Homelessness in San Francisco

Homeless person on Church Street in San Francisco.

San Francisco has several thousand homeless residents, despite extensive efforts by city government to address the issue.^[1] The prevalence of homelessness in the city is widely remarked on by visitors and other residents, and has been described as "San Francisco's most intractable problem" by guide books.^[2]

Prevalence

As of 2014, the city is believed to have approximately 7,000 homeless residents.^[3] As a percentage of city population, this is lower than many other major American cities.^[4]

Causes

As of 2015, approximately 71% of the city's homeless had housing in the city before becoming homeless, while the remaining 29% came from outside of San Francisco.^[5]

Current efforts to address the issue

In 2014, the city of San Francisco spent $167 million annually on housing homeless residents.^[3] In 2016, total spending (including housing and treatment) was believed to be $241 million annually.^[6] However, much of this spending is focused on housing the formerly homeless, or those at risk, not the currently homeless.^[7][8]

The city's shelter program has approximately 1,200 beds, and several hundred people on the waitlist.^[9]

History

Some sources date the increased prevalence of homelessness to the 1970s, tying it to a decrease in mental health services and increased numbers of Vietnam war veterans in the city.^[10] Other sources mention the decline of industrial jobs in the 1960s and 1970s.

The city government's first organized efforts to address the problem date to the 1980s.^[10] In 2002, the city shifted resources away from general assistance payments and towards treatment programs through an initiative called "Care Not Cash", though the impact of that has been debated. In 2004, the city launched a 10-year Plan to Abolish Chronic Homelessness.^[11]

References