Known as the Journey Home program, the new efforts combine prior similar endeavors, including the Problem Solving and County Adult relocation assistance programs.
The directive orders officials to incentivize and offer relocation assistance, which could include bus tickets or airfare, by Sept. 1.
Travel assistance and temporary shelter will be provided for those who elect to participate.
A point-in-time count is conducted every two years, and data released in May showed about 2,900 individuals live unsheltered in San Francisco—a 13 percent drop from 2022 and the lowest number recorded since 2015.
Highlighting statistics that revealed that 40 percent of those living on the street recently moved to San Francisco from other parts of the state and across the country, the mayor said the growing population of non-resident homeless people is taking a toll on city resources.
“We cannot allow our compassion to be taken advantage of,” Breed said in the directive. “We will not be a city with a reputation for being able to solve the housing and behavioral health needs of people across our country.”
To better manage resources, she said the city “must be more aggressive and intentional” with decisions and prioritize long-term residents.
“We cannot continue to ask San Francisco residents to support the needs of those who travel here simply for care,” Breed wrote in the directive.
City staff will be trained to follow procedures prioritizing relocation assistance, the city said.
The new policy follows a week of homeless camp sweeps that began after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state workers to clear encampments on state property and encouraged local municipalities to more aggressively remove homeless camps—deemed appropriate by officials after the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 28 ruling that allowed local governments to enforce illegal-camping laws.
Those who refuse care can now face consequences, including potential criminal charges and loss of their belongings.
The new directive orders departments to establish a tracking system to measure how many people are engaged with the program and how many refuse relocation services. Data will be published so officials can monitor the program’s effectiveness.
San Francisco has offered relocation services since 2005, with the establishment of the Homeward Bound program, which provided bus tickets for homeless individuals.
“Relocation and reunification services are a critical component of our Homelessness Response System,” Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the city’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, said in the mayor’s statement.
Another official said the program helps connect homeless individuals with services that can help them overcome their challenges.
“Sometimes the most effective service that HSA can provide to our homeless clients is paying for their travel to reconnect them with their families or support networks in the city they used to live,” Trent Rhorer, executive director of San Francisco’s Human Services Agency, said in the mayor’s statement.
One critic of the new program said other legal options, including mental health holds and jail time for criminals, should be prioritized.
“I do not believe in sending people back, [but] I do know that we must assess homeless people who break the law and 5150 these people and make a proper assessment,” Wendy Ha Chau, a candidate for District 3 supervisor, wrote on social media platform X on Aug. 2.
Under California law, a 5150 hold is an involuntary 72-hour hospitalization of someone experiencing a mental health crisis.
Ha Chau said, “If these criminals are mentally ill, we treat them, [and] if they are just criminals, we will keep jailing them until they get tired of it and leave on their own.”
