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SF Homeless Problem

⌗ Metadata

📰 Summary (use your own words) SF's homelessness crisis is stalled by a problematic principle which favors permanent housing over temporary ones, and this sucks most of the funding money. The combination of good weather, lax drug laws further increases the influx of homeless people and the existing homeless base is not reducing because there is no incentives for homeless people to become clean and get a job.

✍️ Notes

  • There are roughly 7,800 homeless people in SF at any time estimated by HSH
    • 4,400 sleeping on the streets
    • 3,400 sleeping in shelters
  • The money used to fund the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) has been increasing and is at $620 million this year
    • Total public funding of $3.3 billion dollars
  • The number of homelessness continues to grow while the HSH is facing funding issues as SF's tax base is decreasing
  • The cost of shelter for all the homeless people shouldn't exceed the amount of funding
    • So where is the money going?
  • 56% of funding is on permanent supportive housing (PSH) which infinitely subsidized for people that HSH believes would be homeless otherwise
    • There is no sobriety requirements or maximum income cutoffs
    • Tenants self declare their homelessness status
    • Bringing an influx of homeless people due to lax drug laws, weather, promise of subsidized home
    • There are currently 9,000 living in PSH
    • There is also a perverse incentive to encourage on going drug addiction as a housing criteria
  • Housing First policy
    • Was adopted by many cities in California but enshrined into law in 2016
    • This doesn't directly solve for the prevalent homelessness on the streets
    • It is very costly and has the wrong incentives for the people living in it