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City identifies 20 homeless hot spots
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SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - City agencies charged with relieving San Francisco’s homeless problem are zeroing in on 20 geographic locations with the highest concentrations of homeless persons, according to Mayor Gavin Newsom’s homeless czar, Trent Rohrer.
Drawing from the results of a recent count of 6,377 homeless persons in San Francisco, Rohrer said a list of the so-called homeless hot spots was presented to relevant department heads during a March 30 meeting as part of an ongoing effort to tackle one of The City’s biggest quality-of-life issues.
According to Rohrer, the list will direct resources such as Department of Public Works cleanup crews and the San Francisco Police Department’s 30 Operation Outreach officers — those specially trained to deal with the homeless population — and case managers of the San Francisco Homeless Outreach teams to these homeless hot spots.
Released in March, the homeless count, which is required biennially by federal law, found the number of homeless people increased since the January 2005 count, which identified 6,248 homeless persons. The counts include those in emergency shelters, hospitals and treatment centers. The count showed a 38 percent drop in homeless people compared with the count in 2002, which identified 8,640 homeless persons.
“We’ve made a tremendous amount of progress,” Newsom said in April about The City’s efforts to address the problem. He added that The City is on its way to becoming “more focused and targeted based upon the recent homeless count, which allowed for us for the first time ever to see the geographic challenges of homelessness in San Francisco.”
Rohrer, executive director of The City’s Department of Human Services, said targeting areas is the alternative to a “scattershot approach,” which doesn’t make sense when “dealing with limited resources.”
One of the new strategies to help with the homeless people in these hot spots is to have a team of two outreach case managers on every shift available to “respond quickly to hot spot referrals from city departments,” according to a March 30 city document outlining a plan to serve homeless hot spots in The City.
Rohrer said he hopes to have funding for more outreach case managers as part of next fiscal year’s budget so more can respond quickly to reports of homeless people. The case managers meet with homeless persons and attempt to have them sign up for the “street to home plan,” which opens the door to them for a wide array of city services, from substance abuse treatment to housing.
Rohrer praised The City’s efforts in recent years to combat the homeless problem, pointing to data showing how many homeless people have been helped. San Francisco has placed 2,907 homeless individuals into permanent housing since January 2004 and provided another 1,864 homeless persons with paid transportation to leave San Francisco for destinations where they have friends or family.
Homeless Hot Spots
» Jones, from Market to Geary
» Union Square, plus block bounded by Mason/Post/Powell/Geary
» Powell and Market, including Hallidie Plaza
» Fourth Street from Folsom to Market, including the Metreon
» Market, from Seventh to Eighth, including U.N. Plaza
» Civic Center Plaza
» Van Ness, from Market to Pine
» Mission, from South Van Ness to Otis
» Market, from Ninth to Valencia, including 44 Gough
» Transbay Terminal
» Fisherman’s Wharf, from Pier 39 to Jones
» Ferry Building, Justin Herman Plaza/Davis, from California to Pine
» Caltrans/Fourth and King
» Blocks bounded by O’Farrell, Mason, Eddy and Taylor
» Haight and Stanyan, including Alvord Lake and Hippie Hill in Golden Gate Park
» Market and 15th
» Blocks bounded by Second, Market, New Montgomery, Mission
» Ninth Avenue and Irving
» West Portal
» Washington Square
- Source: March 30, 2007, hot spot list provided by the Mayor’s Office
Comments from Examiner Readers
11:32 PM MST on Tue., Jun. 5, 2007 re: "City identifies 20 homeless hot spots"
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Examiner Reader said:
Mayor's non profits could bus 5k transients to So cal or ? . that is cheaper than all this alioto whining.
113 agree | 115 disagree
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P. Fitzgerald said:
Is 'Examiner Reader' sounding a bit like Chris Daly? Project Homeless Connect is absolutely one of the best ideas around and could be expanded upon by implementing a full-time, homeless mall, where the homeless could seek help anytime from one of the many agencies that would have a station available within the 'mall.' I have had this idea for some time now...it would have to be in a large facility where some people could have temporary shelter dependent upon need...then there would be multiple agencies such as BAART (methadone program), healthcare, employement-related and other agencies to be able to assist in much the same way that PHC does except this would be on a ongoing, 24 hour basis. It needs to be somewhere that is easily accessible. It is something that could be done with coordination and enough of the caring agencies willing to work and place a small office in the 'mall.' It is a concept worth looking into.
166 agree | 115 disagree
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P. Fitzgerald said:
It would be cruel and terrible to make it illegal to give money to homeless people if one choses to do so. Sometimes we need to do random acts of kindness...sometimes we need to do these acts more than once. I hope the Examiner Reader that comments on making it illegal to give money to people in the street develops some compassion. Besides, it is my money and I earned it so it is my right to do with it as I see fit...I don't like the 'Big Brother' sound of it either. Yes, these people do need help and I agree that there needs to be more agencies and actions in place like Project Homeless Connect but it never hurts to have a little compassion and give someone a few dollars or a twenty when called to do so. What would Mother Theresa do? Better yet...what would Jesus do?
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Examiner Reader said:
we need to extend the care not cash concept to the next logical level and make it illegal to donate money to these people on the street. it's just like feeding bears in yosemite and i would argue we need to destoy the ones that cannot be cured of their ills. put them down in a humane way. the rest, stop feeding their habits with cash and ask them to come in from the cold for real help.
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WKR said:
What a bunch of dog squat! Consensus can not be obtained from one annual count. It would require numerous countings among other methods to acuratly determine an approximate picture of the homeless population in a given city. A lot of factors would need to be considered when attempting to determine a homeless population. By making one annual count and comparing that to a previous annual count does not tell us anything!
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Examiner Reader for the laughs said:
So, are we spending our time identifing hot spots or trying to provide services? People will congretate where there feel accepted or have a reason to be. So where is in front of Glide on Ellis Street and in front of St. Anthony's on Golden Gate? Is this another another attempt by the Examiner to push the Mayor's race?
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Examiner Reader said:
Political hot spots maybe... I find it curious that W. Portal and the Ferry Building made the list and nothing in the Mission did...
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James, San Francisco said:
Compassion is one thing for those people who have no home, no job or income, etc. However, watching homeless people act out their mental illlnesses and troubles in the public sphere has gotten very tired, very fast. I think Mayor Newsom has the right idea, to place homeless in multiservice shelters, where they can receive social services, training, health care, and have a roof over their heads.
182 agree | 120 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
DOUBLESPEAK:"... zeroing in homeless persons... homeless czar... Police Department’s 30 Operation Outreach officers... drop in homeless people... address the problem... more focused and targeted...scattershot approach...respond quickly to hot spot referrals from city departments... combat the homeless problem'...
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Examiner Reader said:
Mr. Rohrer, It is not complicated. Just drive anytime to these hot spots and you will find the homeless, then GET THEM OFF THE STREETS. A big obtacle to the solving the homeless problem is bureaucrats like you. Take action. Do something! It's not complicated.
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jimsr said:
The 8640 number the mayor's office keeps using was not taken in January but in September when the count is the highest. Also, the program he keeps they keep taking credit for is a federal program!!!!
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