Moving Homeless People to Shelter Is Not Easy
2024-10-04
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1Edgar Tapia works on the Homeless Outreach Team of San Francisco, California.
2He goes to places where people are living in the streets and tells them there is space for them in city shelters.
3He recently went into one San Francisco neighborhood on that mission.
4He came to a group of tents, calling out greetings and offers of food and water bottles.
5He asked if anyone was interested in moving indoors.
6He had eight available beds in city shelters, he told them.
7He reminded them that city street cleaners would be coming soon to clear the sidewalk.
8One woman in a tent asked for health care kits and clothing.
9"Can we get some socks?" she asked.
10Finding people to enter the city shelter is not an easy job.
11There are more shelter beds than ever before.
12San Francisco's mayor, London Breed, has said she will no longer permit people living outdoors when they know there is a place to stay indoors.
13Sometimes a person wants to move inside, but there are no beds.
14Other times, a bed is open but the person refuses the offer.
15Reasons include use of drugs and alcohol.
16But outreach workers keep trying.
17Jose Torres is a Homeless Outreach Team manager.
18He said that people on the street sometimes want to stay with their friends or dislike the shelter.
19"Sometimes we get lucky and they accept the one thing we have available, and if that doesn't work, we try something else," he said.
20"It's that 'try again, try again' system."
21Tapia was happy because a man he had been talking to for two months said he may be ready to accept a place in a shelter.
22The first time they talked, Tapia said, the man asked no questions and showed little interest.
23But the next time, the man asked what the shelters were like.
24Tapia said, "I want to see these people off the streets. I want to see them do good."
25The 41-year-old woman who asked for socks said her name was Mellie M.
26She said her group wants hotel rooms or an apartment.
27She wants a secure place to stay because she was raped while homeless.
28"In order for us not to live in tents anymore," she said, "they need to give us a place that we can call home."
29When Torres, the manager, arrived in one neighborhood, he got good news from other outreach workers.
30They told him that a client was moving into his own small apartment.
31That client is 71-year-old Larry James Bell.
32Outreach worker Ventrell Johnson got emotional thinking about Bell.
33Just eight months ago, Bell was living under a plastic sheet.
34Johnson had gotten Bell a bed in a homeless shelter.
35Now, Bell was ready for his own place.
36"I'd like to have a house one day," Bell said.
37When Bell leaves the shelter, another bed becomes available for someone else.
38Johnson noted that people are a little more likely to accept shelter beds; now the city is pushing to remove the tents and temporary shelters from the streets.
39By the end of their workday, outreach workers had found seven people for seven shelter beds.
40I'm Jill Robbins.
1Edgar Tapia works on the Homeless Outreach Team of San Francisco, California. He goes to places where people are living in the streets and tells them there is space for them in city shelters. He recently went into one San Francisco neighborhood on that mission. 2He came to a group of tents, calling out greetings and offers of food and water bottles. He asked if anyone was interested in moving indoors. He had eight available beds in city shelters, he told them. 3He reminded them that city street cleaners would be coming soon to clear the sidewalk. 4One woman in a tent asked for health care kits and clothing. "Can we get some socks?" she asked. 5Finding people to enter the city shelter is not an easy job. There are more shelter beds than ever before. San Francisco's mayor, London Breed, has said she will no longer permit people living outdoors when they know there is a place to stay indoors. 6Reasons to stay on the street 7Sometimes a person wants to move inside, but there are no beds. Other times, a bed is open but the person refuses the offer. Reasons include use of drugs and alcohol. 8But outreach workers keep trying. 9Jose Torres is a Homeless Outreach Team manager. He said that people on the street sometimes want to stay with their friends or dislike the shelter. 10"Sometimes we get lucky and they accept the one thing we have available, and if that doesn't work, we try something else," he said. "It's that 'try again, try again' system." 11Tapia was happy because a man he had been talking to for two months said he may be ready to accept a place in a shelter. The first time they talked, Tapia said, the man asked no questions and showed little interest. But the next time, the man asked what the shelters were like. 12Tapia said, "I want to see these people off the streets. I want to see them do good." 13The 41-year-old woman who asked for socks said her name was Mellie M. She said her group wants hotel rooms or an apartment. She wants a secure place to stay because she was raped while homeless. 14"In order for us not to live in tents anymore," she said, "they need to give us a place that we can call home." 15When Torres, the manager, arrived in one neighborhood, he got good news from other outreach workers. They told him that a client was moving into his own small apartment. That client is 71-year-old Larry James Bell. 16Outreach worker Ventrell Johnson got emotional thinking about Bell. Just eight months ago, Bell was living under a plastic sheet. Johnson had gotten Bell a bed in a homeless shelter. Now, Bell was ready for his own place. 17"I'd like to have a house one day," Bell said. 18When Bell leaves the shelter, another bed becomes available for someone else. Johnson noted that people are a little more likely to accept shelter beds; now the city is pushing to remove the tents and temporary shelters from the streets. 19By the end of their workday, outreach workers had found seven people for seven shelter beds. 20I'm Jill Robbins. 21Janie Har reported this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 22______________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24tent - n. a portable shelter that is used outdoors, is made of cloth (such as canvas or nylon), and is held up with poles and ropes 25sock - n. a piece of clothing that is worn on your foot and that covers your ankle and sometimes the lower part of your leg 26client - n. a customer for a business or organization 27What do you think of this story? Write to us in the Comments Section.