Why do Bay Area homeless people turn down shelter beds?

Baby Lady as she s known on the street in San Jose has been homeless for nearly eight years She has little desire to move indoors The -year-old with darting blue eyes has PTSD and severe anxiety dating back to childhood making it almost impossible for her to stay in close quarters with others at homeless shelters she declared After so long without a roof over her head she s grown accustomed to life in encampments I have a phobia of windows doors and walls she noted And I can be violent and confrontational While experts agree that people like Baby Lady make up a minority of the unhoused population Bay Area functionaries say shelter-resistant homeless residents are the the bulk entrenched in dangerous encampments use the the majority emergency services and are among those majority of likely to die of an overdose on the streets In response frustrated local cities are increasingly seeking avenues to compel homeless people to accept a shelter bed or are clearing more encampments without offering shelter at all A large number of adopted the more forceful approaches following a U S Supreme Court decision last summer allowing local governments to close camps regardless of whether shelter beds are available RVs are parked near a homeless shelter on Cimino Street in San Jose on Monday May Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group In San Mateo County leaders last year made it illegal for homeless people in unincorporated areas to repeatedly refuse shelter Months later Berkeley updated its encampment strategy to allow government to sweep camps without offering a bed Fremont adopted a strict encampment ban in February Oakland has just now ramped up sweeps with plans to clear one of its largest encampments this week San Francisco where personnel submitted their frustrations over shelter refusals to the Supreme Court has begun citing and arresting more people for community camping In San Jose administrators are now considering a controversial proposal by Mayor Matt Mahan to cite and arrest homeless residents who turn down multiple shelter offers Mahan commented he has no intention of jailing unhoused people under the procedures Instead he commented the goal is to work with Santa Clara County to refer those refusing shelter to addiction or mental healthcare therapy though county representatives have dismissed the proposal as ineffective and a distraction We believe holding people accountable for coming indoors to housing or medicine will save lives and benefit the broader neighborhood he declared The shelter beds at The Hope Center adjacent to the Berkeley Food amp Housing Project in Berkeley Calif on Thursday Oct The Hope Center is a newly built facility that has fifty-three rooms of permanent supportive housing for homeless and disabled men and women Thirty-two shelter beds for homeless adult men and twelve transitional housing beds for homeless male veterans Residents can receive onsite backing like clinical services and meal programs Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group Along with county leaders experts and institution providers are skeptical that threatening homeless people with criminal penalties will persuade them to move off the street They also note that even as cities like San Jose work to add shelter space the majority lack anywhere near enough beds for everyone who requirements them And they argue that opting to clear camps without offering shelter often accomplishes little except pushing homeless people from one neighborhood to another Labeling homeless people as shelter-resistant also ignores the reality that shelters aren t consistently well-managed or maintained researchers say Facilities may not be equipped to accommodate physical or behavioral strength issues or the residents histories of trauma which can make it hard to feel safe in a group setting and foster a distrust of those offering help There is still a mismatch between the way that shelter is designed and the requirements of this very diverse and vulnerable population of people commented Jamie Chang a homelessness researcher with UC Berkeley s School of Social Welfare A Yale-led review last year of various surveys of homeless people identified eight main restrictions to accepting shelter Safety concerns on-site drug use strict rules or curfews perceived inadequate care unsanitary conditions mandatory medication requirements a lack of accommodations for family members or pets and limited accessibility for those with disabilities Bulk homeless people who ve spent any key amount on the street in the Bay Area have bounced in and out of shelters or temporary housing at a few point in their lives They ve often been discharged from a shelter project over conflicts with other shelter residents or staff and sometimes harbor deep suspicions about outreach teams and arrangement providers But for plenty of turning down a shelter offer doesn t mean they have no intention of ever accepting a bed Mike Roman a -year-old homeless man with a thick white beard and weathered complexion disclosed he declined to move to a shelter in Morgan Hill because it s too far from where he lived in Palo Alto before losing his housing He wants to find a bed closer to that city But until then he plans to stay on the street in San Jose This is where my friends are Roman stated It s what I know right now Unhoused residents Mike Roman center and Jose Cadenas talk during an interview in San Jose Calif on Monday May Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group A homeless man who goes by the name Draco and lives at a West Berkeley encampment with his two pit bulls Luna and Tanner revealed he desperately wants to find a permanent home He ended up at the longstanding camp at th and Harrison streets about wihch city personnel have repeatedly complained that homeless residents turn down beds after temporary stays at shelters and supportive housing in the area One of the main challenges to securing a lasting home Draco stated is finding a project that will accept more than one pet If you want me off the streets you re going to take my dogs my kids he disclosed Because those are the only reasons I get up every day Period A homeless man known as Draco hugs his dogs Tanner and Luna Tuesday May near his tent at the Eighth and Harrison streets homeless encampment in Berkeley Calif Trouble finding shelter that allows pets has kept him on the street for years Karl Mondon Bay Area News Group To make shelters more accommodating Bay Area cities in fresh years have begun opening a new type of facility known as interim housing Unlike traditional dorm-style group shelters with strict rules and little privacy interim sites offer residents individual rooms to provide a more stable and welcoming climate for those receiving episode management and other services Related Articles Will San Jose get a new police unit to arrest homeless residents who refuse shelter Trump s proposed cuts to Section rental aid could aggravate Bay Area homelessness San Jose approves stricter rules to combat abandoned shopping cart epidemic Santa Clara County SF join lawsuit against Trump s unlawful conditions on homelessness funds US Forest Utility starts clearing homeless camp in Oregon national forest SAN JOSE CALIFORNIA SEPTEMBER Tiny Homes are lined up for unhoused residents on Mabury Road in San Jose Calif on Wednesday Sept Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Interim housing can include tiny homes cabin shelters modular units or renovated former motels Pets and family members are generally welcome The goal is to move residents into permanent homes though that often proves challenging given the region s severe shortage of affordable housing In San Jose authorities aim to add around interim housing placements by the end of this year To pay for the sites Mahan wants to use money that had been set aside for affordable housing a contentious strategy among housing and homelessness advocates who contend that shifting funding away from permanent solutions is a short-sighted strategy Jose Cadenas reported he s been on the wait list for a group shelter in San Jose for the past three weeks He stays in a tent just across from the site And while he s not uncomfortable remaining outdoors especially now that warmer weather has arrived he s eager to move into the shelter and have access to a bed and shower I would go there right away he commented Unhoused resident Jose Cadenas talks during an interview in San Jose Calif on Monday May Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group