A recent city study revealed that nearly 30 percent of San Francisco's homeless population identifies as LGBT. For the first time the Homeless Point in Time Count and Survey asked for the sexual orientation and gender identity of the city's 7,350 homeless persons. We're glad that the report included the questions �" all city departments are moving in the direction of asking folks how they identify �" and the answers reveal what housing advocates have been saying for years: that homelessness and housing issues are queer issues. Local officials need to refocus their attention and effort toward making San Francisco a more affordable city for lower and middle classes.
Currently, new developments must set aside a certain percentage of units for sale below market rate, or pay in-lieu fees that become part of the housing trust fund for other projects. There are not nearly enough BMR units or adequate money in the trust fund (which took the place of the redevelopment agency) to meet demand. For example, in the Bay Area Reporter 's article last week on new housing developments in the upper Market area, it was reported that there will be roughly 1,000 units of market rate housing, but only 228 new BMR units. Openhouse's proposed affordable housing project for LGBT seniors plans for just 110 units �" and it hasn't even broken ground yet. It's estimated that there are between 18,000 to 20,000 LGBT seniors living in San Francisco, though not all are homeless or living in poverty. The point is, the number of units being built is far below what's actually needed, whether it's for seniors or others.
Building BMR housing isn't the only answer. Housing advocates point to a housing shortage for people earning 0 to 30 percent of the area median income, which is an even lower income rate than those who are eligible for BMR units. In short, housing is needed for folks who have no income, those who are homeless, those who make minimum wage, and those on SSI �" the most needy among us. Everyone seems to want homeless people off the street, but the reality is that there is not enough housing for them now. And city shelters, while good for the very short term, are not a solution. For LGBT folks, the shelters oftentimes aren't even an option because of anti-gay and anti-transgender bias. That was documented at a City Hall hearing years ago and the one thing to come out of that hearing, a shelter for LGBT homeless people, isn't open yet due to funding, permit, and other issues.
Housing advocates suggest that a one-stop service center could be opened in the Castro. This is a modest proposal that area residents and merchants should support. It could provide beds, meals, showers, a jobs bank, and drop-in space. We can hear the howls of outrage now from people who would rather that the homeless be rounded up and deposited somewhere else in the city. But as long as queer youth �" and LGBT adults �" continue to flock to San Francisco, the city should provide basic services, and a site in the Castro would certainly be utilized. If the San Francisco AIDS Foundation can raise $10 million to renovate a storefront for its new health center �" in a building it doesn't even own �" surely a few million dollars can be raised to get a homeless center off the ground.
Finally, increased rental assistance is desperately needed to keep people in their homes. Study after study has shown that people living with HIV/AIDS, for instance, are much more likely to adhere to their medication regimens if they are housed. But you don't have to have HIV/AIDS or any other health condition to know that you feel better �" mentally and physically �" when you're housed.
There are, of course, some homeless people who refuse any offer of help. While the city can't force someone to go to a shelter or into subsidized housing, we're confident that a pilot program would be filled to capacity. Good starting points would be securing a location for a Castro service center and for the city's housing and homeless experts to identify sites where lower income housing could be situated.
San Francisco prides itself on being the city that knows how. The homeless issue has vexed politicians for decades, but it doesn't mean the city should ever stop trying to address and solve the needs of its residents.