HOMELESS PERSONS SURVEY
This section of the needs assessment covers information obtained from homeless people themselves. It was this part of the study where the emotions and feelings of homeless people in San Mateo County were expressed. It was often the toughest survey to administer in the sense that the interviewers were pulled into the personal lives of homeless people during the time of a crisis. Yet, it was often the most revealing. Homeless people in San Mateo County were asked for their opinions and their feedback about what could help their situation. Their answers were enlightening as well as specific. The results show that homeless people in San Mateo County are as varied as the human race itself, and that many have special needs that have not been addressed in the past. The data in this section falls into four general categories. First, is the demographic breakdown of homeless people in San Mateo County. This includes age, sex, family status, residency, ethnicity, income source and education and employment levels. Secondly, there is data on the homeless status of respondents, meaning length of homelessness and how many are homeless for the first time. A breakdown of the different reasons why people feel they are homeless is also given. Lastly, information is provided here on services. This includes what services respondents are using now, which ones they need and their opinions on the services received. Included in this category is data on what homeless people in San Mateo County feel is the best thing that could be done for them. 324 homeless people were interviewed at various sites throughout San Mateo County. Both homeless people found at service sites as well as street locations where homeless people are known to live were included in the survey. Since little is known about homeless people who do not seek services in San Mateo County, the needs, views and opinions of homeless people living on the streets was especially important. People were asked to participate in this survey at random and the interviews were terminated if the respondent did not consider themselves to be homeless. Some people who might otherwise be considered homeless, for example people living in a shelter, were excluded if they did not consider themselves to be homeless. If a family was interviewed, each family member aged fifteen and over was interviewed separately. In addition, those hard to reach individuals, such as homeless people living with friends that do not seek services, are not included in the findings. LOCATION OF INTERVIEWS Interviews took place at various sites throughout the county, including both at the site services are rendered and street locations where homeless people are known to be located. The following is a breakdown of where the interviews took place, and how many people were successfully interviewed there:
There is a large ratio of respondents from the Winter Armory. Many interviews took place there because this is the one location in the county where large numbers of homeless people are gathered together in one place. However the characteristics of the homeless people staying at the Armory are different from the overall homeless population in San Mateo County. This group is largely made up of singles, due to the fact that the Armory does not allow anyone under the age of 18 to stay there. Therefore, families with children would have to separate from their children to stay there. CHARACTERISTICS OF HOMELESS RESPONDENTS AGE Finding: 52% of the homeless
persons surveyed state they are between the
The ratio of homeless people between the ages 15 and 19 is just 4%. Yet the need for services for this group should not be discounted. Catholic Worker House and Community living Room report not being able to provide shelter for 300 - 400 homeless youth during the survey year. There is also a low proportion of homeless people over the age of 55. This should not be interpreted as a lack of need for services. It is believed that seniors may be spending a majority of their income on housing, and have little left over for food and basic necessities. In addition, seniors may be less likely to seek services, and therefore are harder to locate. Ethnicity
Sex
56% of the male respondents are single, without children. This leaves the other half of the males considering themselves to live as a couple with or without children, or single with children. Consequently, 80% of all the single people interviewed are male. This indicates a strong need for service providers to include any special needs males may have when designing their programs for single people. "We need year-round shelter for single people and
programs right now! You have to FAMILY STATUS Finding: The majority (48.4%)
of homeless people surveyed have children, either as "What I really need
help with is my children. It's impossible for me to work full-time with
A large proportion, 28.2%, of the couples with children were Latino/a. This indicates that service providers should keep Latino/a cultural needs in mend when developing services for families such as bilingual and cultural staff. 26.7% of the homeless parents report the Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program as their source of income. 14% of the homeless parents surveyed state they have no means of support. 35.9% of the couples with children were employed either part or full time. Whereas, 16.1 % of the single parents were employed either part of full time. 66.7% of the couples with children surveyed earn $749 a month or less. Keeping in mind that the median rent for a two bedroom apartment in San Mateo County is $805, this would leave the family with a deficit of -$56 and no spending money for the month. 71.8% of the single parents earn $499 a month or less. Clearly, there is an additional strain on single homeless parents trying to get out of homelessness and into permanent housing. Many families have arranged for their children to stay with friends or relatives while they try to find a home they can afford. Many couples separate during homelessness as well. Service providers need to focus on keeping families and couples together during an economic crisis. This includes keeping parents together, as well as parents together with their children. Shelters should be developed for the whole family, which address the needs of the whole family, including their children. These needs include privacy, security, food, friends, and education. 8.8% of the homeless parents surveyed state they are using child care, while 54% state they need it. This indicates a strong need for the development of child care to be developed especially for homeless children and their special needs.
