Homeless people often choose the street over a bed. We toured San Francisco’s shelters to find out why.

Starting in August, homeless outreach teams swept through San Francisco, tasked with offering encampment residents bus tickets out of town — or, if they declined, shelter beds. 

The goal of the city’s “very aggressive” tent clearing, according to Mayor London Breed, was to make street dwellers “so uncomfortable on the streets of San Francisco that they have to take our offer” of shelter. The city has for years urged those dwelling on the streets to seek a bed inside, but the mayor’s ultimatum — made in an election year — was clarified in a July memo: Accept shelter or face arrest.

But unhoused people Mission Local interviewed during these sweeps claimed they didn’t want a bed — they already had one. They chose not to sleep in city shelters, many said, because they preferred being on the street.  

Some complained of the shelters’ unsanitary conditions and dearth of food — residents are served two meals a day, the sites’ employees said. Others, particularly women concerned about sexual assault and harassment, have long complained about security and the lack of freedom to walk in and out of the shelters at will. 

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