News Releases
The latest news and announcements from Mayor London N. Breed

Mayor Lee & Supervisors Announce Additional $28.9 Million Investment in Supportive Housing & Services for Homeless Residents

New Funding Will Provide More Supportive Housing Units & Social Services for Homeless to Get & Stay Housed & Continue the City’s Navigation Center

Mayor Edwin M. Lee and members of the Board of Supervisors today announced $28.9 million in new funding over the next two years to support the homeless, including the addition of more than 500 units of supportive housing in Single Room Occupancy units around the City. The City will also build new supportive housing units for chronically homeless seniors, expand medical respite beds, launch a Mobile Integrated Healthcare Practice team to connect patients with non-emergency medical resources, expand the Homeward Bound program, and continue the City’s new first-of-its-kind Navigation Center pilot program.

“This is a comprehensive package of new investments that will help us better serve our homeless population by getting them off the streets and into housing or reunited with loved ones,” said Mayor Lee. “This additional funding will help us improve our already nationally recognized programs with more coordinated services that remove the barriers that prevent people from reaching out and accepting the services and help they need. We will continue our new approach to the challenge of homelessness working together with the Board of Supervisors and with partners like the Interfaith Council, to redouble our efforts to end homelessness here in the City of Saint Francis.”

“Housing the homeless continues to be the simple solution for addressing one of our City’s most intractable issues,” said Supervisor Mark Farrell. “Mayor Lee’s dedicated investment to provide more housing, extend the life of the Navigation Center, and ensure more case managers to help the homeless get on a path to self-sufficiency will make a significant impact in reducing our homeless population and helping the City’s most vulnerable.”

“When I stayed at the Next Door shelter during my first term in office, it became clear that our shelter system was designed decades ago with the perspective that homelessness was primarily rooted in temporary periods of poverty. But our shelter population is much older and sicker, and there was no appropriate and cost-effective shelter for homeless individuals with chronic medical needs. I have been working for over two years to integrate critical public health services into our shelter system and fighting for long term solutions, like the medical respite shelter, to these entrenched challenges,” said Supervisor Jane Kim. “Today is a huge victory. Now, there will be a continuum of care from the Navigation Center to the medical respite shelter to permanent stable housing for our most vulnerable residents.”

In his proposed Fiscal Year 2015-16 and 2016-17 budget, Mayor Lee is proposing:
  • $14.5 million in General Fund over the next two years to bring five new Single Room Occupancy buildings into the City’s supportive housing masterlease portfolio. These five SRO buildings (Baldwin, Civic Center, Henry, Minna Lee and Drake) contain more than 500 units of supportive housing for homeless clients, including those who successfully transition out of the Navigation Center. These City investments are leveraging $4.8 million in State and Federal funds over the same time period. 
  • $1.8 million in new funding to increase on-site services at the new SRO units to increase staffing of case managers and other providers to better serve formerly homeless residents to ensure they stay housed.
  • $300,000 over two years to fund services at 51 new units of housing for chronically homeless seniors at Caroll Avenue Senior, Rosa Parks II and Laguna Richardson that will be built with $10 million in Federal funding.
  • $6.6 million to create and provide ongoing support for 30 new medical respite beds for homeless patients with chronic medical needs. This expansion of the medical respite program will create a shelter-like environment to address the medical needs of clients that cannot be adequately supported in the existing homeless shelter system. It will provide a period for recovery and stability for individuals who might otherwise be on the street and using emergency services.
  • $1 million to implement a Mobile Integrated Healthcare Practice (MIHP). The implementation of this new team significantly improves care for patients that rely on the 911 system for their healthcare. The integrated model adds targeted interventions including both a paramedic and an outreach specialist to help connect patients with appropriate non-emergency resources.
  • $2 million to fund the expansion of the Homeward Bound program to support more homeless individuals in returning to their homes and reconnecting with their loved ones. 
  • $3 million for the continuation of the pilot Navigation Center. The Navigation Center located in the Mission District opened in March to provide comprehensive services and programs for the adult homeless population. Clients are expected to have a brief stay before moving on to housing or residential treatment. The Navigation Center is the City’s pioneering approach to help homeless people reconnect with loved ones at home, move off the streets and into stable housing or residential treatment programs and get access to the services they need to stabilize their lives. The pilot is anticipated to last eight to 18 months, and the funding will continue the pilot beyond that time as necessary including relocation. The Navigation Center was initially supported with a $3 million donation from the San Francisco Interfaith Council, which funds the first year of the Navigation Center pilot, providing 24/7 counselors to intake new clients, provide meals and safe shelter, and connect homeless people with critical social services. As part of the donation, $1 million will fund the master leasing of SRO units around the City for homeless clients who transition out of the Navigation Center.