Homeless

Housing is a basic need, yet homelessness can happen to anyone due to factors outside of one’s personal control: increasing income inequality/poverty, cuts to government safety net programs, lack of affordable housing, discrimination, natural disasters, tragedy, serious illness or disability, loss of employment, domestic violence, evictions, etc. 

What does aging in place and community mean for homeless older adults? 

“The toughest thing about being homeless is the ageing.”--Christopher Young of homeless encampment near Airbnb’s San Francisco headquarters

"Nobody wants to be old and alone and homeless,…and their pride keeps them from asking for help.”-- Sandi Bachom, What It's Like To Be Suddenly Poor And Homeless At 70

When San Francisco’s public housing wait list, closed since 2010, opened for homeless people over a six-day period earlier this year, over 10,000 households signed up, with the average age of the head of household who applied was 66. Though older adults age 60+ make up 19% of the City’s population, they represent 34% of the City’s population that is poor—even access to SSI and Social Security benefits often fail to cover the cost of housing.

According to UCSF Professor of Medicine Margot Kushel, about half the homeless population is age 50+, and a quarter to a third of homeless seniors have significant cognitive impairment that makes it difficult to complete steps to be housed. 

Housing the Homeless

At last month’s Town Hall to End Homelessness, Arondo Washington Cox presented Camp Unity, one of a handful of self-managed, transitional tent villages in Seattle that provide a “safe and private place to live” with a strict code of conduct (sex offender and background checks, no alcohol/drugs, random drug tests) while moving every three months.  Set-up costs are $2,500 for 50 tents, plus $5,000 monthly operating cost for 50 people.  Camp amenities include shower, bathroom, electricity, washer/dryer, WiFi, communal kitchen, 24-hour security, and trash removal.  To help end homelessness, Campers have access to supportive services and 10 have graduated to permanent housing in the past year. 

How would this work in San Francisco, and for seniors and persons with disabilities? 

Estimated at around 6,400, the number of homeless on the streets of San Francisco is about the same as it was in 2005 when then Mayor Gavin Newsom launched his 10-year Plan to Abolish Chronic Homelessness, and after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake when homeless formed “Camp Agnos” outside City Hall.  In the past decade, more than 11,000 formerly homeless have been housed, while new homeless are added to the count. (Senator DiFi is seeking to revise HUD's definition of homeless to include persons doubled-up with friends or family, couch-surfing or living in single-room occupancy hotels.)  

San Francisco spends $165.7 million per year on homelessness, but millions more are needed to house the remaining thousands of homeless. (As reported in The Daily Show, Utah claims it is more cost-effective to invest $10-12,000 to house formerly homeless versus $20,000 for homeless to remain on the streets, including emergency services and jail time costs.) 

Journalist Gary Kamiya, who wrote “The Outsiders” about perpetual homelessness in the March 2015 issue of San Francisco magazine, moderated a community panel.  District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim, who spent one night in a homeless shelter, said she experienced intense boredom during the 12-hour lock-up, except for one-hour smoke break, with no services.  As a result, she has funded a pilot yoga program at Next Door shelter for its clients and minimum wage staff.  She also proposed a luxury condo sales tax to fund below-market rate housing.

Hospitality House’s Community Building Program Manager and formerly homeless Joe Wilson advocated for anti-poverty programs, in contrast to the hypocrisy of no more homeless by having shelter in the prison system, which is being used to address poverty and mental illness; and how the presence of homeless reminds people of suffering so they’re criminalized based on Elizabethan Poor Laws distinguishing the deserving versus undeserving poor.

Homeless Prevention

At this month’s Senior & Disability Action (SDA) meeting, affordable housing activist Calvin Welch talked about reforming short-term residential rental law, which could help prevent homelessness as landlords evict tenants to list rooms for short-term rentals that are a bigger factor than Ellis Act evictions. Share Better SF has proposed a ballot initiative that would cap vacation rentals to 75 nights per year, impose fines on hosting platform companies like Airbnb for listing rentals out of compliance, and require quarterly reporting to the City.  (Since February, unlimited short-term rentals are allowed when a host is present, 90 days per year of entire-house rentals by absentee hosts, and no fines/reporting requirements.) 5,000 units are taken off the market for short-term rentals. 

SF Anti-Displacement Coalition hosted all-day Tenant Rights Fair: Knowledge is Power – How to Stay in Your Home with information tables and workshops (offered in English, Chinese and Spanish) to empower tenants to defend against rising evictions that result in homelessness for persons who cannot afford market rate housing after being evicted.  Most vulnerable are long-term tenants in rent-controlled units, seniors on fixed income, and persons with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations like ground floor units in buildings without elevators (limited supply).

Section 8 – Know Your Rights presented by Bay Area Legal Aid housing staff attorney Monique Farris and Housing Rights Committee Executive Director Sara Shortt: half of Section 8 voucher holders are seniors and persons with disabilities; no new Section 8 vouchers except 100 for veterans; wait list has been closed; takes average 6 months to find landlord who will accept Section 8; pay only amount determined by Housing Authority because side payments are illegal that could lead to subsidy termination based on fraud.  Sometimes landlords no longer want to participate in Section 8, so no repairs made; in that case, tenant can contact Department of Building Inspection/Department of Public Health/Housing Authority to cite landlord; use repair and deduct with caution and only if attorney involved to avoid eviction on record.  Subsidy can be terminated if program rules violated, but right to request hearing within 10 business days of notice.

Navigating Buyouts presented by Eviction Defense Collaborative staff attorney Deepa Varma and Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus housing rights staff attorney Katherine Chu: value of buyout increases over time, so first to leave gets least money; how high can you go depends on litigation costs, rent differential, encumbrances, certainty, emotional cost, and some landlords are actually nice. 

