Advocacy Essay Madlibs Please complete this Advocacy Essay Madlibs worksheet.Other files are reference sources. Thanks! Please complete this Advocacy Essay
Advocacy Essay Madlibs Please complete this Advocacy Essay Madlibs worksheet.Other files are reference sources. Thanks! Please complete this Advocacy Essay Madlibs
worksheet.
A few notes on this assignment (please readit will help!):
Clearly, it is going to be very hard (impossible, actually) to complete this assignment
without having first done a substantial amount of research. So, start with the research!
Have you fully explored all the parts of your problem? Have you researched and
thought through multiple possible solutions to it, and have you figured out why you
think your solution (or your combination of solutions) is superior to all the others?
Have you researched and addressed possible counter-arguments to your solution?
Have you considered the various things that might make your solution difficult to
implement?
Use your MERL Worksheet
here, which you started in class. And use your peers!
Read through the responses to Solutions Discussion 1 and look for problems and
solutions that seem similar to yours. Share your sources! Collaborate!
IMPORTANT: The Advocacy Essay Madlibs assignment mentions five
“frameworks” to considercausation, coverage, feasibility, comparison,
and cost/benefits. Here is a more detailed explanation of them (these are my
explanations; please also see the AGWR pp. 244-246 for more!):
“Causation” means: does your solution really address the core cause of the problem
you’re dealing with? Or does it just put a band-aid on a gaping wound?
“Coverage” means: does your solution really cover everyone affected by your
problem? Or does it just cover some people? (This might be okay, if you’re arguing
that your solution is really just a necessary first step to solving a larger problem…)
“Feasibility” means: is your solution actually feasible? Could it actually be achieved
right now, given issues like funding limitations, different kinds of resistance to social
programs, etc.? This is the place where you’ll need to take the current political climate
into accountfor example, “expand HUD’s funding” isn’t a very feasible solution
given the attitude that our current president (and Ben Carson, HUD’s director) have
toward the expanding HUD….
“Comparison” means: can you back up your solution by comparing it to other, similar
solutions that have been implemented elsewhere? For instance, is there a particular
city that has solved the problem of housing affordability through strong rent control
laws, and can you argue that these same kinds of rent control laws need to be
implemented at a state-wide (or country-wide) level? (But then consider how
“feasible” this kind of comparison really is…)
“Costs/Benefits” means: consider the benefits of your particular solution relative to
other ones (or relative to doing nothing), but also consider the “costs” of your
solution. This is a good place to consider counter-arguments: people who might be
against your solution for the particular kinds of “costs” it might involve.
FIVE-YEAR
STRATEGIC
FRAMEWORK
City and County of San Francisco
DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELESSNESS AND
SUPPORTIVE HOUSING
OCTOBER 2017
Letter from the Director of the
Department of Homelessness
and Supportive Housing
people as possible and improve the quality of life for
all San Franciscans, both housed and homeless.
Achieving this vision will require nothing short of a
radical transformation of the work we do.
This Strategic Framework outlines ambitious yet
achievable goals for the next five years. This document is
not meant to be a step-by-step guide for how to proceed.
Rather, it provides a roadmap for reducing homelessness
in San Francisco and ensuring it becomes a rare, brief, and
one-time occurrence. Achieving the goals of this Strategic
Framework will require us to continuously analyze data,
listen to our stakeholders, learn from those impacted by
homelessness, and adapt. We do not presume to have
all the answersbut we have the evidence, drive, and
optimism needed to achieve our goals.
S
an Francisco faces a crisis on our streets.
Homelessness is a social emergency, and the suffering
of our unhoused neighbors must be addressed with a
renewed sense of urgency. We cannot accept a
business-as- usual approach while thousands of adults,
families with children, and youth are without housing.
As a compassionate and creative community, we have
responded to homelessness with a strong commitment,
investing more than $250 million dollars annually in
homeless services. Our collective efforts have helped
approximately 25,000 people exit homelessness since
2005, and provided shelter and support to thousands
each year. We are pleased to have helped so many people
find a respite from the streets and a place to call home.
