U.S: San Francisco's Housing Crisis Leaves Int’l Students Vulnerable to 'Homeless Residents
In San Francisco, the ongoing housing crisis is creating a precarious situation for international students who fear becoming "homeless residents." With skyrocketing rents and a dwindling supply of affordable housing, many students are struggling to secure stable accommodations. As demand for housing outpaces supply, international students—often on limited budgets—are facing increased competition for available units, leading to anxiety and uncertainty about their living situations.
The situation is exacerbated by a lack of government intervention and resources dedicated to helping students navigate the challenging housing landscape. Many students report having to resort to temporary or substandard living arrangements, further heightening their stress and impacting their academic performance.
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The situation is exacerbated by a lack of government intervention and resources dedicated to helping students navigate the challenging housing landscape. Many students report having to resort to temporary or substandard living arrangements, further heightening their stress and impacting their academic performance.
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NewsTranscript
00:00San Francisco is known to be the tech hub of the world.
00:10It houses some of the most iconic places like the Golden Gate Bridge, Palace of Fine Arts
00:18and its skyscraping buildings.
00:22And every year, international students come to the city for higher studies.
00:28According to SF State's Office of International Program, 1,035 students enroll at this campus
00:36for the spring of 2023.
00:39While they enjoy their studies and most things about the city excite them, many encounter
00:46an issue they weren't expecting.
00:50I saw SF in videos, YouTube, Instagram, and it was quite different than what I imagined.
01:00And when I came here, I had no clue homelessness was this critical, so it was quite a surprise
01:07for me.
01:08In terms of homelessness in San Francisco, it's very unprecedented and unique simply
01:12because San Francisco is known for having the most billionaires in the world in one
01:21city and still has this prominent situation with homelessness.
01:27Many Americans don't like to talk about the fear that develops around a homeless resident
01:33simply because they don't want to sound insensitive or rude.
01:39Experts say if you're afraid, bringing it into the open is actually a good thing.
01:46I think if people are afraid of what they're experiencing on the street, they should talk
01:51about it.
01:53Talk about it with people that understand and that know what's going on in the street
01:57because sometimes situations are dangerous.
02:00Homelessness is a multifaceted issue.
02:04It's not just one thing with one answer.
02:09Most people's homelessness looks different than the person next to them.
02:13So we have stereotypes.
02:16Sometimes those stereotypes are true.
02:18Sometimes they're not true.
02:19San Francisco has a number of different problems that are all associated with homelessness.
02:27So behavioral health, drug use, and people living on the streets.
02:32And they're not always homeless.
02:35So people using on the streets may be engaging with their community, but they may actually
02:39have a home.
02:41So what we see on the streets, there's a percentage of it that's actual people experiencing homelessness.
02:47And there's a percentage of it that is very much something else.
02:50While it may sound dehumanizing to homeless residents, there is fear present and many
02:56people can relate to it, especially international students.
03:00My first reaction was, I was just overwhelmed because, I don't know why, but I think they
03:10make the atmosphere of the city very overwhelmed and tense.
03:17Definitely feel scared and I had a lot of anxiety at the beginning because I don't know
03:22what they're going to do to me.
03:24And not all of them are attractive, but I'm pretty sure some of them are.
03:29I'm scared of homeless people, because I feel that their behavior is quite unpredictable.
03:36And when you are around them, you just feel that anything can happen.
03:41This is Delhi city barge station and I commute every day over here.
03:47This basically, from where I go to my university or anywhere else, and this is also the place
03:53where an incident took place, where I encountered a homeless person.
03:58I was waiting for my bus on the barge station and there was a group of homeless residents.
04:06One of them was severely under drugs influence and what happened is, he came up to me, he
04:13started slurring and he started sledging and he was basically commenting in a very racial
04:20way.
04:21He was very inappropriate in his way, he was very offensive.
04:27And I was pretty scared about that and I didn't know what to do at that point of time.