Imagine a World, or at least a City, without Lines
When it comes to the shelter reservation system in San Francisco, this might seem like an impossible dream, more delusion than imagination. However, for the past several months, that’s exactly what the Shelter Access Workgroup, SAW, has been doing.
The Problem
San Francisco’s current shelter reservation system is an unmitigated disaster. It is complicated, inefficient and inconsistent. After waiting in lines for hours – or possibly days – homeless people are regularly turned away despite the fact the city reports vacant beds each night. They line up at resource centers hours before the 7AM opening – many arriving the night before – to be first in line for a chance at a 90-day reservation. Very few actually get one. Their only choice, if they want a place to sleep that night, is to spend most of the remainder of the day waiting in still more lines for a chance at a one night bed.
Adding to the frustration, CHANGES, the Human Service Agency’s computer system that books reservations for all city funded shelters, is notoriously unreliable. It regularly drops reservations. It is not uncommon for a person to receive a reservation and less than an hour later be turned away by the shelter, reservation in hand, because their bed has been given to someone else. It reports no vacancies when in fact there are then alternately overbooks beds when no vacancies exist. These are examples of what happens when the system is working. Often, no reservations can be made because CHANGES is down altogether.
Finding a Solution
In response to ongoing concerns about the conditions above, the Coalition on Homelessness attempted to analyze the failures within the reservation system and made numerous recommendations to improve ease of access for shelter clients.
Last spring, the Coalition urged Supervisor Jane Kim to call a hearing of the Rules Committee concerning shelter access. As a result of that hearing, she then called upon Bevan Dufty and the Mayor’s office of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships, and Engagement, HOPE, to form a workgroup to re-imagine what shelter access in San Francisco should look like. That workgroup, consisting of representatives from city government, service providers, non-profit agencies, advocates for homeless people, medical and psychiatric professionals, information technology specialists and most importantly, members of the homeless community, will make the following recommendations aimed at improving performance in these critical areas:
Moving Beyond Lines
The City should increase access to the shelter reservation system
by continuing to allow individuals to get basic information about the shelter reservation process and make, check status of, and confirm reservations at resource centers.
by allowing individuals to get basic information about the shelter reservation process and make, check status of, and confirm reservations using 311, c) online, or d) while in the hospital, treatment program, or jail.
The City should centralize the reasonable accommodation form system so that it travels with the client regardless of shelter.
Instead of the current first come first serve system, the SAW workgroup is recommending a rolling waitlist.*** Individuals must check in weekly to stay on the waitlist. They can opt at that check in, or in the original sign up, to be included in one-night bed wait as well. For each 24- hour period, new additions to the waitlist will be randomized to eliminate the advantage of being first in line.
Stakeholders should have input in the implementation planning for the new system.
Any new system should not unfairly disadvantage people with disabilities.
The new system should allow individuals to opt out of certain shelters they do not want to stay in.
Transportation and Barriers
All clients should have a no-cost and ADA accessible way to get to their shelter reservation.
All clients should have access to no-cost and ADA accessible transportation throughout their shelter stay.
Clients should have access to no-cost MUNI and MAP Van shuttle services during their shelter stay.
The City should increase free storage available for homeless individuals.
The City should increase language access capacity during reservation process including access to ASL services.
Shelter Reservation Allocation
The City should expand shelter capacity by:
Creating medically and psychiatrically supportive shelter beds including hospice care and pain management
We should enhance the services and accommodations for seniors in all facilities, i.e., access to restrooms, cohort support groups, later sleep-in times, etc.
The City should not institute any new set-asides from the resource center allocation of beds.
The City should analyze use of current set-asides and move to re-allocate under utilized beds to resource centers. All set-asides should be re- examined every 6 months to ensure utilization.
