San Francisco Interfaith Winter Shelters add needed beds for unhoused during cold months

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Thirty-six years ago, then San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos asked religious organizations to step up and help with the homeless crisis.

That didn't solve the problem, but it did lead to the interfaith Winter Shelter Program, which is back in service this week. It was supposed to be an emergency measure for only one year. However, here we are in year 36. But when you remember how wet and cold it's been, the city is happy to have the program.

The homeless crisis seems even more dire during times of bad weather and the bitter cold.

We ran across Ann Worrell who sought shelter in a tent that the city had not yet removed.

"I was out laying out on that ground right there with the blankets and stuff that I am laying on in the tent in the cold and the rain. But a lady gave me a tent and they've been trying to remove me from this tent in this place that I am not blocking the sidewalk traffic at all," Worrell said.

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For Solomon Gebra, it's people's attitude toward the homeless that irks him the most.

"As soon as they see me, even if I put regular things on, they see you here they think you are homeless and degrade you, totally," said Gebra who came to San Francisco in 1986 from Africa and, until recently, always had a place to live.

"Everything collapsed when the COVID came," he said. He now stays at the Sanctuary 24-hour shelter because he told us he has nowhere else to go.

Denzel Cook was once homeless and remembers doing what he could to stay out of the cold.

"Uncertainty, it's like helplessness. You feel helpless," Cook said.

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As of this week and through the end of March, there are more choices for the unhoused as different faith organizations convert their day facilities into evening shelters, rotating monthly between five locations throughout the city.

This month, the Canon Kip Senior Center on Natoma Street and 8th will house 30 people, operated by Episcopal Communities Services.

"Folks can just come to the front door, because they need to be in a safe place, out of the inclement weather. They just want to be able to walk in, have a bed for the night and leave in the morning," said Beth Stokes, executive director of Episcopal Community Services.

People are also offered a shower, dinner and breakfast.

The San Francisco Interfaith Council started this program 36 years ago.

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"It's safe. Two, because people are treated with respect and dignity, so they want to come. For us also, this is a social and moral imperative," said Michael Pappas, the executive director of the Interfaith Council.

But while many people may benefit from this act of generosity, for some, it's a matter of choice. It's always their decision.

"I find it more peaceful in my tent. I call it my little hobbit hole, and I have more serenity and tranquility this way," Worrell said.

"We're not going to be able to solve the crisis on our own, but we are doing what we can do, to treat them with that kind of dignity," Pappas said.