With more unhoused people seeking shelter in trains and stations, BART isn’t the only transit agency delving into homeless services.
Historically, BART has had one job — getting riders from Point A to Point B. Now, the transit agency is taking on a new, uncharacteristic role — helping the region’s thousands of homeless residents find shelter, food and additional aid.
The number of unhoused people counted in downtown San Francisco BART stations increased 20% in the second quarter of last year compared to the year before — with an average tally of about three dozen a month. BART isn’t alone in those struggles. While it’s the first transit agency in the Bay Area to take such a significant leap into social services, others in the state are making similar moves. In Los Angeles County, LA Metro has teams of outreach workers looking for unhoused people to help and the agency sometimes uses its own funds to pay for rent, job training and medical bills for those in need.
At the Coliseum station, Moore and Wiltz saw a man talking to himself and told him they could get him into a shelter that night. The man smiled. He did want help, he said. But soon his attention wandered and he was once again responding to the voices in his head. After several gentle attempts, all Moore and Wiltz had been able to coax out of him was his name. Eventually, he walked away, ripping off his shoes and socks as he went.Nine out of 10 times, people refuse their help.
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