是也不是。无家可归的经历极其痛苦，大多数无家可归的人都有与这种创伤相关的共同问题，包括持续的恐惧和不确定性、没有安全感、难以获得食物和卫生用品等等。人类，无论是在家庭中还是独自一人，都天生不适合露宿街头。 无家可归是由于缺乏经济适用房造成的。在旧金山，公众的注意力主要集中在吸毒和患有严重精神疾病的无处可容的成年人身上。虽然无家可归家庭中并非没有吸毒现象，但这种情况并不常见，而且即使存在，其严重程度通常也较低。患有严重成瘾的父母很可能会失去对子女的监护权，因此将无法获得家庭系统（除非/直到他们能够重新获得监护权，否则他们将转入单身成人系统）。此外，患有严重精神疾病（可能需要进行重大干预）的父母也较少参与家庭无家可归系统，原因相同——如果这些父母的身心功能受损严重，他们很可能会失去对子女的监护权。 家庭无家可归的情况往往不为人知。你路过 Compass 服务的大多数家庭时，很可能从未想过他们是无家可归的。

美国住房和城市发展部 (HUD) 要求接受联邦资金解决无家可归问题的当地社区运行协调入境系统 (Coordinated Entry Systems)。HUD 在 2007-2010 年止赎危机导致全国无家可归者人数增加后，提出了协调入境的概念。协调入境系统取代了先到先得的庇护所和住房干预候补名单模式，取而代之的是按申请人需求程度进行评估和分类的模式。 协调入境系统是连接无家可归家庭与庇护所和住房的大门。协调入境接入点通过标准化流程，根据无家可归者的脆弱性和需求严重程度，识别、评估并优先安排住房和服务。旧金山于 2018 年实施了协调入境系统。 协调入境的主要原则是： 优先排序。需求最大的人将优先获得该地区任何类型的住房和无家可归者援助。 低门槛。住房和无家可归者项目与协调准入流程相结合，降低了筛选门槛。 “住房优先”指导。人们可以快速获得住房，无需任何先决条件或服务参与要求。 以人为本。个人和家庭可以选择居住地和参与的服务（但这在旧金山湾区比较棘手，因为那里的住房存量非常有限）。 最合适的住房干预。确保无家可归者获得合适的住房干预（但同样，这在旧金山湾区比较棘手，甚至是不可能的，因为任何类型的住房都非常匮乏，所以仅仅因为一个家庭需要，例如永久性的支持性住房，并不意味着他们就能得到它）。 多个服务接入点。旧金山目前有三个家庭接入点：由Compass运营的Central City接入点，以及由天主教慈善机构运营的Bayview接入点和Mission接入点。 协调入境优先考虑无住房家庭，即使有住房的家庭住房条件不足。符合联邦无家可归定义的家庭优先于符合旧金山更广泛定义的家庭。因此，居住在不安全或不适合儿童居住的环境中的家庭（例如，全家住在单间公寓酒店房间，或与另一个家庭或多个家庭合住两到三人间）很少能够进入庇护系统或获得与协调入境相关的住房选择，因为他们的优先级较低，而且系统的容量极其有限。

当一个家庭来到家庭接入点时，工作人员会对他们进行评估，收集大量关于该家庭现状和历史的信息（请注意，这种重复讲述可能会给家庭带来心理创伤）。这些信息会被录入旧金山无家可归者管理信息系统，即在线导航和录入系统 (ONE)。这些信息经过市政府算法的筛选，并根据优先级对被评估的家庭进行评分。如果得分足够高，他们可以获得庇护所和/或住房（请参阅下文了解系统中提供的选项）。 得分不够高的家庭会被标记为“问题解决”状态，这意味着他们目前无法获得住房项目。这些家庭仍然可以被列入庇护所队列，或进入紧急庇护所。然而，目前旧金山此类庇护所的床位非常有限。Compass 会协助处于“问题解决”状态的家庭寻找其他解决方案。例如，如果一个家庭在里诺有亲戚可以收留他们一段时间，Compass 可以为他们提供前往那里的交通支持。通常情况下，Compass 无法通过问题解决机制解决许多住房危机，但偶尔也能奏效。 家庭进入住房名单所需达到的门槛并非一成不变。市政府会根据系统中住房选项的可用性调整门槛分数。如果可用的住房单元不多，而申请住房的家庭又很多，市政府就会提高门槛分数，以便只有得分非常高的家庭才有资格获得住房。

