SF's Homeless Sweeps Have Cleared Over 1,200 Tents. Where Are People Going?

San Francisco’s crackdown on encampments is showing on the streets of the Tenderloin, according to one local service provider. But many unhoused residents might just have found more discreet places to stay.

According to Karl Robillard, the chief communications officer for Glide, which provides services to about 500 people in the Tenderloin daily, the ramp-up of encampment sweeps has had a marked effect on the neighborhood.

“Absolutely, there’s been a noticeable uptick in terms of tent removal,” he said. “You can see it when you’re walking up and down the streets. You can see it happening. There’s far fewer tents on the sidewalk. It’s very visually obvious and it’s a significant change for a neighborhood like the Tenderloin.”

It has been two months since San Francisco began “aggressive” street sweeps announced by Mayor London Breed following a Supreme Court ruling that loosened restrictions on cities’ ability to clear homeless encampments even when there is not ample shelter available.

In that time, the city has held to its word.

The Department of Emergency Management said it has removed 1,245 tents and structures between Aug. 1 and Sept. 15. Police have made 218 arrests since crackdowns began, according to the mayor’s office, though about 80% have been for illegal lodgings, for which individuals are cited and released at the scene. The remaining violations have mostly warranted arrests.

Of the 2,170 engagements the Department of Emergency Management has tallied, only a small percentage seem to be off the streets: 294 people have accepted shelter and 41 are already housed.

Still, the sight of the Tenderloin’s streets has changed. The San Francisco Standard reported that the number of tents counted in one subsection of the neighborhood, where the Tenderloin Community Benefit District conducts a daily tally, hit a record low this week since it began in May.

The number fluctuates pretty significantly, according to the TLCBD, but lingered around the mid-20s most days of this week. It ticked back up to 40 on Thursday.

Robillard said that while it varies on an individual basis, a lot of people have found less visible locations to stay.

“I’ve heard of folks who were able to find parcels of land that belong to the state, which may not have jurisdiction, like a Caltrans property,” he told KQED. “People may have resources or information to find somewhere else where they think they can feel safe. But I think probably the most common situation is people are finding more discreet ways to be, even though they remain unhoused.”

Robillard said that there are a number of reasons people do not accept services like housing assistance from the city — including mental health challenges and substance use disorders that can not be adequately addressed in some shelter situations, and not feeling comfortable in a communal environment, which many of the temporary housing offerings are.

“I know I feel [like] I want to go home and close my door at night, that’s what most of us want. Even though this person may not have a home, I think they have that feeling in a place where they may have been even living in a tent here on the sidewalk somewhere in the city,” Robillard said. “I do think there can be a natural resistance to wanting to be in a congregate situation.”

Glide has seen more people making use of its services, especially the three meals it serves daily, according to Robillard. He also believes that more people have utilized the nonprofit’s rental assistance program and low-threshold case management, like harm reduction services, which are offered within a 10-block radius.

But he said that getting people into housing and connected to the right resources can’t always happen immediately when someone loses the place they were living.

“I think about this situation on a personal level, this is someone’s home,” Robillard told KQED. “It may be a tent on the sidewalk, it may be a structure, but it is a person’s home. It’s what they have relied on for some of their emotional safety, so when that is gone, that’s a very significant point in a person’s life.”