Studies show insecure housing can aggravate existing psychological problems, or even create new ones. Obtaining housing has been shown to improve mental health. Part of a special report on homelessness and mental health in San Francisco, in the fall 2014 print edition. Stories rolling out online throughout the fall.
Category: Homelessness
Posted inHomelessness and Mental Health, Social Services
S.F. Alternative Court Provides Lifeline
For Kim Knoble, the city’s behavioral health court kept her out of jail and helped her recover from a debilitating disorder. Part of a special report on homelessness and mental health in San Francisco, in the fall 2014 print edition. Stories rolling out online throughout the fall.
Posted inElections, Homelessness and Mental Health, Law & Justice, Social Services
Sentencing Reform Side Benefit: Behavioral Health Court Expansion
A state law approved by voters on Election Day will reduce tough sentences for some felonies. But it could also provide a financial windfall to local community courts, which divert people with mental illness out of the criminal justice system. Part of a special report on homelessness and mental health in San Francisco, in the fall 2014 print edition. Stories rolling out online throughout the fall.
Posted inCity Hall, Health, Homelessness, Homelessness and Mental Health, Law & Justice, Public Safety
Q-and-A: Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi on San Francisco Jail System
San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi says that the city’s jails are giving inmates the psychiatric services they cannot get at the major medical centers. Part of a special report on homelessness and mental health in San Francisco, in the fall 2014 print edition. Stories rolling out online throughout the fall.
Posted inCity Hall, Health, Homelessness, Homelessness and Mental Health, Housing
Formerly Homeless Residents May Face Higher Eviction Rate Than Other S.F. Tenants
Even after residents get in to supportive housing, they face many obstacles to keeping it, and make up a disproportionately large number the tenants threatened with eviction. Part of a special report on homelessness and mental health in San Francisco, in the fall 2014 print edition. Stories rolling out online throughout the fall.
Posted inCity Hall, Health, Homelessness, Homelessness and Mental Health, Housing
How San Francisco Places Homeless Into Supportive Housing
INFOGRAPHIC: Two city departments run similar programs focused on getting people off the streets and into housing. Audits of San Francisco’s homelessness programs say that the demand for permanent supportive housing far outstrips supply. More than 7,000 people are homeless today; only a few hundred spaces in housing become available each year. Part of a special report on homelessness and mental health in San Francisco, in the fall 2014 print edition. Stories rolling out online throughout the fall.
Posted inCity Hall, Health, Homelessness, Homelessness and Mental Health, Housing, News
Promise of Supportive Housing for Homeless Faces Reality of Short Supply
10 years ago, San Francisco’s politicians pledged to end chronic homelessness, getting the neediest people off the street through a “housing first” policy. Today that outcome is nowhere in sight. Few people are lucky enough to leave the streets through the city’s subsidized housing placement system, where some wait perpetually to receive a home. Part of a special report on homelessness and mental health in San Francisco, in the fall 2014 print edition. Stories rolling out online throughout the fall.
Posted inCity Hall, Health, Homelessness, Law & Justice, Media
KQED Tackles Junction Between Homelessness, Mental Illness
KQED Public Radio’s “Forum” hit the airwaves this morning with a conversation with Robert Okin, the former chief of psychiatry at San Francisco General Hospital, who recently published a new book on homelessness and mental illness. He said the common belief that the homeless choose to reside on the streets, from his experience profiling them, is false.
Posted inCity Hall, Homelessness, Law & Justice, News, Public Safety
S.F. Board Watch: Supervisors Question High Cost of Jailhouse Calls
The cost of a call from jail could come down, if the Board of Supervisors has its way. At San Francisco’s jails, inmates must pay an initial fee of between $1.25 and $3.95 for each phone call and are charged between 10 and 69 cents a minute, depending on whether it is local or out-of-state. Under a contract with an outside company, the Sheriff’s Department receives 65 percent of the money, for a fund to provide inmate services and supplies. The contract is expected to generate more than $3 million in revenue over its four-year term, but the supervisors are talking about renegotiating.
In other news: Concerns over sex offenders at Bayview Homeless Shelter, city money to stop nonprofit displacement and the soda tax expected to appear on next year’s November ballot.
Posted inArts & Culture, City Hall, Health, Homelessness, Housing, News, Parks & Open Space
S.F. Board Watch: City to Consider Expanding ‘Green Zone’ for Marijuana Dispensaries
The Board of Supervisors this week approved a limit to the number of marijuana dispensaries allowed to open on the southern end of Mission Street in the Excelsior commercial district. Medical cannabis dispensaries would need a special permit to open within 500 feet of an existing dispensary. Supervisor John Avalos said he may later propose expanding that distance to 1,000 feet. Plus: Marsh Theater’s Unwanted Neighbors | City Parks Closure | New Policy on Video Productions