San Francisco

San Francisco Mayor Unveils Plan to Halve Homelessness Within 5 Years

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San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Friday unveiled a new plan to halve the number of people living on city streets within five years.

"To get to a 50% reduction in unsheltered homelessness is ambitious," Breed said.

The plan involves the city's Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) and relies heavily on new homes and shelters that would need to be built throughout the city.

On Friday, Breed toured City Gardens to showcase some of the homes they plan to use.

"It's a beautifully new constructed 200-unit building that the city recently purchased as part of the state's home key project to convert from standard market rate housing into housing for families leaving homelessness," said Emily Cohen with HSH.

Early estimates suggest the plan could cost about $600 million.

"Part of it comes from of course our city budget," Breed said. "It's going to come from private dollars. It's going to come from state and federal dollars. It's how we’re going to reinvest our resources. I'll be clear, there's a lot of waste going on. Part of redirecting resources is making sure that we’re not spending money on a lot of the same failed programs."

The plan also includes a goal of making sure at least 85% of people who get help out of homelessness don't experience it again.

"I think it's absolutely doable, but it takes political will, and there is budget constraints this year in the city," Coalition on Homelessness Executive Director Jennifer Freidenbach said.

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