Shelter: There are a few different types of shelter that exist in San Francisco: • Emergency Shelter – these are shelters that are just for sleeping. They are “mat on the floor” shelters where families cannot enter until a certain time in the evening and must leave early in the morning. Possessions cannot be left in the shelter so this is not a great long-term solution for anyone but can be very helpful on a very short-term basis. Currently, the availability of this type of shelter is very limited for families. The only shelter of this type in San Francisco is Buena Vista Horace Mann, which is available only to families with at least one child enrolled in SFUSD (not available for those with just young children). Families do not need to go through Coordinated Entry to access this type of shelter. They can “self-refer.” This shelter tends to be at capacity each night. • General Emergency Shelter – Emergency shelter is available through Coordinated Entry and provides guaranteed accommodation to families for a limited amount of time (time limits were suspended during the COVID crisis and reinstating them is under discussion). Families have an assigned space (typically a room) and can store belongings on-site. They can also access the space throughout the day. Typically, these shelters, including Compass Family Shelter, provide private rooms. Facilities vary and have different features. For example, some may provide hot meals each day while others have available kitchen facilities for families to use. Case managers support shelter residents to address various aspects of stability, including finding housing solutions so that they can move on from shelter into something more permanent. Compass Family Shelter provides 22 families at a time with private rooms with private bathrooms, and a broad array of support services. • Transitional Housing – this is an option that is not very prevalent in San Francisco. Families can get referrals to Transitional Housing through the Coordinated Entry system. Stays are typically longer than with emergency shelter, varying by facility (6-18 months), and there are intensive services on-site to support families in reaching stability so that they will be prepared to stay housed after exit. Compass Clara House is a Transitional Housing property hosting 13 families at a time in private apartments and offering a broad array of support services. • Urgent Accommodation Vouchers – Compass currently offers the City’s only Urgent Accommodation Voucher program for families. With this program, families are placed into short term hotel stays when other shelter options aren’t available. Compass Urgent Accommodation Vouchers (CUAV) offers hotel stays with limited support services to 130 families at a time. Housing: There are also a few housing options that families may be offered (Compass offers all of these through Compass SF HOME and The Margot): • Rapid Rehousing – Families are provided with time-limited subsidies (frequently two or three years) covering the majority of their rent and allowing them to secure housing in units on the open market. Housing locators help families search for housing, negotiate with landlords, and move into their new homes. Once housed, families are assigned a case manager who provides support throughout the duration of the subsidy to help them increase their income and address other barriers, so they are able to afford to stay in their unit at the end of the subsidy period. A few notes about Rapid Rehousing: This is the option most frequently offered to families because it’s the most plentiful. Rapid rehousing is a great tool, but many families need more intensive support to be successful. Often families are given rapid rehousing because it’s the only available option, but they really need permanent supportive housing to stay stable. Families can be housed up to two hours from San Francisco, so about half of rapid rehousing families get placed outside of the City in locations such as Richmond, Vallejo, Antioch, Tracy, etc. • Site-Based Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) – Families are placed in units in dedicated buildings, such as The Margot, with support services onsite. They are able to stay in their units permanently, which offers families real, long-term stability and gives children a real sense of security. Families pay a portion of their income (one-third) for as long as they are in the unit. • Scattered-Site Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) – This is a hybrid between rapid rehousing and site-based PSH. Families receive a subsidy to get housed in a unit on the open market just like in rapid rehousing, but they will receive the subsidy forever. With this option, families don’t have to live in dedicated PSH buildings, giving them more flexibility. It’s a great option for families that are not likely to be able to significantly increase their income, but who don’t need as much active support as is provided when in a site-based program. • Housing Ladders – Through the housing ladder model, families that have been successful in site-based PSH for at least two years can move into scattered-site PSH with a housing subsidy. This makes room for families that need site-based support to be able to receive that, while continuing to support families that no longer need that level of support services but do need financial support with housing.

通过协调入境，无家可归的家庭（即流落街头、住在帐篷或车内）将获得优先安置。即便如此，无家可归的家庭仍可能需要等待很长时间才能进入庇护所。等待时间取决于系统中的可用房源，以及有多少家庭（由协调入境评分流程确定）有类似或更高的需求，同时寻求庇护。在恶劣天气下以及对于有医疗需求的家庭（包括孕妇）来说，这可能尤其令人担忧。最近，当庇护所不可用时，市政府开始为无家可归的家庭提供临时酒店住宿。但这些酒店通常也已满员。

旧金山有许多组织以各种方式为无家可归者群体提供服务。这非常幸运，因为需求巨大，但人口稠密的地区也造成了不少混乱。 需要注意的是，获得旧金山无家可归者和支持性住房部门资助的组织通常分为三个主要类别：个人成人、过渡期青少年和家庭。每个类别都有单独的协调准入系统，组织通常专注于一个类别。一些大型组织，包括天主教慈善机构和救世军，在多个系统中运营，服务于多个群体。 旧金山还有许多其他支持无家可归家庭的机构，包括但不限于汉密尔顿家庭、拉斐尔之家、无家可归者产前计划、多洛雷斯街社区服务和天主教慈善机构。Compass 通过多种方式与我们的姊妹组织合作，包括与无家可归者紧急服务提供者协会 (HESPA) 合作开展倡导工作，该协会致力于倡导无家可归者的需求。此外，随着机会的出现，我们还会与其他机构合作开展特殊项目。例如，我们正在与姊妹机构汉密尔顿家庭 (Hamilton Families) 合作，为客户开展一项激动人心的多年期随机对照试验，以探索“保障基本收入” (Guarantee Basic Income)。

Of course, there is no one experience of childhood homelessness. Some common themes include feelings of a lack of safety and security, hunger, and stress. Children in homeless families get sick more often than their housed peers and have more chronic illnesses like asthma. Children who have experienced or are experiencing homelessness are likely to have more unmet behavioral health and developmental needs than their housed peers. Older children miss more school, change schools with greater frequency, and are more likely to be behind in school due to lost instruction time. Even when parents can shield their children from many of the harsh realities of homelessness, they are dealing with a level of stress that most of us will never experience, and that stress has a way of trickling down to the children. Consistent stress can make it difficult for parents to be fully emotionally available for their kids, causing further challenges. When kids get a safe place to stay, the relief and the joy is palpable. Getting their own bed (and sometimes their own room!) is a huge milestone. This is what keeps many of us doing this work and is why we believe so strongly that every child deserves a safe and stable home. The transformation kids go through once they are housed is often profound.