Budget cuts and a daunting economy have left San Francisco's homeless with few places to turn to for services.

"I do believe that there will be some nonprofits who will not survive the next two years in their current iteration," said Sherilyn Adams, executive director of Larkin Street Youth Services.

State budget cuts have resulted in a five percent reduction in funding to homeless shelters, according to Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director at the Coalition for Homelessness.

San Francisco will reduce shelter and employment service funding by $2.8 million, according to the city controller's office.

Larkin Street Youth, a leading provider in housing, medical, social and educational aid to homeless youth ages 12 to 24, has seen an increased level of need since last year. Over 3,600 youths were assisted through the program this year, compared to 3,500 last year.
LSY is coping with $800,000 in budget cuts from state, city and private donors.

"There have been reductions in services offered to youth, both at Larkin Street and all youth-serving agencies," Adams said.

The loss of funding has forced LSY to reduce HIV prevention, outreach and operational costs, and to eliminate 11 positions.

Runaway and homeless youth at LSY are seeing their wages and hours cut. The California State University system is affecting students by only allowing fall admission.

"It is much harder to get into college, and with state cuts, youth cannot enter into state schools mid-year and have to wait until the next full school year starts," Adams said.

Compass Community Services, a nonprofit organization that helps families overcome homelessness and poverty, is also seeing an increase in the number of families seeking services.

The Connecting Point Program at Compass, which manages the waiting list for all families seeking shelter in San Francisco, has seen a surge in the number of needy families. Over a year ago there were about 80 families looking for shelter. Now there are almost 200 families vying for the 60 shelter rooms available citywide.

"The increase is due to the economy," said Lisa Dyas, events and communications manager for CCS. "Many of the parents that we work with hold jobs in the services and construction industries, which of course were some of the first jobs to dry up."

Families have had to resort to desperate measures after losing jobs or being evicted for failing to pay the rent.

"A woman might stay with an abusive partner to ensure that her kids at least have a roof over their heads, or they might stay in their car," Dyas said.

The Coalition on Homelessness is continuing its efforts to fight for shelters to remain open.

"We just had a major fight in June over local cuts to shelters, including proposals to close a shelter at 150 Otis, close the women's floor at Next Door and close three big shelters during the day," Friedenbach said.

They were successful in fighting the local cuts, but the women's floor at Next Door is still not open. One shelter that received money did not open beds to free access during the day.

For now, LSY and other shelters around San Francisco will have to find ways to cope with less funding while still trying to help the excess number of people who need services.

"It is hard to predict what the future holds," Adams said. "We have kept our budget flat this year compared to last year and will be closely monitoring to see what additional reductions will need to be made."