured the apartment, move-in typically takes about a week, according to Chris Block, who leads HSH's housing and placement team. On-site case managers then help residents gather paperwork within 90 days. “There's a certain group of people who have a harder time finding housing if we put any kind of obstacle in their way,” Block said.

Dexter Greene has been living on the streets of San Francisco for 20 years. This is how he has survived so far

Hall thinks Street to Home is a success and plans to participate until DISH's assisted living units are full. But she also acknowledges that it can be “exhausting” for her staff. As HSH's Cohen noted, there are additional challenges when participants come straight from the streets. For example, residents have to pay rent; until recently, they received no help setting up accounts before moving in. But HSH now sends a staff member on move-in days to help residents without income sign up for needed services.

While the number of move-ins will be small compared to San Francisco's overall homeless population, Street to Home could provide some guidance for the housing placement system. The current system, known as coordinated entry, was implemented over the past decade. It soon became clear that there were problems, exacerbated by emergency rules during the pandemic and chronic staff shortages. HSH's top official promised an overhaul in 2021. “We really struggled with the way placements were done before, so I don't want to go back to the old system,” Hall said.

Ask the federal government for permission

If Street to Home, as the HSH itself puts it, “continues to flourish”, the agency should be able to apply an important lesson to its future activities: first accommodate people, then deal with the bureaucratic burden.

But that's easier said than done. One limitation is the federal government, which funds about 16 percent of HSH's assisted living units. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires residents to go through a months-long vetting process before moving into these units.

HSH has asked for a waiver to place people in housing first and then within 60 or 90 days to provide documents proving their identity, income and disability. “If we had the waiver from HUD, it could help make more units available for Street to Home and also expedite housing through the traditional housing process,” Cohen said. Until then, only locally funded units are eligible for an expedited process, whether through Street to Home or coordinated entry.

Cohen said she hopes to receive a response from HUD “within the next few months.” HUD did not respond to questions from The fresh.

But even with a waiver, HSH faces hurdles that will increase the move-in rate for Street to Home. Cohen noted that the program is staff-intensive, which limits its capacity, and that it requires the “eager participation” of other housing providers. HSH said it is in talks with other providers, but none have signed on yet. Block expects Street to Home to continue housing people at a similar rate for the foreseeable future: “I think we've settled on six to eight units a month.”

“This shows us all how we can break down barriers,” Cohen added. “It can show how quickly we can get things done, and that needs to be part of the ongoing work.”

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