SPUR Report on homelessness The Urbanist
https://www.spur.org/publications/urbanist-article/2017-10-23/homelessness-bay-area
this especially is of interest
According to the point in time count (which, because it relies on self-reporting, may not tell the full story), the majority of the individuals who are experiencing homelessness in the Bay Area are long-time Bay Area residents. In Alameda County, 82 percent of individuals became homeless in the county, and 57 percent had lived there for 10 or more years. In Santa Clara County, 83 percent of individuals became homeless in the county, and 61 percent had lived there for 10 or more years. In San Francisco, 69 percent of individuals became homeless in the county, and 55 percent had lived there for 10 or more years.
San Francisco is somewhat of an exception, as it does have a higher percentage of individuals who became homeless elsewhere: 31 percent of individuals counted during the 2017 PIT came from outside San Francisco, and many were newly homeless. Of the 3,149 individuals counted who had been homeless for less than one year, almost one-third (about 1,000) came from outside San Francisco.[4] The City helps roughly 2,000 individuals exit homelessness each year, but with an annual influx of roughly 1,000 newly homeless individuals from other cities, the cycle continues.
Why does San Francisco attract a greater portion of the homeless population? In addition to the usual attraction of central cities, another explanation may have to do with unaccompanied youth. A Larkin Street Youth Services report from 2014 found that 39 percent of youth experiencing homelessness in San Francisco came from outside California, and that of those who were California residents, 35 percent came from outside the Bay Area. One factor that may explain this high percentage of youth from other regions is that a disproportionate number of them identify as LGBTQ and end up in San Francisco when they flee from discrimination in their homes or communities.[5]
Why does this question of the magnet effect matter? On the one hand, discussing the origin of our homeless population may cause us to see people experiencing homelessness as “other” and to deem them less worthy of our compassion. On the other hand, in a region with insufficient housing and services, providers have to make difficult choices in how to allocate scarce resources. Everyone should be served, regardless of where they come from, but without funding from the federal government—which is to say, from taxpayers in other parts of the country—there is no way this small region can ever provide for everyone in need who might choose to come here. At a minimum, we need investments from the entire region to help pay for the services that the larger central cities are willing to provide.
this especially is of interest
The Magnet Effect
There are those that believe that factors like social services, subsidized housing or moderate climates act as a magnet to attract homeless populations. From our review of the evidence. it appears that big cities across the United States do have this effect — but mostly at a regional level. That is, people migrate from the smaller cities and suburbs to the larger central cities, but few actually migrate longer distances than that.[3]According to the point in time count (which, because it relies on self-reporting, may not tell the full story), the majority of the individuals who are experiencing homelessness in the Bay Area are long-time Bay Area residents. In Alameda County, 82 percent of individuals became homeless in the county, and 57 percent had lived there for 10 or more years. In Santa Clara County, 83 percent of individuals became homeless in the county, and 61 percent had lived there for 10 or more years. In San Francisco, 69 percent of individuals became homeless in the county, and 55 percent had lived there for 10 or more years.
San Francisco is somewhat of an exception, as it does have a higher percentage of individuals who became homeless elsewhere: 31 percent of individuals counted during the 2017 PIT came from outside San Francisco, and many were newly homeless. Of the 3,149 individuals counted who had been homeless for less than one year, almost one-third (about 1,000) came from outside San Francisco.[4] The City helps roughly 2,000 individuals exit homelessness each year, but with an annual influx of roughly 1,000 newly homeless individuals from other cities, the cycle continues.
Why does San Francisco attract a greater portion of the homeless population? In addition to the usual attraction of central cities, another explanation may have to do with unaccompanied youth. A Larkin Street Youth Services report from 2014 found that 39 percent of youth experiencing homelessness in San Francisco came from outside California, and that of those who were California residents, 35 percent came from outside the Bay Area. One factor that may explain this high percentage of youth from other regions is that a disproportionate number of them identify as LGBTQ and end up in San Francisco when they flee from discrimination in their homes or communities.[5]
Why does this question of the magnet effect matter? On the one hand, discussing the origin of our homeless population may cause us to see people experiencing homelessness as “other” and to deem them less worthy of our compassion. On the other hand, in a region with insufficient housing and services, providers have to make difficult choices in how to allocate scarce resources. Everyone should be served, regardless of where they come from, but without funding from the federal government—which is to say, from taxpayers in other parts of the country—there is no way this small region can ever provide for everyone in need who might choose to come here. At a minimum, we need investments from the entire region to help pay for the services that the larger central cities are willing to provide.
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