San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Sheltered families’ oasis from streets in jeopardy
Residents must move out of inn unless owners, city agree on property’s future
Justice Valentine and her two young daughters don’t know where they’ll live in two months.
The family left an abusive relationship in Las Vegas and returned to Valentine’s native San Francisco in July. They bounced between hotels for a month until they moved into a room at the Oasis Inn, which the city turned into a shelter during the pandemic. Niara, 7, has enrolled in school and Justice snagged jobs at two theaters, with plans to start college to study radiology.
On Wednesday in the property’s community room, Niara sang along to the song “Dance Monkey” while playing a game on her mom’s phone as Zaniya, 4, twirled pirouettes, grinning.
“Having these places, it’s a peace of mind,” Valentine said beside them. “When I walk in, I’m OK. If this wasn’t here, I don’t know what would happen.”
She may find out in January. She and her daughters were one of 32 homeless families and seven domestic violence survivors, as of Friday, who have been told they must move out of the Oasis at 900 Franklin St. by year’s end unless the hotel owners and city can agree on the property’s future.
Most families qualify for permanent supportive housing or a voucher that helps pay for an apartment on the private market, but don’t know when those options will come through or if they can find a rental in time. The city promises everyone will be moved to shelters with private rooms if they can’t reach an agreement with the owners.
“We are fully prepared to take care of the families,” said Emily Cohen, spokesperson for the homelessness department. “We are not going to be turning families out without an alternative.”
The quandary over the Oasis comes as the city needs every family shelter bed it can get. Including the Oasis at full capacity, the city’s nine family shelters have around 227 spots — so losing 58 beds would cut that by a quarter. That would be devastating after the city already failed a year ago to meet its own five-year goal to eliminate family homelessness.
The city counted 205 homeless households in February. Providence Foundation of San Francisco, the nonprofit that runs the Oasis shelter, has tracked around 150 families who they had to refer to other city shelters such as one in a school.
“What we do not want in San Francisco is a mom and her kids basically wandering the streets all night, and that is what we have,” said Jenny Friedenbach, director of the Coalition on Homelessness.
In September, the owners told city officials they wanted to sell the property and requested everyone move out by the beginning of January, when the lease between Providence and the hotel operator ends.
Supervisor Dean Preston said in a letter to the homeless department last month that the city has known for months the owner wanted to sell, but didn’t act on the information.
Preston’s letter said the owners refused the city’s counter-offer for an 18-month lease with an option to buy because they want to sell as soon as possible. His letter pointed out the owners stand to save nearly $1 million if they sell to the city because they won’t be subject to a tax he authored.
Homelessness department spokeswoman Emily Cohen said that earlier in the year when the offer arose, the property didn’t “rise to the top” of a list under consideration.
The city has purchased eight properties to create nearly 1,000 permanent supportive housing units in recent years, using money from voter-approved tax Prop. C. But that money can’t be used to buy shelters, with other Prop. C funds set aside to rent and operate shelters, she said.
She said the city is interested in buying the Oasis if it’s in good condition, but needs months to check it out and find the money. The city has asked the owners to extend the lease until June, she said, and plans to meet with them soon.
Hotel operator Naresh Dhadhal said he’s leased the property for two decades from the owners, who expressed interest in selling at the start of this year. Although he’s been happy with Providence, he doesn’t want to continue the shelter because it doesn’t make money. He would be fine with the city taking over, but that decision is up to the owners.
A main representative for the owners did not respond to requests for comment.
Preston said he’s willing to introduce an appropriation at the Board of Supervisors to release funds to buy the building.
“We should do everything in our power to seize this opportunity and ensure that the families continue to stay sheltered through the winter ahead as they move toward permanent housing, and that future homeless families have a place to land at the Oasis,” Preston wrote in his letter.
Before the Oasis became a shelter, families in general slept on the floor of a Western Addition church. Every morning they had to pack up their belongings and leave, only to return at night.
As an alternative, Preston reached out to local hotels until he found a willing partner and organized a GoFundMe that raised more than $100,000 to rent rooms. Families and domestic violence survivors moved in March 2020. The city took over the $3.5 million annual cost later that year.
The hotel near Cathedral Hill, where greenery blossoms and fish swim in a pond in the courtyard, is special among family shelters because the rooms have private bathrooms. Families stay for two and a half weeks up to six months, which in most cases is enough time to get housing.
Half a dozen families interviewed by The Chronicle said the place was a true oasis — the first time in months or years they weren’t bouncing between spots with no hope of stable housing.
Guzma Lingulata and his son Leo Graham, 12, survivors of domestic violence, moved in six months ago after three years living homeless in hotels, a car and an uninhabitable shed. The pair are waiting to move into permanent supportive housing any day.
“I fell in love with this place,” Lingulata said about the Oasis. “Sometimes thinking about leaving is scary for me.”
Carlos Rojas said moving in with his 7-year-old felt like a weight was taken off his shoulders. He’s been homeless for four years, one with his son, and recently returned to work after getting shot in December. His mother also moved into their hotel room.
“I don’t know where we would be if it weren’t for this place,” he said. “I am concerned for myself, but also for families who come behind me who need the same kind of help.”
“What we do not want in San Francisco is a mom and her kids basically wandering the streets all night.”
Jenny Friedenbach, director of Coalition on Homelessness