Work to house veterans shows progress
HIGH POINT — Though it looks pretty rough and unfinished at the moment, the city's second tiny house development for veterans is just a few months from being ready for people to move in.
Scott Jones, the executive director of Tiny House Community Development, said he hopes the four one-bedroom and two two-bedroom houses on Smith Street north of Green Drive will begin renting in August.
'We're working really hard to get everything dried in,' he said, using the construction term for having all of the exteriors finished so the houses are protected from the weather.
As subcontractors then finish the interior work, a crew of 30 volunteers will come to landscape the half-acre development, which in addition to the six houses includes a house built in 1927 that is being renovated into a community center that agencies serving veterans will be able to use for meetings with their clients, he said.
Tiny House Community Development also is still trying to raise $400,000 to build two three-bedroom houses on the site that would offer respite care for veterans discharged from hospitals who don't yet have a place to go, Jones said.
None of the houses are intended for long-term housing, only to get veterans off the street and working toward a more long-term housing solution, Jones said.
The construction of this tiny house community followed a 10-house development completed in 2021 on Hay Street, and a lot more are needed, Jones said — there are currently more than 60 veterans in Guilford County on various agencies' lists of those in need of housing.
The Smith Street development took a while to get off the ground after the property for it was donated to Tiny House Community Development in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic was one factor, but a larger one was the condition of the property, Jones said. About 20 truckloads of debris and unsuitable soil was hauled out, more than 60 truckloads of fill dirt was hauled in, and thick pads of concrete were needed under the houses.
'We've gone over budget on this project,' he said. 'We'd get started and then realize we've got to raise more money.'
But while Jones was standing amid bare soil with construction debris all around, he vividly described the community he envisions occupying the property within a few months, including children and people of all backgrounds.
'You're taking a half acre and turning it into something diverse,' he said. 'It's going to be cool when all the flags are flying here.'
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The SPCA accepted 158 of the more than 2,800 dogs that came through the public shelter in 2024, a drop from more than 600 dogs in 2013, records obtained by the Chronicle show. Scarlett said one reason for the decrease is that many San Francisco dogs have medical or behavior issues or are larger breeds — though the SPCA also brings in large dogs from Central Valley shelters. After the Chronicle inquired about the decrease, a spokesperson for the SPCA said it had committed to taking at least five dogs per week in late April, higher than recent years. As of June 13, it had not hit that number regularly, but in some weeks took more than five, according to records. Central Valley collaboration The SPCA started working closely with Central Valley shelters in 2012, when it partnered with Stockton Animal Services, said Regina Moore, a spokesperson for the nonprofit. At the time, the Stockton shelter's live release rate was down to 32%, according to the SPCA. The organization said it helped boost the rate to 82% over five years by providing medical support, such as spay and neuter surgeries, and then moved on to work with other Central Valley shelters, including by bringing their animals to its adoption center. 'One thing that is unique about the S.F. SPCA is they do have the resources to help out in other areas,' said Allison Cardona, California state director for the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program. 'There is a critical need for veterinary spay/neuter across the state.' Drawing from a large network of shelters allows the SPCA to match 'more quickly adoptable' animals from rural and suburban areas with potential adopters in San Francisco, Moore said. San Francisco's public shelter has typically had a higher live release rate than Central Valley shelters, and the figure shot up during the pandemic, when pets were in demand. From the 2017 to 2023 fiscal years, the city's live release rate stayed above 90%, achieving what private shelters call 'no kill' status. However, the rate dropped from 91% to 88% in the fiscal year ending in June 2024, the lowest rate since 2013. That year, it euthanized 257 dogs, and the rate will probably drop to 87% this year, the shelter said. Angie Yen, a former SPCA employee of 12 years, said the nonprofit's drop in dog acceptances from the public shelter contributed to the rise in euthanasia rates locally. SPCA 'reduced their quota to something that works for them but just puts more responsibility on (San Francisco Animal Care and Control) to try to save those lives,' said Yen, who resigned in 2023 in part over what she described as disillusionment with the organization. Yen is now a registered veterinary technician, similar to a nurse, at the public shelter, and said she was speaking for herself. Yen and Chelsea Capaccio were among six former SPCA employees who told the Chronicle they think the nonprofit is putting too large a share of its resources into the Central Valley. 