Gimme Shelter: Council Research Cited in SF Resolution Calling for More Temporary Housing

Like many jurisdictions across California, San Francisco has for years prioritized the construction of permanent housing over shelters to address the city’s homelessness crisis. An ongoing challenge of this approach has been the inability to scale permanent housing, which can cost over $700,000 per unit in the city compared to about $40,000 for shelter. Today, San Francisco has one of the largest inventories of permanent housing in the U.S., yet over half of the city’s homeless population remains outdoors without access to basic shelter or sanitation. 

Amidst increasing concerns over the devastating health and safety impacts of unsheltered homelessness, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors this week unanimously approved a resolution by Supervisor Mandelman asking Mayor Breed to prioritize the creation of 2,000 new shelter or temporary housing placements over the next two years. The motion repeatedly cites statistics from Bay Area Council homelessness reports and takes place following a March presentation to the Board by Bay Area Council staff emphasizing the urgent necessity to expand shelter inventory to ending the crisis on the streets.