We are proud that San Francisco has pioneered model
programs to address homelessness. We are thankful
for the tireless volunteers, nonprofit workers, and City
employees who support people striving to overcome
homelessness every day. However, while preparing this
Strategic Framework, we faced the sobering fact that
despite these investments and efforts, thousands of
people still live on our streets.
San Francisco must and will do better. This Strategic
Framework is a call to action and lays out our goals to
significantly reduce homelessness in San Francisco.
We will strive to get house keys into the hands of as many
Success will only be possible by working in partnership
with people experiencing homelessness, nonprofit
providers, advocates, researchers, philanthropists,
businesses, community groups, volunteers, elected
officials, City Departments, and the dedicated staff of
the Department of Homelessness and Supportive
Housing. We are deeply grateful to everyone who helped
develop this Strategic Framework and look forward to
our collective efforts to reduce homelessness in
San Francisco.
Now is the time to focus on compassionate and common
sense solutions. Most San Franciscans want their City to
assist people experiencing homelessness and they want
safe and clean streets. Most San Franciscans want to see
increased investments in homelessness and they expect
to see better outcomes from these investments. We must
have the courage to demand compassion and common
sense while working toward the fundamental systems
change outlined in this Strategic Framework.
I hope that all San Franciscans will join us on this journey,
bringing our collective compassion, common sense, and
courage to help our neighbors struggling to find a way
home.
Sincerely,
Jeff Kositsky
Director
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letter from the Director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing
3
Executive Summary 6
Introduction: The Need for a Strategic Framework 10
Systems Change: From Model Programs to Model Systems
16
Population Focus: Adults 25
Population Focus: Families with Children 33
Population Focus: Youth 37
Special Focus: Street Homelessness 40
Building The New Department 47
Conclusion: Implementing a Model System 51
Acknowledgments 53
Bibliography 54
Appendix A: Glossary of Terms 56
Appendix B: Current and Planned Inventory 62
Appendix C: Draft Implementation Timeline 64
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
Each year, San Francisco rehouses nearly 2,000 people experiencing homelessness; we also assist approximately
15,000 unhoused people with food, shelter, outreach, health care, and other forms of assistance. Nevertheless, an
estimated 7,500 people are homeless in San Francisco on any given night. This number has remained stubbornly
persistent for more than a decade, despite our Citys commitment, concern, and considerable investments.
Since 2005, San Francisco has helped approximately 25,000 people exit homelessness. However, our City has lacked
a coordinated, data-driven, and integrated system to ensure these efforts result in permanent, sustained reductions
in homelessness. We also lack the full complement of resources needed to meet the current demand for housing,
shelter, and services. While we should be proud of our accomplishments to date, achieving sustained reductions in
homelessness will require nothing short of a radical transformation of the work we do.
In August 2016, Mayor Edwin M. Lee launched the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) to
fundamentally change the way San Francisco addresses homelessness. Our vision is to make homelessness a rare,
brief, and one-time event. Our aim is a significant, sustained reduction in homelessness in San Francisco.
We will accomplish this by partnering with our many
stakeholders to achieve the five-year goals outlined in
How Was This Strategic Framework Developed?
this Strategic Framework.
Together, we will work tirelessly, persistently,
and compassionately to help each person find the
right path to permanent housing.
SYSTEMS CHANGE
Goal: Design and implement coordinated
systems for adults, families with children,
and youth by December 2018
Goal: Implement performance
accountability across all programs and
systems by December 2019
San Francisco has been an innovator of model
programs for more than two decades and has invested
significant resources in addressing homelessness.
Creating coordination and alignment across all our
interventions will take San Francisco from a community
of model programs to one with a model system. This
new Homelessness Response System is dedicated
to ending homelessness quickly and effectively for
as many people as possible. Coordinated Entry is a
key component of this response system, including a
clear set of entry points, a standardized method to
assess and prioritize people needing assistance, and a
streamlined process for rapidly connecting people to
a housing solution. Coordinated Entry systems for all
populations (adults, families with children, and youth)
will be in place by December 2018.
