Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Youth Homelessness topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City departments outline youth homelessness services and gaps; providers press for more TAY housing and navigation centers
Summary
The committee heard extended testimony from youth, the Youth Commission, the Department of Homelessness & Supportive Housing (HSH) and Department of Public Health (DPH), plus providers and advocates, who urged more transitional-age-youth (TAY) units, drop-in centers and culturally specific outreach. HSH noted HUD demo funding and pledged continued planning; the item was continued to the call of the chair.
Supervisor Sheehy opened a hearing on youth homelessness, calling it a top priority and noting the city’s 2015 point-in-time youth count of roughly 1,569 young people. The session included testimony from a youth who described moving to San Francisco to escape violence, couch-surfing and eventually living in an unheated garage, and warnings that many young people find city shelters unsafe.
Adele Carpenter of the Youth Commission reviewed the commission’s priorities: complete a TAY housing plan contiguous with a navigation center, pursue interim transitional housing options while permanent units come online, ensure supportive services for units, and include TAY services in the Children and Youth Fund allocations. The Youth Commission urged a new, accountable goal after the 2015 TAY housing plan fell short of the 400-unit target (188 units completed; about 25 units opening soon at the Booker T site).
Jeff Kosinski (Director, Department of Homelessness & Supportive Housing) described departmental goals to streamline services and better target subpopulations. He summarized HSH inventory and outcomes: about 127 targeted permanent supportive housing units for TAY (with strong stability outcomes reported for those units), 66 emergency shelter beds, roughly 286 transitional housing beds, and several hundred other subsidies or supports. Kosinski announced San Francisco’s selection in HUD’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration (one of 10 cities nationally) and said the city’s HUD application "scored the highest, nationally." He also described planning for potential TAY navigation centers, possible funding sources (HUD demo funds, Whole Person Care, No Place Like Home/state funds), and a need to align federal/state funding timing with the city budget to meet ordinance timelines.
Dr. Ayanna Bennett (DPH) reviewed clinical and outreach services: a network of community youth clinics (11 sites), embedded mental-health and HIV services (rapid treatment and PrEP at two homeless clinics), open-access models to accommodate transient youth, and clinic-level outcomes (Larkin Street sees a high proportion of homeless youth). DPH noted 700 youth contacts in the fiscal year through the Coordinated Care Management System data and outlined clinical pathways for shelter clearance and behavioral-health referrals.
Providers and advocates urged a substantial city investment beyond HUD demo seed funds ($2.9M), called for a TAY-specific navigation center and 24/7 drop-in services, and pressed the city to help organizations (Homeless Youth Alliance in particular) secure space. Speakers emphasized equity for Black, Latino and LGBTQ youth, the need for residential treatment specific to youth, and stronger, youth-centered employment and supportive-services pathways. The committee continued the item to the call of the chair for further planning and budget follow-up.
