In a hard-fought victory, San Francisco approved $50 million in July to expand shelter capacity for homeless families. But as winter storms approach, more than 500 families — many with small children, including newborns — are still sleeping in cars, Muni stations or inside gyms. Waiting, as the cold and wet months close in.
“[City shelters] turned away six families in the last three weeks,” said Beatriz Vázquez during a rally outside of City Hall on October 30. Vázquez, a member of the Recently Arrived Families Committee (RAFC), joined dozens of mothers, children and their allies to voice their frustration, holding banners that read, “No more children living on the streets.”
As the city prepares to transition to a new mayor and a more moderate Board of Supervisors, families and their advocates are urgently asking: where is the money for shelter?
A community-led win
The RAFC, led by homeless mothers, began their fight for shelter funding nearly a year ago. Partnering with the nonprofit Faith in Action Bay Area (FIABA), they demanded the city address the unfolding crisis. FIABA, which relies on donations to pay for emergency hotel stays, often steps in to shelter families when they are turned away by the city’s Access Points.
The community-led advocacy gained momentum on March 7, when hundreds gathered in support of homeless families at St. Anthony’s cafeteria. With guidance from FIABA and RAFC, Supervisor Ahsha Safaí introduced legislation that was eventually adopted as part of Mayor London Breed’s “Safer Families Plan” and enacted August 1.
The plan, intended to get more families on the shelter waitlist off the streets, is set to add 80 emergency hotel vouchers to the existing supply of 35 and provide 215 rent subsidies to transition families into permanent housing.
But progress has been painfully slow.
A bureaucratic hold-up
“We are moving as swiftly as possible,” Mayor London Breed spokesperson Parisa Safarzadeh told El Tecolote in an email, adding that the city’s competitive bidding requirements have slowed the provision of desperately needed shelter. This process, while intended to ensure fairness in awarding contracts, can take months to complete.
For example, although the city approved the budget for 50 rapid rehousing subsidies for homeless youth families on July 31, it has yet to identify a provider to administer the services. According to Emily Cohen, spokesperson for the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH), referrals to this program will not begin until Spring 2025.
Cohen also said HSH has “35 additional hotel rooms available to shelter homeless families with children even when all of our shelters are full,” adding that the city will add 80 hotel vouchers between now and the end of December 2024.
However, these updates rang hollow for homeless families.
“We went to an Access Point and spent 90 minutes answering invasive questions, only to be told, ‘You haven’t been homeless long enough. We have nothing for you,’” Brenda Córdoba said recently. “The families left with nothing but a handful of bus tokens.”
Supervisor Safaí criticized the lack of progress.
“This is a problem of management or leadership, because the mayor can easily make her priorities known,” Safaí said during the October 30 press conference. “The city’s leadership needs to act. Families cannot wait any longer.”
Families left waiting
For families like Yaneth Pérez Sarce, the wait feels endless.
Pérez Sarce became homeless while pregnant last year and applied for housing through a city-funded Access Point run by Catholic Charities. A year later, she is still waiting for help.
Now a mother of two, Pérez Sarce sleeps on a mattress inside the gymnasium at Buena Vista Horace Mann, a temporary shelter in a Mission District school. The Stay Over Program allows families to sleep there at night but requires them to leave during the day, forcing them to wander the streets.
“We have nowhere else to go,” Pérez Sarce said.
What’s next?
Some of the $50 million in funds is starting to flow into one of the city’s Access Points, said Hope Kamer of Compass Family Services, signaling that some relief for families is unfolding.
“But the need is surging and the resources are not there — not even close,” she added, “There are hundreds of families waiting.”
According to the city’s latest Point-in-Time Count, the number of homeless families in San Francisco has nearly doubled over the past two years. Many of these families are newly arrived immigrants from Latin America, enduring homelessness for months, sometimes spanning entire academic years for their children.
“We need to adjust how we assess families into the (City’s shelter) system,” said Kamer, “and scale investment to the level of need.”
In the meantime, homeless mothers and their advocates continue to pressure San Francisco for action, and have another scheduled meeting with city officials in December. Córdoba said the families will meet with the directors of the city’s Access Points: Catholic Charities, Compass Family Services, and Homeless Prenatal Program.
“We’ve written the policies. We’ve done the work,” said Córdoba. “Now it’s time for the city to deliver. No more children on the streets.”
Want to support families facing homelessness? Donate to Faith in Action’s emergency fund.