This re-allocation should favor new set asides for seniors
*** The rolling waitlist will, like the current line based system, assign beds in the order that people sign up. However, unlike the current system, the person’s name will remain on the list, moving up each time a bed becomes available, without having to stand in line and restart the process each day. Once processed, clients will check in on a weekly basis in order to keep their place on the waitlist. They will be able to check their status and position on the list through various means – in person at resource centers, on posted lists at service providers such as St. Anthony’s or Glide, by phone, etc.
most people are only a pay check away from being homeless let them know what to expect Vsmok ingspirit Thu, Jan 24, 2013 at 3:23 PM
To: readings@harpers.org
Experience homelessness
My experience with being homeless has been an eye opener- I never thought it would happen to me, but if it could happen to me it could happen to you, it could happen to anyone- eventually – let me tell you what to expect , first off the sanitary condition of living on the streets is horrendous for some reason Americans must have a fear of urinals, toilets and sinks that they keep them locked up in waste closets or require the poor to buy something to use them or urinate in the nearest door way and possibly get arrested for indecent exposure or some other sex crime. Get ready to give up all privacy and dignity, although our forefathers built elaborate bath houses and free opera seats for the poor not in today’s society homelessness is a multi billion dollar business. And although there are some good people working within the system to help the homeless the system is badly broke and overwhelmed – get ready to stand in long lines all day long for day old food or for a shelter to spend the night In of course with fifty other men on a matt in one large room and with curfew is the best you could expect . For the homeless to accomplish one simple task in a day is a big accomplishment. what would normally take someone an hour at the most now can take all day. This system is so badly broke that I have to wonder if the hidden agenda is to feed the prison empire force the people into prison labor if they refuse to work for minimum wage or slave labor moving the homeless on from one spot to another and other physiological warfare that most homeless end up cracking and or becoming a medical experiment denying the homeless any type of security not allowing them to put up tents or use any Porta potties and with no place to store your stuff its either stolen while asleep or from the street cleaners so the homeless go out and steel anything that rolls our forefathers at least could have a mule or a horse to move their stuff; it seem the whole system is to make criminals out of the people where they can spend $ 30,000 a year to keep them locked away TOO many times I have seen people running out of stores into moving traffic to try to steal some food. Too many times I have seen desperate people take desperate action when only a few dollars would’ve kept the poor happy. let me tell you what my typical day is I get to sleep in the subway about 1:AM where noises -beeping – street cleaners and drunks are all ways present, I am awaken at 4:AM and moved on where I try to find a dry semi warm place to crash then again I am awaken at 6:AM forced to keep moving, no sitting or laying as my resumes go out to a black hole looking for work becomes less and less important- I spend my day SPANGING (begging for SPAre chanNGE ) when I get enough money I can travel for hours, walking LUGGING MY STUFF around to get to a place where I can take a shower for 15 minuets that runs from hot to cold water of course going through a security that tears your bag apart while all the people stand around looking at everything you have ( tighter than airport security) either that or join some right wing organization who is going to save my soul, the American idea of self reliance and independenceis put to shamble as you are forced to become more and more reliant on a system that doest work and forced to associate and stand in long lines with those who lack any education except how to fight or what the latest big Drama going on between bums yes some of these people are crazy, lazy, criminals or ex criminals , some are heavy drug users some are really good people but if the medical monopoly cant cure them why should the state criminalize them its so sad to see good people who are 60-90% fine most of the time but then have a terrible addiction and instead of the state caring they criminalize us and work to make criminals out of us for even asking for change which only causes more and more crime and violence but I see more are just decent people who’ve played by the rules all their life only to have the system steal it all, the middle class is under attack and the poor have been under attack a long time in my opion there are a few things they could do
1. Let the people put up tents in vacant lots- some of these people will never could never fit any other way
2. Put a tax on vacant property that doubles every year that way they would lower their prices or pay the tax
3. Supply these addicts with compassionate care if the gangs can keep drug illegal they can profit – take the profit out and you will end the huge addiction problem or keep watching more and more people fall victim as they take away his will( the only thing that can stop the drug problem is education and freedom of choice)
4. If schools cant teach peace and tolerance then close them, the key to a Strong democracy is liberty and tolerance (Ben Franklin)
5. Get these high risk people who might want to commit a crime and PAY FOR PROGRESS pay them for being good citizens its a hell of a lot cheaper than incarcerating them read more in the books ABOUT CHRISTIANS AND FREEDOM @AMAZON.com – or AN OPENING FOR THE LIVING both by smokingspirit123.com if i want general assistance they want me to work 26 hours of vollenteer for 56. per month or 2.15 per hour — and why did they change the bankrupts laws?? for you and me not the banks or citys or corp.