San Francisco mayor unveils plan to 'fundamentally transform' homelessness and addiction reponses

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie on Monday unveiled a plan that he said will help break cycles of homelessness and addiction by "fundamentally transforming" the city’s health and homelessness response.

Streamlines services

What they're saying:

The new executive order, called "Breaking the Cycle", outlines immediate actions and longer-term reforms in a city where about two people die every day from drug overdoses and more than 8,000 people experience homelessness a night.

Within the first 100 days, Lurie said his administration will streamline moving people from the street into shelters and permanent housing, including launching a new model for outreach teams and reforming how people move people through the city's system.

While the plan calls for getting people off the streets and connected with the services they need, Lurie said it will also "keep our public spaces safe and clean… and hold city hall and our partners accountable for results." 

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Within six months, Lurie said he plans to add more beds in shelters and partner with nonprofits to improve services.

And within one year, Lurie said he will leverage state and federal funding to expand and improve health and homelessness services, reform the city's data and technology systems and review the organizational structure of the city's health, homelessness, human services, and housing programs. 

Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who represents the South of Market area, said he backs the plan.

"It's a well sequenced strategy that's focused on the right priorities," said Dorsey. "Getting people better, reclaiming the public realm and reversing years of perverse incentives that have done more to exacerbate problems than solve them."

Advocates say plan won't work

The other side:

Jennifer Friedenbach from the Coalition on Homelessness said Lurie is using the same methods his predecessors used. Friedenbach doesn't think they will be successful.

She said the mayor's office needs to follow evidence-based methods to address homelessness and mental health issues.

"We're doing a lot of things in San Francisco that are working well," said Friedenbach. "A lot of success stories. But, there's just not enough of them. So, we would prefer that the mayor look at the things that are working well rather than the same tried and failed strategies of the past."

Byron Thompson works for City Vitals, helping to get people who need it into housing. He said conditions on the streets seem to be getting better, and said treatment programs are critical going forward.

"I feel like what we should do in our city is provide more programs for more mental health, because that's all it is. When people are addicted, it's all in your head," said Thompson.