While Mayor Ed Lee vowed last month that up to 1,300 temporary shelter beds might be added during this season's El Niño weather pattern, by the Examiner's count just 75 have been deployed. For some, that's cause for criticism, while others have defended the situation as dependent on precipitation.

"[The City] has not needed to activate the temporary El Niño beds yet this winter,” the paper quotes Human Services Agency head Trent Rhorer. "The plan is to activate [beds] based on the severity (temperature, duration, amount of precipitation) of the forecast by the National Weather Service... [aside from] an extreme report of massive amounts of rain wind and chill I don't believe we will ever activate 1,300 beds all at once.”

Nevertheless, Coalition on Homelessness executive Director Jennifer Friedenbach is pouring on the complaints. “We think that when the El Niño storms hit, that they should open up the shelter beds,” she said. “Even if they open up all of them, it will still be only a small percentage of the total number of people on the street," Friendebach added. “They should have been available all week. It’s been raining all week,” she observed.

“Despite our best efforts in getting homeless people to engage and get off the street, a lot of them say no,” Rhorer reportedly defended his department's actions. "And they especially say no if it’s only been one day of rain.”

Non-government groups like the Gubbio project have added their support to those experiencing homelessness in San Francisco at this particular time of need. That group, which opens church pews and provides sleeping pads to the homeless during the day, has recently expanded to the Mission District.

Related: Watch This Inspiring Mini-Doc Series About Activists Helping Homeless San Franciscans