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San Francisco has several thousand homeless residents, despite extensive efforts by city government to address the issue. 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.
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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. 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. 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.
Prevalence
As of 2014, the city is believed to have approximately 7,000 homeless residents. As a percentage of city population, this is lower than many other major American cities.
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.
Current efforts to address the issue
In 2014, the city of San Francisco spent $167 million annually on housing homeless residents. In 2016, total spending (including housing and treatment) was believed to be $241 million annually. However, much of this spending is focused on housing the formerly homeless, or those at risk, but not the currently homeless. The city's shelter program has approximately 1,200 beds, and several hundred people on the waitlist. Even with 1,200 shelter beds and several hundred on waiting list, most homeless avoid the shelter for various reasons such as: overcrowding, safety, and a barrage of rules that amongst other things separate people experiencing homelessness from their possessions, pets, and loved ones. In 2015 created a radical new shelter called the Navigation Center that addressed these issues.
Navigation Center
The Navigation Center started as a pilot program and is a collaboration between the city of San Fransico and San Francisco Interfaith Council and funded by a 3 million anonymous donation and based on the hunch that people experiencing homelessness would be more receptive to utilizing shelters if they were "allowed to stay with their possessions, partners, and pets". The first Navigation Center opened in 2015 at a former school building in the mission district. Unlike other shelters the Navigation Center allows clients to come and go as they please and tries to get them permanent housing within ten days.