53.8% of the families with children state the best thing that could be done to meet their needs would be housing. The opinion of homeless families themselves taken together with their very low income levels reinforces the tremendous need for low income housing. EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT STATUS Finding: 68.7% of the homeless
persons in San Mateo County have completed at least
Only 6.9% of the respondents who had completed more then 12 years of schooling state their occupation as unskilled labor. Those who have more years of education have a higher employment rate. 28.7% are employed either part or full-time. Yet, many feel they need additional education. 36.6% of the respondents with more than 12 years of schooling state they need educational services and 51.9% state they need employment assistance. Of the respondents who had not completed 12 years of schooling, 37.4% state unskilled labor as their occupation and fewer, 16.2%, are either employed part or full time. 52.4% state they need educational services and 63.4% state they need employment assistance. This data confirms both the importance and dire need of continued education and job search and training among homeless people. Finding: 21.7% of
the homeless people interviewed in San Mateo
County state they are
The fact that a good proportion of homeless people have been able to retain their jobs during a homeless crisis is amazing. There are countless factors working against employed homeless people. Among many, there is the emotional drain that the instability of homelessness causes as well as the logistics problems of keeping clean and getting a decent nights sleep. This group represents the working poor whose wages have not kept up with the skyrocketing cost of housing in San Mateo County. "I went through the
process to get on GA. Then I got penalized and cut off for getting a A picture of what "home" means to one homeless child in San Mateo County
31% of unemployed homeless people surveyed said that the best thing that could be done to meet their needs was employment training or help finding a job that paid them enough so that they could afford a place to live in San Mateo County. With the high cost of housing, job search and training is crucial. Homeless people need this valuable resource if they are going to get into and retain permanent housing.
INCOME SOURCE Finding: A very small percent of homeless people
state they are receiving public aid.
Aid to Families with Dependent Children and General Assistance are a valuable financial resources for homeless people who qualify. These public aid programs should be fully utilized by homeless clients when ever possible. There are several possible reasons why such a small percent of homeless people utilize these programs. It could be the strict requirements, lack of knowledge or too much red tape within the programs. The number of respondents who stated their income source as job or work during the last month is higher than the number of respondents who stated they were currently employed. This discrepancy is perhaps due to unemployment occurring within the last month. Finding: Over half of the respondents earned under $249 last month.
90% of the homeless people surveyed who were working were earning less than $12,000 per year. Again, this calls for low income housing. With the median rent price for a two bedroom apartment in San Mateo County being $805, the only way for a homeless person in the low income level to obtain and keep permanent housing would be to live in subsidized housing. Job search and training is also an important link to ending homelessness. If homeless people have improved job skills, they would likely have a higher income. Thus making permanent housing more feasible. VETERAN STATUS Finding: 22.5% of the homeless
population surveyed in San Mateo County state they "I'm on a 90-day hold to get into the
veterans program. I need help to expedite this." The veteran population is slightly different from the overall homeless population in San Mateo County. Since this is such a large percentage of the respondents surveyed, this group has been analyzed separately. The results shown here are in the areas where the homeless veterans differ from the rest of the homeless population. A much higher portion, 90.4% are single and the population is slightly older with 65.7% between the ages 35 and 54. The homeless veterans tend to have more schooling with 48.6% of the veteran population completing more then 12 years of education. In addition, fewer state unskilled labor as their occupation. Significantly, only 11% report receiving veteran benefits. Fewer veterans are homeless for the first time (52.1%). Homeless veterans are homeless for longer periods of time. 41.3% have been homeless for more than one year, which is far greater then the overall homeless population. A higher percentage (29%) of veterans report drug and alcohol as a reason they became homeless. 10.1% of the homeless veterans claim they are in a drug and alcohol program while 22.2% state they need this service. Veterans seem to be seeking only the most basic emergency services. 43.1% of the homeless veterans state that they had slept in an emergency shelter the night before they were interviewed. 63% had stayed at the armory some time in the last three months. Other services are not used very often by homeless veterans. Service providers report that just 8% of their clients are veterans. Thus, the picture painted of the homeless veteran is quite different from other homeless people. Many veteran respondents indicated a lack of trust or belief that services could help them. This group of homeless people have a separate set of characteristics and needs that set them apart from other homeless people, and thus services designed for them need to take this into consideration. PLACE OF RESIDENCE Finding: 83% of the respondents
considered themselves to be residents of San Mateo Only 7.7% of the respondents were from out of the Bay Area. This challenges the common myth that homeless people come from somewhere else. It also addresses the idea that "they" should move somewhere else. Most homeless people surveyed in San Mateo County consider this their home. They have a valuable network of friends and families built here that would be lost if they moved elsewhere. In addition, many lack the resources to move even if they want to move. HOMELESS STATUS Finding: 64.2 % of the respondents state that they are
homeless for the first time.
