Outreach worker Edgar Tapia hit a San Francisco neighborhood on a mission to find people to take eight available shelter beds, including a tiny cabin perfect for a couple.
He approached a cluster of tents in the Mission District, calling out greetings and offers of snacks and water bottles. He crouched to chat with tent occupants and asked if anyone was interested in moving indoors. He reminded them city street cleaners would be by to clear the sidewalk.
“Do you have any more hygiene kits?” asked a woman inside an orange tent with five friends. “Can we get some socks?”
The job of Tapia and others on San Francisco’s Homeless Outreach Team is to match eligible people with vacant beds. But it’s not a straightforward process as was clear on this September day, despite more shelter beds than ever before and a mayor who says she will no longer tolerate people living outdoors when they’ve been offered a place to stay.
Sometimes a person is eager to move inside, but there are no beds. Other times, a spot is open but the offer is rejected for a host of reasons, including complications with drugs and alcohol. Outreach workers plug away, reaching out and building trust with the people they call their clients.