San Francisco advocates and city officials met Monday afternoon to tackle issues of homeless shelter access for the city's 6,544 street people.  That tally is the city's official count.

Homeless people say they have to line up for hours, often beginning very early in the morning, in order to reserve one of the 1,134 shelter beds available in San Francisco, reports T.J. Johnston, a reporter with KQED news associate San Francisco Public Press. Johnson said the situation is toughest on  elderly and disabled homeless populations.

"Particularly if you're tired and weary from having to do the whole process just the day before -- it could wear a person down," he said.

Bevan Dufty, director of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement for San Francisco, leads the task force, which will offer its solutions to the problem in September.