Tent Counts Fluctuate, Vehicle Dweller Numbers Grow in S.F.

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Photo by Yesica Prado // Public Press

It might be tempting to assume that homelessness is on the rise or beginning to wane based on the number of tents on the street in San Francisco. But as a recent report in the San Francisco Public Press shows, it’s much more complicated. Even getting an accurate count of the number of tents and improvised structures is easier said than done, as the city’s counting methods have changed. A clear trend emerges, however, when it comes to the number of people living in their vehicles: In one year, the number of vehicle dwellers counted on the streets of San Francisco jumped from 432 to 731.

Brian Howey, a freelance reporter based in Oakland, reported on the numbers for the Public Press and explains what they do and don’t show about homelessness. Yesica Prado, a multimedia journalist and a Catchlight fellow for the San Francisco Public Press, is producing photo essays for the Public Press that will document the experiences of vehicle dwellers in San Francisco and Berkeley, and shares how city policies affect those who shelter in their cars or RVs.

“I’m not sure that counting tents or vehicles does much more than tell us where people are congregating.” — Brian Howey

“There’s a lot of vehicle dwellers that got towed and then ended up in tents. Some of them were actually my neighbors, and I saw them living in their vehicles and then I saw their life deteriorate when they lost that vehicle.” — Yesica Prado

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