6
This Strategic Framework relies on the experiences of
people experiencing homelessness, service providers, and
other stakeholders in San Francisco. HSH staff conducted
numerous interviews, surveys, focus groups, community
meetings, and forums to gather input and receive feedback
while developing this Strategic Framework. We also studied
best practices from cities around the country that have
made significant reductions in homelessness.
HSH staff and national experts on homelessness also
developed data models that helped determine our goals,
strategies, and gaps in the system. We were limited by the
lack of a single database tracking the performance of our
programs and impacts on homelessness in San Francisco.
Furthermore, we were unable to model for possible changes
in the economy or housing market. However, we are in the
process of developing a new data system and once that
begins to generate more accurate information about our
program outcomes and costs, we will refine our models and
projections. An example of the logic behind our modeling
and gap analysis can be found in the first chapter of the
Strategic Framework.
This Strategic Framework is meant to be a roadmap and a
living document. We will develop specific implementation
plans and make regular adjustments as needed. Throughout
this process, we are committed to consulting with our
stakeholders, especially those with lived experience of
homelessness and people providing direct services in the
community. We will continue tracking progress, reporting
back to the community, and holding ourselves accountable
for the goals we have established.
FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK | DEPARTMENT OF HOMELESSNESS AND SUPPORTIVE HOUSING
The new Homelessness Response System will strive to ensure that clients will not have to wander from program to
program, remain on waiting lists with little or no understanding of what will happen next, or receive no information
on their options. This system will also acknowledge that not everyone needs permanently subsidized housing to exit
homelessness. As such, we will expand the focus on Prevention, Problem Solving, and Rapid Rehousing assistance
while also working to add more Permanent Supportive Housing for those who need it.
HSH has already begun developing the infrastructure needed to implement these changes. This includes merging the
Citys 15 different homeless services databases into one new centralized data system, called the Online Navigation
and Entry (ONE) System. Launched in June 2017, the ONE System will allow for increased accountability, improved
performance management, and a better understanding of the needs of each individual we serve. The ONE System will
be fully implemented by mid-2018.
ADULTS
Goal: Reduce chronic homelessness 50% by December 2022
During the January 2017 Point-in-Time Count of the homeless population in San Francisco, we identified more
than 2,100 adults who are chronically homeless. chronic homelessness refers to people who have been living on
the streets or in shelter for a year or more and have disabilities or health conditions that make it difficult for them
to gain and retain housing. Focusing on the chronically homeless population will help ensure that people who are
ill and experiencing long-term homelessness can access services and housing more quickly. This has proven to be
an effective strategy for reducing homelessness in San Francisco and communities around the United States. For
example, chronic homelessness among Veterans in San Francisco was reduced by 30% from 2015-2017 and can be
effectively ended with targeted efforts to rehouse the remaining chronically homeless Veterans.1
By reallocating current resources, developing additional housing units, investing in new housing programs, and
working on prevention, we can reduce all chronic homelessness 50% by December 2022. Central to this strategy is
creating a Housing Ladder to move residents living in Permanent Supportive Housing to other subsidized housing,
thereby opening up Permanent Supportive Housing units for chronically homeless clients. Work in this area
is already well underway.
FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN
Goal: Ensure no families with children are
unsheltered by December 2018
Goal: End family homelessness by
December 2021
The 2017 Point-in-Time Count found that less than
3% of the homeless families in San Francisco are
unsheltered. While this number is relatively low,
absolutely no children should be living on the streets of
San Francisco. By using our Temporary Shelter resources
more strategically, we will ensure that no families with
children are unsheltered. This work is already in progress,
including the expansion of San Franciscos family shelter
system by the end of 2017.
1
Source: San Franciscos 2017 and 2015 Homeless Point-in-Time Count Reports
What Does Ending Homelessness Mean?
