The Real Reason Why Cities Don’t Do More to Address Homelessness

In 2016, I started working in local government in San Rafael, a medium-sized city located in Marin County, CA (the suburban community immediately north of the Golden Gate Bridge).

A few years into that position, local housing advocates began demanding that the City and County create a permanent homeless shelter.

Over the previous 10 winters, the local faith-based community had organized a program called the Rotating Emergency Shelter Team (REST). Congregations took turns providing overnight…