'They're so focused on this Central Valley expansion that they've forgotten that they're the San Francisco SPCA,' said Capaccio, who resigned as co-director of the organization's animal hospital in October over what she said was a personnel matter, after working there for three years. She acknowledged the challenges in the Central Valley, but said the organization should first meet the need of low-income San Franciscans to access veterinary care. Scarlett disagreed that SPCA has forgotten its roots and said her organization is focused on reducing the number of homeless pets, including by providing spay and neuter surgeries at a subsidized rate for San Francisco's public shelter, at a value of $500,000 per year — which Donohue said is an essential service. This year, it is providing an extra $50,000 toward those surgeries at Donohue's request, after the city cut the public shelter's budget. In San Francisco, 'We've seen a slip in the live release rate,' Scarlett said. 'What's happening in the Central Valley is even harder. We're finding buckets of puppies and kittens in orchards.' Trouble moving puppies On a tour of the San Francisco public shelter in March, Donohue noticed that a 5-month-old dog named Starburst had been there for six weeks. The pit bull and husky mix had endearing lopsided terrier ears and mismatched eyes — one blue, one brown. Volunteers brightened her day with walks, but she had resorted to throwing herself balls each morning. 'We're having trouble moving puppies out of the shelter,' Donohue said. The number of puppies was up 40% last year compared with before the pandemic, Donohue said. This year, 18% more dogs came into the shelter from January to May than during the same time period in 2024. Donohue said the public shelter typically does not euthanize 'adoptable' dogs like Starburst, meaning those without major behavioral or medical problems — that is, unless it and its partner shelters are completely full. Also, behavioral issues can get worse over time for animals in the shelter and put them on the euthanasia list. Another factor in rising euthanasia rates is that, in recent years, the shelter has received 60% more custody cases than it did before the pandemic, Donahue said. The cases mostly involve dogs that come to the shelter because their owners are incarcerated or in the hospital. The shelter is required to hold them for two weeks, rather than four days for strays, to give owners time to reclaim them, which fills up valuable kennel spots. 'The pipeline gets clogged, which reduces the number of options you have for getting out,' Donohue said. To find homes for its dogs, and some of its cats, the public shelter increasingly sends them to rescue organizations far afield. Last year, it transferred 89 dogs out of California and 141 out of the Bay Area, compared with 11 out of state and 39 out of the Bay Area in 2019, according to public records. Donohue said that many large dogs, such as huskies, go to rescue facilities in Lake Tahoe where they can roam more freely. And many stay in town, going to places such as Muttville Senior Dog Rescue. Animal shelters across California are facing overcrowding. Last year saw a 7% rise in stray dogs entering shelters in the state, while that number declined nationally, according to the nonprofit Shelter Animals Count. One of the reasons is probably the scarcity and high cost of veterinary care in the state, said Cardona of the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program, who manages a $50 million state grant program aimed at preventing euthanasia of treatable animals. The ultimate goal, Cardona said, is to keep animals within their own communities, with support from pet-inclusive housing policies or pet food pantries, such as those hosted by the organization Full Belly Bus. The nonprofit Vets in Vans provides low-cost and free veterinary care in front of Animal Care and Control. With a $150,000 state grant, it recently diverted close to 200 people from surrendering their animals there, said founder Tracy Huang. Donohue said people can help by donating to the nonprofit Friends of Animal Care and Control and by adopting local dogs from shelters instead of purchasing them online, where they often come from puppy mills in the Midwest. Starburst, at least, ended up being one of the lucky ones. Even after four months in the shelter, she stayed friendly and playful. In April, she left with a new family — and no longer has to throw balls to herself.
