San Francisco's Homeless Outreach Team works on front lines of urban housing crisis

(26 Sep 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Francisco - 10 September 2024
1. Various of Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) members approaching homeless person living in tent
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jose Torres, San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team:
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"Today we're here in the Mission District and we're providing services to folks out here that are looking for placement into shelter."
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jose Torres, San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team:
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"Sometimes it can be just as quick as, I have shelter available for you. Okay, I'll take it. And sometimes it's like I'm not ready for you today ... And then that 12, 15 or 20th time is when they accept our services."
4. Various of Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) members approaching homeless person living in tent
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jose Torres, San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team:
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"You know, there's about 8000 people unhoused. That includes half of that, which is 4000 some people that are already in shelter. And the other half that, unfortunately, that our system doesn't have the capacity to be able to to be put in a shelter because there's no no room."
6. Various of homeless people with tents on sidewalks

ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Francisco - 26 August 2024
7. Various of Mission Cabins tiny home village for homeless

ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Francisco - 10 September 2024
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jose Torres, San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team:
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"So eventually what the city is working very hard and doing is trying to increase those permanent housing, you know, supportive housing, because that's what's going to make the difference out there."
9. Outreach workers with homeless client Larry James Bell
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ventrell Johnson, San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team:
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"I've been working with Mr. Bell from the street to inside a shelter, outside of shelter back in. And now he looks like he finally made it to that point."
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ventrell Johnson, San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team:
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"He's going from a temporary shelter, from the streets to a temporary shelter. Now he's going to his own studio ... Perfect situation for him."
12. Larry James Bell on sidewalk
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Larry James Bell, San Francisco homeless resident:
"Yeah, it's going be a change. There ain't gonna be so many people. Yeah, I don't mind people, but, you know, not in my private space."
14. Larry James Bell talking with woman

STORYLINE:
Outreach worker Edgar Tapia hit a San Francisco neighborhood on a mission to find people to take eight shelter beds available this September day, including a tiny cabin perfect for a couple.

He approached a cluster of tents in the Mission District, calling out greetings and offers of snacks and water bottles. He crouched to chat with tent occupants and asked if anyone was interested in moving indoors. He reminded them city street cleaners would be by to clear the sidewalk.

The job of Tapia and others on San Francisco’s Homeless Outreach Team is to match eligible people with vacant beds. But it's not a straightforward process, even in a city with more shelter beds than ever before and a mayor who says she will no longer tolerate people living outdoors when they've been offered a place to stay indoors.



Tapia, 34, was excited because a man he’d been talking to for two months might be ready to accept a shelter spot. The first time they talked, Tapia said, the man asked no questions. But the next time, the man asked what the shelters were like.









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