Mayor's office confirms $300,000 in FY26 for houseless outreach: storage, cleanup, transit and phones

Council members questioned the mayor's office about community houseless-outreach efforts and whether the outreach team has adequate staffing and funding.

Council members praised the outreach worker named Naomi for her field work and asked whether she had adequate staff support. Cynthia Lalo said Naomi has a team supporting her and that the effort is a shared responsibility among departments, with the Department of Human Concerns having particular "kuleana" (responsibility) under the charter. