Ask anyone who actually works with unhoused people to get them into housing: there are almost no shelter beds and almost no permanent housing opportunities in California. If a person in a tent on the sidewalk says they'd like to move inside, the paperwork takes a couple of months, getting a housing voucher takes a couple of months, and t…
Ask anyone who actually works with unhoused people to get them into housing: there are almost no shelter beds and almost no permanent housing opportunities in California. If a person in a tent on the sidewalk says they'd like to move inside, the paperwork takes a couple of months, getting a housing voucher takes a couple of months, and then finding a place that will rent to them takes a couple of months. Meanwhile the person is still on the street with no restroom, no shower, no safe place to keep their identification and other paperwork, and getting limited sleep. Their encampment may be "cleaned up" by the city and then they've lost all their stuff, and the case manager has to go search for them and probably start over. A recent study (by McKinsey) found that while 207 unhoused people in Los Angeles become housed daily, 227 lose their housing and join the ranks of the unhoused each day. The meager "resources" (money, vouchers, shelter beds, and dedicated PSH apartments) that are available are mostly reserved for people who are chronically homeless. To its credit, Oakland is trying to be compassionate.
When it comes to government programs only trying something radically new will really change things. I'm not sure what that could be, but unless there's a way to triple shelter beds and cut red tape in half not much will change. I guess I'm just reacting to what I'm reading as a proposal to throw more resources at the problem.
The only thing that really moves the needle on the homeless situation is housing supply. Detroit doesn't have less homeless b/c they have better resources for them, it's simply that supply and demand of housing titles towards supply. California probably spends way more on social programs directed towards the homeless and near-homeless than most of the other states but is stuck with the worst problem because of housing supply (and to a small degree, the weather). Zoning reform really is the magic bullet imo
Ask anyone who actually works with unhoused people to get them into housing: there are almost no shelter beds and almost no permanent housing opportunities in California. If a person in a tent on the sidewalk says they'd like to move inside, the paperwork takes a couple of months, getting a housing voucher takes a couple of months, and then finding a place that will rent to them takes a couple of months. Meanwhile the person is still on the street with no restroom, no shower, no safe place to keep their identification and other paperwork, and getting limited sleep. Their encampment may be "cleaned up" by the city and then they've lost all their stuff, and the case manager has to go search for them and probably start over. A recent study (by McKinsey) found that while 207 unhoused people in Los Angeles become housed daily, 227 lose their housing and join the ranks of the unhoused each day. The meager "resources" (money, vouchers, shelter beds, and dedicated PSH apartments) that are available are mostly reserved for people who are chronically homeless. To its credit, Oakland is trying to be compassionate.
When it comes to government programs only trying something radically new will really change things. I'm not sure what that could be, but unless there's a way to triple shelter beds and cut red tape in half not much will change. I guess I'm just reacting to what I'm reading as a proposal to throw more resources at the problem.
The only thing that really moves the needle on the homeless situation is housing supply. Detroit doesn't have less homeless b/c they have better resources for them, it's simply that supply and demand of housing titles towards supply. California probably spends way more on social programs directed towards the homeless and near-homeless than most of the other states but is stuck with the worst problem because of housing supply (and to a small degree, the weather). Zoning reform really is the magic bullet imo
Amen.
We need a *lot* more shelter beds, all over the Bay Area.