Your building is for sale, how to stay in your home presented by Housing Rights Committee organizer Fred Sherburn-Zimmer and tenant: if you’re under rent control, nothing changes when your building is sold . . . but be prepared to organize with neighbors (power of community > power of one); estoppel form (assert any rights not specified in lease); declare protected category (senior or disabled person in Owner Move-In or Ellis Act eviction); reject new House Rules; get support (legal, friends, tenant groups, allies); pressure to drop eviction!

Homeless with Disabilities

At this month’s Mayor’s Disability Council meeting, Director of Housing Opportunities, Partnership & Engagement (HOPE) Bevan Dufty said that many homeless clients have disabilities, so his office tries to work with them to overcome problems in the shelter or services that don’t meet their needs.  Challenges include: homeless clients have to give up things because the only storage in a shelter is a drawer under the bed; married couples cannot stay together in a shelter; more clients are seniors and persons with disabilities yet shelter staff not trained to assist with activities of daily living, especially in the case of people discharged from hospital going directly to shelter.  He also mentioned last month’s launch of The Navigation Center, a one-stop shop for homeless to obtain services like case management, laundry and meals; and opening of LGBT-focused shelter (29% of City’s homeless identify as LGBT) in June.

Homeless Living

Fundraiser for St. Francis Living Room, a non-profit serving homeless and low-income older adults in the Tenderloin for over 20 years, with a weekday hot breakfast program, practical assistance and activities to promote the well-being of participants.  Hosted by Program Director Greg Moore and Board President Pedro Torres (pictured above), this full house event held at Sweet Inspiration Bakery Café had something for everyone – pasta dinner (vegetarian pesto for yours truly), meeting other supporters and Martha Boesing's wonderful Song of the Magpie performance (very cool to hear her mention St. Francis Living Room in typical day of homeless older adult)! 

Richmond Senior Center Director Linda Murley, Curry Senior Center (Tenderloin) Director David Knego, DAAS Program Analyst Maria Guillen and YMCA Central (Tenderloin) Senior Program Coordinator Gloria Garcia enjoy socializing, food and drink.

Martha’s play was based on her Faithful Fools “street retreat,” which involved living like a homeless older person in the Tenderloin for a week. She contemplated that it would be scary to live on the street, and then wondered what she would do . . . with “no house to clean”?  Her typical day was getting in and out of shelter at 7, then foraging for food, including begging people who would look right through her as if she didn’t exist.  She revealed that "seniors first" policies on lunch lines and at shelters were ways to "get us out of there ... people can't stand to look at us, it's too distressing ... it makes them think about their parents whom they've abandoned to some old people's home ... or maybe they think: 'That's where I'll end up.'" 

She talked about sleep deprivation, criticized Care Not Cash, stale food, etc.   She likened the homeless to nomads who wander, remembering a book she read that nomads were kinder and wiser than people who lived in separate square boxes.  She noted that magpies are omnivores who eat anything, moving and foraging throughout the day.

Sweet Inspiration owners Chef Michael Colter and Wendy Mogg (certified sign language interpreter) serve poppyseed cake for dessert.

Back to Nature

Ohlone tribe lived at Lands End prior to 1776 Spanish settlement in San Francisco. No one should be homeless, and I wanna sing out, "This land was made for you and me!"

Martha’s reference to nomads and foraging made me think about traditional hunter-gatherer cultures like the nomadic Ohlones, whose lifestyles were really sustainable ("kinder and wiser" except for burning belongings after a person’s death?) and starvation was unheard of so they didn’t have to practice agriculture.  It’s tragic to think that their native lands that provided such a varied diet (acorns, buckeyes, berries, nuts, seeds, mushrooms, weeds, etc.) were taken from them, replaced with government subsidies like processed wheat flour and rancid oil—recipe for Indian fry bread and diabesity. 

Coastal strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis) thrives on sandy soil: these wild berries can be eaten fresh or dried, its leaves and roots used to make tea.

Food is also medicine, like yarrow used by Ohlones to treat stomachaches and skin sores.

Nature provides an abundance of food so no one should really go hungry, especially when there are so many snails and edible plants growing wild that can be foraged. Think about perfectly edible “invasive weeds” thrown into compost bins, when they could be fed to starving people.  Even “pests” like snails in our gardens are sources of edible protein.  Eating wild brings us closer to nature.

Natives like sticky monkey flower, Indian paintbrush, seaside daisies and California poppy are drought-tolerant and natural feast for the eyes!

At Dis/Play exhibition at SOMArts Gallery, Arc of San Francisco’s ArtReach Studios students collaborated to create Magic Tree intended as a peaceful and spiritual place that can be entered alone, liberated from the crowd and free to play.

Safe to Touch wall displayed tactile art by the artists of Artful Steps within Stepping Stones Growth Center, embracing inclusion, accessibility and unification of diverse communities.

Check out California School for the Deaf visual artist David Call's Eye Hand Studio website for Deafhood Unleashed (2011), The Missing Jigsaw Pieces (2012), Resistance (2012), The Deaf Eye (2012), and The Power of ASL (2013) -- all featured in Dis/Play, as commentaries about Deaf people being oppressed by audists who focus on the hearing and speech approach to education, when Deaf people are visual learners who use natural hand signs.

At Dis/Play Closing Reception, deaf-owned and operated Mozzeria had mobile pizzeria with built-in oven serving awesome flatbread with braised greens, white garlic sauce, currants, shallot-brown sugar and brie.