Homelessness

“Likewise, many advocates from the recovery community I’ve spoken with are comfortable with it. It’s my understanding that SFMMS is also comfortable with it and is prepared to withdraw its opposition to the legislation. All that being said, the final, final wordsmithing is still being done with our city attorney, the mayor’s office, and HSH.”

“When I think about a Good Neighbor Program, I’m actually thinking about the people whose minds and hearts have changed because they’ve connected or understood better all the challenges that go into addressing homelessness in this incredibly expensive city that is hard to do.”

“Clearly, some of them becomes a shelter or housing that is not quite permanent, but then clearly can turn into clinical treatment in those spaces.”

“There was an article in the Chronicle that sort of overgeneralized one person’s experience with no context for the fact that we know that homelessness overall is a racial inequity problem.”

“It is May. Welcome to our Oversight Commission. May is Foster Care Awareness Month and it’s Mental Health Awareness Month. These recognitions are deeply connected to the work before us. We know that far too many young people who experience foster care involvement also face housing instability and homelessness, particularly as they transition to adulthood.”

“You had 294 folks that left the list because they did not need HSH housing, and I was wondering to what degree do we know if they got housing elsewhere, or is it just we lost communication?”

“At 16, maybe a little bit more concerning. I mean, I think what I’m getting at here is the expectation that I have, and I think most residents have, which is that there has to be, as we take in individuals into shelter and care for them, there has to also be a plan and a path forward for them.”

“For HSH, I’m— great news with expansions and so forth. I just want to reiterate something we passed as a recommendation at our last meeting, and that any time-limited subsidy provide good assessment of the clients prior to their time limit, with creation of options that they may have so that we don’t have people leaving for homelessness.”

“My apologies, colleagues. Colleagues, I’m also requesting a fiscal and policy analysis regarding the anticipated expiration of federal emergency housing voucher funding and broader instability in housing choice vouchers, Section 8 resources, and the potential role of the City and County of San Francisco in preventing displacement and homelessness through local investment from the Controller’s Office and the BLA.”

“It’s just demoralizing watching you doing the work because for every families that you place for permanent home, 2, 3, 4, and more families became homeless during the very same period of time.”

“We had a staff member who found herself and her family homeless. This person worked for us earlier this year, a survivor of domestic violence.”

“Colleagues, firstly, I just want to say I do believe in having more abstinent or sober housing as an option for unhoused people who are in recovery from substance use disorder.”

“The large vehicle outreach program was listed as a prevention program. So I guess I’m just curious why it’s being listed as prevention if folks that are, you know, at least according to, you know, when you do the PIT count and stuff, people living in their vehicles are considered as experiencing homelessness already.”

“The status quo is insane. The status quo in which so many folks living in permanent supportive housing developments are consigned to deal with the most outrageous behavior from their neighbors, and the managers of those buildings are unable to do anything about it because of government policy.”

“In terms of DPH, are all the shelters operating in trauma-informed care? Do they get trained, the staff, in trauma-informed care, are we providing those services?”

“I mean, that’s— we’re a homeless oversight commission and we have homes that are vacant.”

“First, let’s go with the city-owned homeless service sites. 1001 Polk Street and 525 5th Street together represent 57% of the city’s adult emergency shelter capacity, and both are in the final stages of significant renovation work— or yes, significant renovation work.”

“That is Aisha Wahab’s bill, the Keeping Californians Housed Act of 2026. The best way to prevent homelessness is to prevent people from being homeless.”

“Homelessness is one of the most difficult and consequential challenges facing San Francisco. The city has built a large system to respond to that challenge, one that relies heavily on nonprofit partners to provide housing, shelter, outreach, and supportive services to thousands of people every year.”

“Those that were against, you know, everybody can be judgmental. Nobody wanted it in their neighborhood, right? You know, anybody could wind up homeless, but some people wouldn’t want that.”

“Why is PSH money management not in the prevention category? As well as why— what is the justification for using prevention dollars for the RV program if folks are already experiencing homelessness?”

“Also, I think both budgets, both proposed by DPH and the HSH budget, meet the moment right now.”

“The city needs the tools, staffing, and coordination to intervene when a dangerous dog is identified and to prevent these incidents in the first place. Today I’m introducing a resolution to strengthen dog safety protocols at city-funded shelter, transitional housing, and supportive housing sites— places that should be safe for residents, neighbors, workers, and visitors.”

“Regarding that issue, And this is just subjective, extremely subjective, but we have noticed on many mornings a small group of people who appear homeless, you know, heading back into, you know, the main part of TI.”

“It is also about management. And I think when we look at at addressing homelessness going forward, we have a duty, and I believe the commission has a duty, to continue to build trust with the people of San Francisco.”

“It could be better, but having blight on the street, personally, I don’t feel safe. And that’s simple as that. And recently, I do recognize that AutoZone or the— actually, the Walgreens site has started to have encampment on the lot.”