San Francisco adds 430 shelter beds for homeless residents

San Francisco had 7,754 people experiencing homelessness during its most recent count in 2022. About 4,400 of those individuals were living unsheltered, meaning sleeping outside in tents or on sidewalks rather than in a shelter or another form of temporary housing. 

The tally showed a 15% decrease in unsheltered homelessness compared to 2019. That change was largely attributed to pandemic-related initiatives to find temporary and permanent housing for people during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as The City's shelter-in-place hotels which served nearly 3,700 people. 

The program had up to 25 hotels activated at its peak and has been working to transfer residents into other permanent and transitional housing as the pandemic has eased. Just over 700 people remain in the hotels, according to a public dashboard on the program.

In addition to the shelter beds announced Tuesday, 592 shelter beds that were closed during the pandemic due to social distancing concerns will also reopen. 

Although cases of COVID-19 continue to persist at high levels in San Francisco and beyond, city officials are preparing to resume semi-congregate settings. The units at 711 Post will include a mix of single, double and quadruple beds per room. 

"We are working tirelessly to continue expanding shelter, housing and supportive services throughout San Francisco,” said Breed. “The openings of these two new sites add hundreds of new beds for people to transition off our streets into shelter, and get them on a path to stable housing instead of camping in our neighborhoods. With each new facility we open, paths are being created that ultimately lead to safer, healthier lives for people on our streets.”

The announcement comes on the heels of efforts by the Board of Supervisors to increase temporary shelter availability in San Francisco. 

In June, supervisors voted to explore a policy called A Place for All that would ensure shelter bed access for every person sleeping outside or who otherwise needs one. But it would also give The City greater power to remove encampments and force people to move from sidewalks if they decline the offer. 

The idea has sparked backlash among housing rights advocates who assert that building more permanent and affordable housing is the most effective long-term way to reduce homelessness. 

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who proposed A Place for All, noted that temporary shelters are just one component of the city's strategy and that there's an urgent need to support those who are on the streets today. 

Other approaches San Francisco is deploying include tiny cabins, which are cheaper and faster to build but lack the infrastructure and long-term stability of traditional housing.

“These two new innovative programs, along with tiny cabins, safe sleep and a vehicle triage center, are critical in helping to meet the increasingly specialized needs for shelter in our community,” said San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing Director, Shireen McSpadden. “The mayor’s dynamic vision for new shelter expansion will meet people where they are at by giving people more diverse options for places to sleep inside and off the streets.”