In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, San Francisco placed over 2,300 people into Shelter in Place Hotels. This was the largest number of rooms in terms of homeless population of any City in the country — a massive logistical public health undertaking and achievement, and also an expensive one.
Recently there have been a number of inaccurate statements made about both the costs associated with this program and our plan to responsibly transition the program while moving people currently in the hotels into other types of housing. Let’s go through what the facts are and our plan.
Despite what some people have been saying publicly, no one is being ‘evicted’ from the hotels and sent back to the streets, and it is irresponsible for people to throw that term around so loosely. We are transitioning the hotel program over a period of months precisely so that we can connect all of the residents in hotels with housing placements. …
This summer we saw the world rise up and take to the streets. People were calling for justice and change. And while a lot of that focus was rightfully on addressing police violence against black people, it was also about changing our entire system to make it more equitable. To lift up communities that had been left behind.
To do that work, which I’ve been committed to doing since long before I’ve been in office, we need to empower our young people. We need to give them real opportunities to learn, to thrive, and to find their way. …
COVID-19 has made it clear how critical housing is for a healthy city, especially among people facing homelessness. In response to the pandemic, we’ve opened more than 20 hotel sites with over 2,600 rooms for unsheltered people who are vulnerable to COVID to isolate and shelter indoors. This undertaking is at a scale that is unprecedented in the City’s history. Hundreds of City employees and thousands of nonprofit staff funded by the City are working around the clock every day to make it happen.
But these hotels are a temporary solution for what we know is a long-term need. As we keep making progress on reopening, it is critical that the thousands of people who are currently sheltered in hotels don’t end up back on the streets and that we don’t give up on people who are still outside. That’s why, in the midst of this emergency response and despite our budget challenges, we have continued our long-term planning to provide housing solutions for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco. …
We’re developing alternatives to end the use of police in response to behavioral health and other non-violent calls for service
Overview of our Public Safety Reform Roadmap
In June, I announced my vision to fundamentally change the nature of policing in San Francisco. To address the structural inequities that too many in our City experience, in particular our African-American community, we need fundamental change and reinvestment. The criminal justice system can no longer be our answer to social problems. We have to reimagine a public safety system in which race does not influence or determine the outcome.
My Roadmap focused on four broad priorities to achieve this vision
- Ending the use of police in response to non-violent activity
- Addressing police bias and strengthening accountability
- Demilitarizing the police
- Promoting economic justice. …
Businesses throughout San Francisco have been hit hard by COVID-19, and many were already struggling to survive before the pandemic. Despite the challenges over the past six months, and in the midst of so much fear, uncertainty, and anxiety about COVID-19, business owners and their employees have pushed forward creative solutions that allow them to keep operating, and help keep our commercial corridors alive. As a City, we have worked hard to support businesses throughout it all, with nearly $30 million in funding for paid sick leave, grants, and zero-interest loans, and with programs like Shared Spaces.
Thriving Commercial Corridors
When we first launched the Shared Spaces program, restaurants were still only allowed to offer pick-up and delivery and so it focused on adding more loading zones and space for people to wait in line. We have come a long way since then, with many restaurants using the program with seating areas in front of their storefront and offering outdoor dining. …
As Mayor of San Francisco, I’m tasked with presenting and signing a balanced two-year budget every year for the City. While the budget is the most important legislation that we take up every year, it often does not receive the attention it deserves. That’s not surprising, however, because it is an incredibly complicated process and an incredibly complicated document.
This year, with the COVID-19 pandemic drastically impacting our economy, we faced a $1.5 billion shortfall. In the budget I released on July 31, we closed this shortfall while also making key investments in the most pressing issues facing our city, including protecting public health, addressing homelessness, providing support for people suffering from mental health issues, and reinvesting in our Black community that has been underserved for generations. …
The following is a letter sent in response to legislation regarding the use of hotel rooms for homeless residents during the Covid-19 pandemic:
In San Francisco, we have long faced serious challenges in managing the crisis of homelessness on our streets. Every day we provide shelter and care to fifteen thousand people, whether in our permanent supportive housing units, in our Navigation Centers, or through direct outreach to those living on our streets. But we all know that isn’t enough. We have a chronic housing shortage. We have people struggling with mental health and substance use issues out on our streets. …
I want to thank all the frontline workers who have been working day-and-night to support our community during this incredibly difficult time. They are in hospitals and clinics throughout the city, providing top-notch care to those in need and working around the clock to fight COVID-19, and we are endlessly grateful for their service.
Earlier this week, we announced a Public Health Order requiring people to stay home except for essential needs. On Thursday, Governor Newsom announced a complementary statewide shelter-in-place order for California. Now, the vast majority of residents in San Francisco and the State of California are required to stay home except for essential needs. …
Since the beginning of the novel coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) in China, San Francisco has been preparing for the eventuality that it will arrive in our city. Protecting public health is our top priority, and the steps that we are taking are based off of recommendations from public health officials.
This page contains an ongoing list of the steps that the City is taking to keep people safe and support our City through this challenging time.
Resources:
COVID-19 Information and Facts
All public health order information and the latest recommendations are posted on SFDPH’s COVID-19 webpage. …
San Francisco has approximately 8,000 people experiencing homelessness on a given night. Of the 8,000, 1,200 are Transitional Age Youth ages 18 to 24. Sadly, youth homelessness is an issue throughout the country. Across the U.S., one in ten people aged 12 to 25 will experience homelessness in a given year.This is unacceptable and needs to change. Our young people need safe, permanent housing, so they can focus on their education or job, live healthy lives, and pursue their interests — without fear of where they’ll sleep at night.
We have a citywide goal to cut youth homelessness in half by 2023. We’re making progress on that goal, and the number of homeless youth has decreased by over 20% since 2015. But we still have more work to do to get people off the streets and on the path to permanent housing, and prevent homelessness from occurring in the first place. …
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