Despite facing a budget deficit, San Francisco Mayor London Breed is looking to allocate more than $692 million toward helping the city’s large homeless population.
Breed’s budget proposal includes investments to add 600 new shelter beds, and 545 affordable housing slots specifically for the formerly unhoused. The city will also create 825 slots for prevention, providing resources and eviction protections for those at risk of becoming homeless.
The city is facing a $780 million deficit, but Breed says the city’s sometimes-controversial investments in homelessness are seeing results.
“Despite the challenges around homelessness, between 2019 and 2022, no other Bay Area county saw a reduction in homelessness,” Breed said Tuesday while speaking at an interim housing community in the city. “San Francisco saw a 15% reduction in unsheltered homelessness, and a 3.5% reduction in overall homelessness.”
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The latest homeless census in San Francisco found the city reported a 3.5% decline to around 7,800 people.
The nearly-$700 million toward homelessness is just a section of Mayor Breed’s full budget proposal, which is set to go ahead of the Board of Supervisors in June.
Tuesday, the city also launched a $3 million pilot program for a new Homeless Engagement Assistance Response Team, also known as HEART. The community-based crisis team will help respond to non-emergency and non-medical calls that would usually go to 911.
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Mayor Breed praised the team, saying, “Addressing homelessness isn’t just about adding new shelter or housing – it's also about meeting people where they are to get them connected to those resources.”
These investments are part of the city’s 5-year plan to reduce homelessness by 50%.
