Where things stand on SF's homeless encampment sweeps
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An unhoused person at an encampment earlier this month. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
San Francisco continues to grapple with fallout over its escalation of homeless encampment sweeps a month after Gov. Gavin Newsom urged California cities to begin clearing tents.
The big picture: Protests have broken out since the city began ramping up sweeps, with many homeless advocates criticizing officials for focusing on enforcement and relocation rather than housing.
State of play: Mayor London Breed's decision to prioritize relocation over shelter has been swept up in controversy from the beginning.
- San Francisco's Journey Home busing program does not require unhoused people to verify they have a home at their final destination, unlike the city's previous relocation programs. They need only prove some sort of connection, such as a previous address.
- Data from Journey Home, which launched last September, shows that 27% of 92 people were sent to other California counties. Top destinations include Los Angeles, Sacramento and Humboldt.
- Meanwhile, 10% went to Oregon, the second-most-popular destination.
What they're saying: "While the homeless department insists that [Journey Home] will not be offered coercively, an interaction with a police officer, who is not required to offer a homeless person shelter before arresting and incarcerating them, is inherently coercive," Mission Local notes.
Friction point: The city's busing efforts are also facing pushback from Humboldt County.
- A draft letter to Breed from the county's board of supervisors highlights concerns that the program "simply shifts the person to another county" when it fails to verify "access to housing, family support or employment."
- Yes, but: Humboldt itself bused unhoused people to San Francisco and other Bay Area cities between October and March, the San Francisco Standard reports.
What we're watching: Aaron Peskin, who is challenging Breed in the mayoral race, announced this week his homelessness response plan, which would expand the shelter system so 2,000 fewer people have to sleep outside every night.
- He said that if elected, he'd also expand rent control to about 40% more San Francisco apartments that currently don't have it and create a fund for emergency loans for people facing eviction.