I believe the same can be done in San Francisco — but only if we get creative.
Land is expensive, so let’s borrow it. Put relocatable cabins on temporarily vacant land. Building codes are onerous, so use emergency building codes — after all, this is an emergency.
Construction is expensive, so we use prefabricated panels and have shared dining and bathroom facilities. Neighborhood resistance is fierce, so why not limit residents to those already sleeping in the immediate area?
People can’t rebuild their lives by themselves, so we must provide them with intensive case management and access to the services they need to get back on their feet.
DignityMoves’ first community in San Francisco, located at 33 Gough St., cost $32,000 per unit — less than half the cost per cot of a navigation center. Our community of 70 “tiny homes” replaced 44 tents on a safe sleeping site. The tiny homes currently house about 90 people (several couples) as well as about a dozen dogs and even a few cats. Over 250 people have moved through the program to date.
I have seen firsthand how a private room with a door that locks, combined with supportive services, can be game-changing in creating pathways out of homelessness.
We opened 33 Gough in March 2021, the middle of a classic San Francisco rainy season. I will never forget the older man who stared at the welcome mat outside his room for a long time: “I’ve never felt welcome anywhere before.”
Having a dignified, private room changes everything.
The story of a resident I’ll call Susan says it all. When she finally found the courage to escape an abusive relationship, she had no one to turn to for help and nowhere to go. San Francisco has just one shelter bed for every three people who need one, but she wouldn’t have considered one anyway, knowing that women are far more likely to be sexually assaulted in a shelter than on the streets.
Feeling vulnerable and terrified in the wet night, Susan drank as much coffee as she could stomach in a desperate attempt to not fall asleep. The next morning, she made a tragic decision: She headed to the Tenderloin to ask around for “that thing they call meth.” She’d resolved that it was far safer to stay awake during the night than to risk assault (or worse).
By the time I met her, Susan was living and thriving in her own cabin. She’d been given prescription medication to help with drug cravings and had earned her 30-day chip from Narcotics Anonymous.
When given a place to plug in a cell phone, sleep and shower — we can dramatically increase people’s odds.
To be clear, bringing everyone indoors is just the start. The urgent need for interim housing does not diminish the paramount importance of permanent solutions — we need both.
If we replicated San Jose’s model it would cost San Francisco less than $200 million upfront to build and $100 million per year to operate enough dignified interim housing for everyone who needs it. Those expenses would decline over time as the supply of permanent housing catches up.
But cities can’t do it alone. This is an all-hands-on-deck situation.
If you tally up all of the balance sheets, add the cost of street sweeps, jail stays and ER visits, the resources can be found.
Whether you care most about compassion, fiscal responsibility or reclaiming public spaces, providing fast, cost-effective interim solutions solves all three.
No more excuses. Let’s challenge city mayors and those running for office in November to seize the moment. With public-private partnerships and practical solutions, we can end unsheltered homelessness with the urgency this crisis requires.
Elizabeth Funk is the Founder and CEO of DignityMoves.
Originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle Opinion section on October 13, 2024.