Over half of the respondents who are homeless for the first time have been homeless for 3 months or less. This indicates a strong need for homelessness prevention, since so many San Mateo County residents are just now becoming homeless. Once people lose their homes, it is much more expensive to get back into housing. REASON FOR HOMELESSNESS Finding: According to the survey,
a majority (60.4%) of homeless people in San Mateo The following chart shows the different reasons people are homeless in San Mateo County. Respondents could have indicated more then one reason for homelessness.
The need for low income housing is overwhelming. Homeless people themselves state that it is the reason they are homeless. According to service providers, it is also the greatest single factor that keeps people at risk of remaining homeless. 23% of homeless people surveyed stated drug and alcohol problems as a reason for becoming homeless. Of these people, 7% were in a drug and alcohol program and 13% stated they needed such a program. 33% of the homeless people who said they needed mental health services also stated that drug and alcohol problems was the reason why they were homeless. SERVICES FOR THE HOMELESS Where Homeless People are Sleeping Respondents were asked where they slept the night before they were interviewed. A majority of the respondents were utilizing the emergency shelter. An alarming fact is that the Winter Armory is not available except for the coldest winter months. It has been approved on a temporary basis for the last three years. Only 13% responded that they stayed in transitional housing the night before and a significant 15.5% had slept outside on the street..
AGENCIES VISITED IN LAST THREE MONTH5 Only 18% of the Homeless people in San
Mateo County visited over three agencies in
The most commonly visited agencies where respondents were surveyed are St. Anthony's Padua Dining Room and the Winter Armory. Only small percents of the respondents report utilizing transitional housing programs. This is not surprising considering that according to service providers, for every one homeless person who receive shelter or transitional housing services, at least three other homeless people could not receive these services. SERVICES USED AND NEEDED
There is a great demand for all different types of services. This charts shows not only what services are needed but also how many respondents are now using this service. Each of these services is a piece, which when put together form a comprehensive solution to homelessness in San Mateo County. Each one is important, and the absence of any would begin a domino effect with the ultimate collapse of the system overall. There is an incredible demand from homeless people for both financial help for deposit, first and last months rent, as well as general financial assistance. Part of the general financial assistance can be alleviated by getting homeless clients on General Assistance. In addition, with the low incomes earned by working homeless people, there needs to be financial assistance available for them as well. First, last months rent and deposit is a crucial step to get homeless people into housing. This expense can be avoided in the long run, however, with strong homeless prevention programs. This means providing financial assistance when families or individuals have a crisis such as illness or job loss to avoid them losing their housing. EXPERIENCES WITH SERVICES RECEIVED There was a 50/50 split among homeless respondents as to whether services met their needs or not. This indicates a feeling of neutrality among homeless respondents as to whether services were helping them or not.
Further questioning revealed how homeless respondents really felt about the services they had received. When they were asked to give their experiences with services, either positive or negative, a wide array of answers were given. The responses were analyzed and then broken down into the categories above. 14% responded that they had trouble getting welfare benefits. 4% of respondents indicated that services were designed to support homeless people to help themselves. Frequently, respondents stated that they disliked seeking assistance because it made them feel helpless. In summary, they knew they needed help, but to ask for it made them feel a loss of pride and self-respect which they desperately wanted to maintain. BEST THING THAT COULD BE DONE
INFORMATION SOURCES
Word of mouth appears to be the most common method of information dissemination concerning services available. This is probably not the best means of outreach to clients, since clients often end up wasting time on services that are not appropriate or that they don't qualify for. |
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