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Shelter Monitoring Committee flags hygiene, safety shortfalls and recommends citywide minimum standards
Summary
The Shelter Monitoring Committee reported dozens of unannounced site visits showing inconsistent hygiene and care at city shelters, including photographs of poor conditions, and recommended requirements for soap/toilet paper, written denial-of-service policies, crisis teams, training, and improved capacity tracking; the Rules Committee processed the report and urged follow-up with HSA and DPH.
The Shelter Monitoring Committee presented its quarterly report covering approximately September through December 2006 and documented wide variation in health, hygiene and service standards across San Francisco shelters. The committee said staff conducted about 32 site visits — most unannounced — and performed an intensive hygiene inspection over the Thanksgiving period. Photographs included in the packet show broken tiles, missing soap and towels, and evidence suggesting unsanitary conditions at some sites, while other shelters were cited as examples of best practice.
"Out of the 19 shelters that we visited, only 6 sites met all 6 criteria of the health and hygiene standards that are listed in front of you," Committee Secretary Quentin Mecken told supervisors, summarizing the committee's findings. The committee also estimated, as an internal calculation, a roughly 365-bed net loss in shelter capacity between July 20, 2004 and December 2006; it characterized that figure as approximate and subject to differing department counts.
The committee recommended a set of minimum standards and system changes: require that all shelters and resource centers provide soap, towels or dryers, and toilet paper in bathrooms; adopt written policies for transporting or accommodating people denied service after 5:00 p.m.; establish a crisis response team to support staff and clients; proactively provide bus tokens; require first-aid kits and CPR masks at sites; and expand training on shelter grievance policy, de-escalation and cultural sensitivity (including transgender sensitivity and disability access).
Multiple supervisors and public commenters pressed for stronger enforcement and better interagency data sharing. Supervisor Tom Ammiano said the committee's work is "stellar" but urged enforcement measures, saying the city should not tolerate inhumane shelter conditions. Joyce Crum, interim director of the housing and homeless division, said the city has taken temporary steps during cold snaps (relaxing the rule that clients must go through resource centers, extending MAP van hours) and noted ongoing coordination with the Mayor's Office of Housing and Human Services Agency (HSA) and the Department of Public Health (DPH).
Speakers representing shelter operations described operational challenges — vandalism of bathroom fixtures, the need to limit visible supplies because of misuse, and the scale of supply needs at large shelters — and asked the committee and supervisors to consider practical mitigations in addition to standards.
The Rules Committee voted to process and forward the Shelter Monitoring Committee's quarterly report, asked staff to append any addenda, and urged continued coordination between the committee, HSA, DPH and the mayor's office on follow-up standards, capacity tracking and enforcement.
