Lee predicts end to vets’ homelessness
Mayor says S. F.’ s roster of resources will meet challenge this year
Mayor Ed Lee predicted one success in San Francisco on Wednesday, saying the city would win the battle against chronic homelessness among veterans by the end of the year.
“San Francisco has met this challenge by committing the resources necessary,” Lee announced Wednesday at the San Francisco Veterans Memorial, along with U. S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald.
The city has among the highest concentrations of chronically homeless veterans in the country, but finding housing for them has proved difficult and expensive given San Francisco’s skyrocketing rental market.
In 2013, the city estimated that it had 1,267 homeless vets, with 507 of them chronically homeless — defined as a person with a disability who has lived without a permanent home for a year or more.
Since then, the city has partnered with federal agencies and nonprofits and placed 1,000 veterans, half of them chronically homeless, in permanent housing, said Bevan Dufty, the mayor’s point person for homelessness.
Because of the large influx of homeless veterans to San Francisco — an in
crease of up to 77 percent every year — several hundred chronically homeless veterans still need permanent housing.
“The mayor has marshaled all of our partners to overcome rental costs and be successful for our vets,” Dufty said.
$ 1.7 million pledge
Lee has pledged to spend $ 1.7 million over the next two years to house chronically homeless veterans. The federal government has committed $ 18.3 million to San Francisco over the next 10 years.
But the challenge is finding affordable housing for the veterans. Currently, the city may spend only 10 percent more than “fair market rent” without approval from the U. S Department of Housing and Urban Development. Dufty said that payment standard is too low and that the city has asked permission to pay 30 percent more.
Under that higher standard, veterans would qualify for $ 1,225 for a spot in a single-room-occupancy hotel, $ 1,633 for a studio apartment, and $ 2,126 for a one- bedroom unit.
Last year, the former Stanford Hotel at 250 Kearny St. was renovated to house 130 homeless veterans. Kevin Chenevert was a 10- year veteran of the Air Force who moved into the building in December. The three years prior he had been in and out of transitional housing and living on the streets.
‘ Lots of nice people’
“There are lots of nice people in here,” Chenevert said. “A couple of nutty people, but also lots of nice people.” Now 57, Chenevert said he planned to live there as long as possible.
City officials are in negotiations with four large residential hotels in the central city area to provide long- term leases to homeless veterans. They are also looking into the possibility of housing veterans in the East Bay, while continuing to provide them health and supportive services from San Francisco.
And, in what may be a Hail Mary effort, they are seeking landlords who will rent to veterans at below market rates. That initiative got a boost Wednesday, when McDonald told the mayor that he would be willing to entice landlords with an invitation to the White House.
“The mayor was very excited,” Dufty said, “and looked at me like we are going to identify some landlords who want to go to lunch at the White House.”
“The mayor has marshaled all of our partners to overcome rental costs and be successful for our vets.” Bevan Dufty, mayor’s point person on homelessness