The sun is out but the wind is icy and carries the smell of urine from Market Street to the Civic Center steps. A homeless man burrows into his raggedy blanket; a mass of unkempt brown hair is barely visible among the covers. People in business suits pass by unaware that a body is curled at their feet, hungry and alone. Walking through San Francisco’s Civic Center buildings is a man on his lunch break and a on mission.
This 24-year-old in his navy zip up hooded sweatshirt, tight blue jeans and $3 Berkeley flea market shoes, is like many in the city who feel compassion for the homeless. He would love to do more than just tell them there is a place they can go to sleep besides the streets. He wants to give them more than just food or money for cigarettes and liquor. And he does. Harjit Gill spends his days listening, giving guidance and setting up connections for the homeless in the city. They confide their problems to him and he helps them start over.

Gill is a sociology major working as a mental health specialist for a non-profit called Episcopal Community Services (ECS). Although he has only worked there since January, he has been involved in the “mental health social work world” since he was 18.

“It’s the only job I’ve ever been able to hold down and be a big fan of,” Gill says smiling.

He sports a fully grown in, thick black beard that he keeps short and trim. When he smiles, bright white teeth gleam from his hairy face and his eyes sparkle. He’s a regular at the cozy Mediterranean restaurant where he chooses to grab lunch. Ordering a vegan dish and orange juice, Gill acts like he has all the time in the world, even though he’s due back at work for training at one. His hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sanctuary, which is located on 8th and Howard Streets in the South of Market. With over 7,000 homeless people in San Francisco based on the Homeless Count Report of 2001, and with numbers increasing, shelters like the Sanctuary are key to helping the homeless survive.

Homeless shelters are not free-for-alls. The Department of Mental Health in San Francisco has a structured and well organized system to assign people beds in shelters. People looking for a place to sleep can go to any of the resource centers throughout the city, where they are registered in the computer and told which shelter has room for them. Rather than having to roam from shelter to shelter not knowing if space is available. Once at a shelter, the homeless can stay for up to 90 days. Gill is assigned clients according to their bed number and sets up a meeting.

Because Gill can’t disclose the details of his clients, he gives a hypothetical situation of someone he might come across: a 40-year-old man who is a recovering heroin addict, a methadone user and wants to detoxify. He has a long history of depression and suicidal thoughts, but wants to get his life together.

“So let’s say that’s where someone’s at,” Gill says. “My goal is to help them build an action plan to get their life together and I’ve got 90 days to do it.” Gill, who is of East Indian descent, speaks with a strong voice, passionate about the work he does.

Whether someone needs help finding housing, clothes, or job training, Gill directs people where they need to go. Some may suffer from depression or post traumatic stress disorder, be recovering drug addicts, or just need guidance.
“I don’t make a diagnosis,” says Gill, his black eyes intent behind dark, square frames. “I work with a therapist who can help me decipher what peoples’ issues are.”
Through more training, Gill will be able to assess someone’s mental health on his own. But until then, he’s mastering the art of connecting people to the right resource. More temperamental clients will come further along in his training.

Dr. Jeffrey Kaye, a local psychologist with his own practice, says mental health problems in the homeless can be related to the stresses of living on the street. “Having no stable life structure can break down psychological defenses, making a homeless person susceptible to mental health issues,” he says.

Although mental health centers are throughout the city, homeless don’t always utilize the facilities, Kaye adds. “More social workers than psychologists are helping the homeless these days,” he says, “and for some who end up in jail, they receive mental health care there.”

Another perspective came from an SF State clinical counselor, Dr. Derethia DuVal from the Counseling Psychological Services Center. She says that 75 percent of homeless have mental health issues because many are veterans of war suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder with no place to go. DuVal also says that when Ronald Reagan was governor, he cut a program that provided homeless with mental health issues - that’s when the homeless population increased. “Instead of being able to live in apartments with rent subsidized by the state, the mentally ill were thrown into the streets,” says DuVal. “Shelters today are overcrowded, nasty and dirty. No one wants to sleep there.”

The day that started sunny and windy turns overcast as it begins to drizzle. Gill takes half of his lunch to go. Around the corner from the restaurant he sees a sleeping homeless man. He leaves the bag of food beside the man who doesn’t move or wake up when Gill says, “here you go,” in a kind voice. He continues strolling the streets as the drizzle turns to rain, knowing the man will be grateful when he wakes up.

As an anti-capitalist living in a capitalist world, Gill began social work because he didn’t like what was happening as a result of it. “People look at each other as commodities,” Gill begins. “We call each other only when we need something. We have to reexamine and rebuild our relationships from the ground up if we really want them to mean anything.”

Gill blames society for problems like obsessive compulsive disorder and depression.
“We live in a society that values perfection and requires you to adhere to a really strict way of living. If you can’t do it, people criticize you and insecurities develop. If we lived in a more loving society that positively reinforced people, we wouldn’t have as many mental health issues. All these things are linked to the way we live.” Gill takes a breath and pauses, almost reabsorbing his thoughts. “So that’s how I got into mental health care,” he sighs. “That, and the decent pay and they hire kids like me with tattoos.”

Unfortunately for Gill, things get more complicated. Although he loves his work, he feels like his job is to make sure that “rich people don’t see homeless people.” Most of San Francisco’s shelters are downtown because that’s where most homeless are. As Gill suggests, it would be ideal if there were more low income, section eight and veteran housing instead of shelters.

“We throw peanuts at the poor and give handouts to the rich,” Gill explains, his humanitarian side shining through. “And it’s hard for me because I don’t like bureaucracy or institutions that aren’t democratic. Yet, social services like [ECS] aren’t democratic and I have no say in the policies they develop.”

DuVal would agree with Gill. She says that the mental health issue among homeless can be addressed if we stop putting the homeless in jail and taking money from mental health facilities. “We need to redefine the mental health care system and stop beating down on the homeless,” says DuVal. “We need a new paradigm, a new perspective and a more compassionate society that doesn’t respect money, power and access.”

Gill relates back to an old story that encompasses both his work and life. There’s a man walking along the beach and hundreds of starfish are washed up on shore. They are going to “dry and die” as Gill puts it. So the man starts picking up starfish, and throwing them back into the ocean every couple steps. Someone walks up to him and says, “What are you doing? You’re not going to save all the starfish. You’re not going to make a difference.” And the man says, “Well I made a difference in this one,” as he throws another starfish back in the ocean.

Gill believes that if people, like the man saving the starfish, can make even the smallest impact in the world, it would be better than making none. Then maybe a few more starfish and a few more homeless people could be saved.

(i)After two months of employment at the Sanctuary, Gill was fired.(i)