More than 3,000 households attained or maintained housing in the first three months of 2018, according to a report by the Human Services Department delivered to a council committee in June.
The number represents a nearly 245 percent increase over the same period in 2017. It includes 221 households that were prevented from entering the homelessness emergency services system through prevention efforts.
The city has made moves to change its mix of shelter services over the past nine months or so, increasing the number of “enhanced shelter beds” — lower -arrier options that provide storage and 24-hour access, among other things — to 67 percent of the total of city-funded spots.
Roughly 1,400 of the 2,800 households that received help through the enhanced shelter system exited the shelter, and 299 of those went into permanent housing.
The report attempts to show that the programs funded by the $84 million budgeted for the response to homelessness are moving people into housing. Critics of increased taxes that most recently opposed a tax on large businesses to pay for additional homeless services have demanded an accounting of spending before new resources are approved.
Ashley Archibald is a Staff Reporter covering local government, policy and equity. Have a story idea? She can be can reached at ashleya (at) realchangenews (dot) org. Follow Ashley on Twitter @AshleyA_RC
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