Where have all the dollars gone? 232 providers absorbed billions of dollars while SF homelessness rose 7%

Is it possible that the billions spent on 232 service providers in San Francisco hasn’t actually reached those in need? Street homelessness might be down by 1%, but that’s cold comfort to the 8,323 people counted sleeping in shelters and city streets on a single January night. Overall, the number of unhoused folks is up 7% this year. And nobody knows where all the prevention money goes. The SF Standard’s David Sjostedt reports.

A new report and interactive map produced by the nonprofit Crankstart Foundation lays out a web of no fewer than 232 service providers funded by nine city agencies, representing billions of public dollars allocated to the crisis in recent years.

“These services often overlap, resulting in a fragmented system where people may need to navigate as many as 15 to 30 service providers just to get the help they need,” the report says. “It would be one thing if all this effort and money led to long-term solutions. But they haven’t.”

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While street homelessness has decreased slightly in recent years, the number of people without homes in San Francisco has gone up. What’s more, the report states, nobody knows the true amount the city spends on the crisis.

The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing in April 2023 released its five-year plan to cut street homelessness by half. However, it said, the city is at least $600 million short of achieving the goal.

The department said Thursday it moved 5,256 people into permanent housing last year, and 83% of those housed the previous year did not return to homelessness. The number of homeless people counted this year increased 7% from 2022, while street homelessness decreased by 1%.

On a single night in January, 8,323 people were counted sleeping on city streets and in shelters. 

Read the whole thing here.

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Go Deeper:

• SF wonders: why does city's homeless population increase just after homelessness spending soars?

• Part 1 of 3: Where SF gets it wrong when it comes to attacking homelessness

• SF tents for homeless cost $60k each, city wants more

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