On Friday, San Francisco released a new, more detailed report of the point-in-time homeless count it conducted in January, the grim results suggesting that the homeless population is even higher by some standards than the 8,000-plus figure reported in May.
Among the findings:
- The homeless count is up: The previous reported 8,011 person homeless population—6.8 percent more than the previous count two years earlier, and a 14 percent rise since 2013—was calculated using the federal government’s definition of homelessness. However, the city uses a more broad definition of who is homeless, and by that standard the count is even higher: 9,784 persons.
- Homeless people can’t afford SF rents: When asked what prevents people from escaping homelessness, 63 percent of those polled said that they couldn’t afford rents in the city. The figure is up from 54 percent in 2017 and 48 percent in 2015. Compare this number to just 37 percent of people who said they were homeless because they have no income.
- Job loss still the number one driver: When asked what contributed to becoming homeless, 26 percent of respondents blamed job loss, 18 percent cited alcohol or drug problems, 13 percent said eviction, and 12 percent blamed conflicts with family or friends who had previously sheltered them.
- Eviction is up: The number of people citing eviction as the cause of homelessness skyrocketed since 2009, when it was only 5.3 percent.
- Prior to becoming homeless, 30 percent of those surveyed on the streets said they had owned or rented. Another 33 percent lived with friends and family, 12 percent lived in subsidized housing, and 10 percent were incarcerated or committed to a state hospital.
- Most homeless San Franciscans are hometown residents: Of those surveyed, 70 percent said they were living in SF at the time they lost shelter, and 55 percent have lived here for ten years or more. Only six percent had lived in SF for less than a year.
San Francisco’s 9,700-plus homeless count conducted in January includes people who were not physically on the street on the night of the count but may be soon—e.g., those in jails, hospitals, SROs, or living “doubled up” in short-term arrangements of crowded homes with friends or family.
District Six, which includes both the Tenderloin and much of SoMa, has the highest number of homeless residents, estimated at 3,659. District Four, which covers the Sunset District, had the fewest, with just 34.
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