An end to homelessness does not mean that no one will
ever experience a housing crisis again. It means that our
community will have a comprehensive response in place
that ensures homelessness is prevented whenever possible
and provides short-term emergency shelter and rehousing
support whenever needed to ensure homelessness is a
rare, brief, and one-time experience. Specifically,
every community will have the capacity to:
Quickly identify and engage people at risk of and
experiencing homelessness
Prevent the loss of housing and divert people from
entering the homelessness services system
When homelessness does occur, provide immediate
access to shelter and crisis services
Quickly connect people to assistance and services that
help them achieve and maintain stable housing
*Adapted from Opening Doors, the nations first comprehensive Federal
strategy to prevent and end homelessness, first presented to Congress on
June 22, 2010.
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELESSNESS AND SUPPORTIVE HOUSING | FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK
7
Our ultimate goal is to end all family homelessness in San Francisco. Through a combination of additional Rapid
Rehousing, Rent Subsidies, and Permanent Supportive Housing, as well as new interventions that offer Problem
Solving strategies and flexible assistance, we will effectively end family homelessness in San Francisco. The 2017 Pointin-Time Count indicated a 12% reduction in family homelessness since 2015, and efforts already underway should
lead to more significant decreases in the coming years. The public and private resources needed to achieve this goal
currently exist or are in development.
YOUTH
Goal: Complete a detailed plan to reduce youth homelessness by July 2018
Youth make up approximately 20% of the homeless population in San Francisco.2 Since 2013, San Francisco has
conducted special youth homeless counts during each Point-in-Time Count and has seen a decrease in youth
homelessness. However, youth homelessness remains a significant problem and there has been little City-sponsored
planning to address it.
HSH recently received a grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and is now
engaged in an in-depth and youth-informed planning process to develop the response system and the programs
needed to reduce youth homelessness. We will publish our final Coordinated Community Plan to End Youth
Homelessness by July 2018. This plan will include specific targets for reducing youth homelessness during the next
five years and will outline the work needed to transform housing and services for this population. In the meantime,
we have already begun adding new youth-focused housing and services that will begin operation in early 2018.
STREET HOMELESSNESS
Goal: Improve the Citys response to street homelessness by October 2018
Goal: End large, long-term encampments by July 2019
Street homelessness is a serious crisis in San Francisco, with nearly 60% of the homeless population living in
unsheltered situations.3 A wide range of City Departments are collaborating to address these issues swiftly and
humanely, creating more places of safety and pathways out of homelessness for those living outdoors. Supported
and driven by a stronger partnership among City Departments, a new system for responding to public concerns will
be in place by October 2018, and by July 2019, there will be no large, long-standing encampments on our streets.
These efforts will lead to a reduction in street homelessness while improving the quality of life for all San Franciscans,
both housed and homeless. Reducing street homelessness will require improved coordination, as well as investments
in services and Temporary Shelter. Further, HSH will remain focused on housing exits as the most effective,
compassionate and sensible way to address street homelessness.
CONCLUSION
This Strategic Framework combines analysis, best practices from around the country, and the collective wisdom of
our community. It was developed after more than a year of gathering information from many stakeholders, carefully
reviewing our systems performance, and developing data models that will help guide our work. Similar approaches
have been undertaken in communities throughout the United States with documented success. Our path will be
informed by what has been learned in other communities, consistently updated based on new learning and data, and
rooted in the strengths of our experience in San Francisco.
Achieving and sustaining the meaningful reductions in homelessness outlined in this document may require
additional investment above and beyond the historically high levels of funding budgeted by Mayor Edwin M. Lee in
the past six years. The Department will continue to advocate for needed resources through the budget process, but
2
3
8
Source: San Franciscos 2017 Homeless Point-in-Time Count Report
Source: San Franciscos 2017 Homeless Point-in-Time Count Report
FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK | DEPARTMENT OF HOMELESSNESS AND SUPPORTIVE HOUSING
San Francisco cannot do it alone. We will need significant philanthropic partnership and greater funding support from
the State and Federal governments. Homelessness is a regional if not national issue, and paying to solve it cannot
fall so…
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