The survey shows that the precariously housed people, which it defines as "chronically homeless", have significantly higher rates of drug and alcohol abuse than

The survey shows that the precariously housed people, which it defines as "chronically homeless", have significantly higher rates of drug and alcohol abuse than the general homeless population (pages 52 - 53). Obviously higher rents are making it harder to get out of homelessness (and the survey acknowledges that many times), but they are not the reason most of the chronic homeless ended up being homeless in the first place, by their own account: "Nearly one-third of chronically homeless respondents reported alcohol or substance abuse as the primary cause of their homelessness; this was in contrast to 14% among non-chronic respondents. Fewer chronically homeless respondents reported economic factors as the primary cause of their homelessness. For example, 19% reported job loss as a primary cause compared to 27% of non-chronic respondents." According to the survey (same pages), the chronically homeless are less likely to be in shelters and accept government assistance than the general homeless population. They therefore comprise a significant number of the homeless seen on the streets. Also, according to the survey, among the chronically homeless in San Francisco, there were only 18 families in 2015 (page 50).