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The Mission’s only “safe place to sleep” for the homeless will close at the end of the year. The plot is owned by the council and will be used for a complex of 168 affordable homes for families, which should start construction in 2024.
The 41 current residents of 1515 South Van Ness Ave. will disperse in the coming months, with only a third of them expected to qualify for permanent housing.
Hotel for the homeless against “safe sleep”
“I’d rather be here in a tent than in one of those hotels,” said Erin Zorn, who has lived at the site since June 2022, when she moved from a “safe sleep village” at the Civic Center.
“I have visited some people in some of those SROs and [los hoteles] they are disgusting.”
Zorn is so averse to the idea of moving that she recently tried to set up a tent on Pennsylvania Avenue near 18th Street, where it was set on fire.
Neighbors oppose construction
The site, located at Cesar Chavez and South Van Ness and operated by Dolores Street Community Services, is one of two remaining San Francisco “safe sleep” sites closing this year.
Since opening in July 2020, 1515 South Van Ness has provided shelter, restrooms, and two meals a day for a total of 227 residents. It will be “phased out” in the coming months and has stopped accepting new residents.
However, the agreement has not been without controversy in the neighborhood. Earlier this month, Supervisor Ronen stated that poor conditions nearby were the reason she did not support a tiny housing project for the homeless a few blocks away at 16th and Mission.
“Not a good long-term strategy”
Despite concerns from neighbors, Ronen’s office has said safe sleeping places are not a cost-effective way to address the homelessness crisis.
Santiago Lerma, Legislative Assistant to Supervisor Hilary Ronen, said the sites are “ridiculously expensive” due to the cost of renting bathrooms, showers, generators and hiring security.
“They are not a good long-term strategy,” Lerma said. “They are not sustainable.”
Funding a place at a safe place to sleep costs just under $75,000 per year, compared to $33,000 to $55,000 per resident per year to finance a place at a homeless shelter.
According to Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, a semi-congregate homeless shelter, like single-room hotels, costs about $38,000 per resident per year.
Supervisor Shamann Walton said he also doesn’t see safe sleeping places as a permanent solution.
The other remaining safe sleep site, which is scheduled to close at the end of June, is in his district, at Jennings Street and Van Dyke Avenue. Walton said he won’t oppose its closure either.
Residents, however, seem to prefer emplacements to shelters.
“I’ve been in a shelter before and it’s not good,” said a resident of the site, who has been there for a year. He said he was constantly robbed when he lived in shelters, which hasn’t been a problem for him at 1515 South Van Ness.
“In a shelter, my stuff isn’t safe and I’m not safe,” said Cassie Pennington, a resident of Sueño Seguro.
Sky Halcomb, who has lived in South Van Ness since October, was previously raped at a shelter and didn’t want to take any chances. As for the promises of accommodation, she is hopeless.
2023-05-17 22:38:28
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