Nevius: Most homeless have city-funded home

A long overdue civil grand jury report released Wednesday says that the city should be proud of getting over 4,000 homeless people into housing since 2004 but distressed at the scene on the streets.

Panhandling, public drunkenness and street loitering are still an unpleasant reality downtown.

The mayor and others are now admitting what the grand jury reported - that a majority of those on the streets are not homeless. The head of the city's homeless program, Dariush Kayhan, estimates that 50 to 75 percent of street people live in supportive housing.

"We just warehouse addicts," said the grand jury's Stuart Smith. "Granted, it is a nicer place for them, but it doesn't address the problem."

In short, the jury is reflecting the views of many San Franciscans who made the choice to live here. They understood that housing and taxes would be higher, and so would the cost of a meal in a restaurant. They understand and believe that the city needs to provide for its poorest homeless residents and don't begrudge what the grand jury says is $186 million a year in city funds spent to finance homeless programs.

But, they ask, can't someone stop the panhandling? And, given all the programs and services, is it unreasonable to ask those who are being given supportive housing to start making some effort to be self-sufficient?

"People's conduct has to be held to account," Supervisor Bevan Dufty said. "They can't engage in conduct that is hurtful to them or others."

Enforcing that is easier said than done. But it does begin the dialogue.

"I think the grand jury did an excellent job," Kayhan said. "We got people into housing, but we acknowledge that it is now time to make the next step, moving on to jobs, treatment and schools."

The tough part, as always, is how to do that.

"I understand that the public is frustrated," said Jeff Kositsky, executive director of the Community Housing Partnership, which has over 950 residents in supportive housing. "But it is easy to demonize people when you don't know them."

Advocates like Kositsky are entering the dialogue, but not just to rail against change.

"We appreciate the need to innovate," Kositsky said. "We're all looking for new ideas."

If that's the case, the grand jury has a report for you. It begins with the money, pointing out that the city is now spending $186 million a year on homelessness, six times what was spent in 1993-94.

"Are we getting the most bang for our buck?" Kayhan asked. "I agree that we are at a place now where we would like to see the cost effectiveness of our programs."

Hardly a week goes by without a note or e-mail from a tourist who was shocked by behaviors and conditions downtown. When San Franciscans supported Mayor Gavin Newsom's "Care Not Cash" effort in 2004, many felt that getting the homeless into housing would solve the problem.

The fact is, despite a supportive housing effort that has gotten national attention, the streets don't seem that much better. And there doesn't seem to be a standard of measurement for what the programs are trying to accomplish.

The grand jury members say they were told that "expectations were unnecessarily low for supportive housing patrons" and that at present the measure of success is whether or not residents stay in the housing. Not surprisingly, over 90 percent do. But how many of them are panhandling every afternoon?

"We understand very clearly that we need to take a close look at what is happening on the streets," Kayhan said. "We are currently holding meetings on that, and I would say that we would have three or four pilot programs, based on what's worked in other cities, ready to go before the end of the calendar year."

Another thought is the Community Justice Center, a proposed special court targeted at those who repeatedly commit street crimes. The supervisors initially turned the idea down, but it is clearly gaining momentum. On Wednesday, Supervisor Jake McGoldrick became a supporter and Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, also a supporter, says he expects it to pass in a landslide if it goes to the ballot in November.

"The only question is whether it will be 75 percent or 85 percent," he said.

Another innovative idea comes from Randy Shaw, executive director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic. His group has been using "step-up" units as an incentive for residents who lived in start-up supportive housing and have made the effort to get their lives on the right track. The reward is apartment-style housing without a need for in-house counselors.

"We've run these for over five years," Shaw said. "They are a proven success. And the advantage is that the cost is so much lower because they don't need support services."

In all, these sound like encouraging ideas with some popular support. But let's remember, it is still San Francisco. Asked if it was possible to raise the standard of conduct for city-supported residents, one political insider wished supporters the best of luck.

"We can't get the Board of Supervisors to pass a code of conduct for themselves," he said, "let alone for the homeless."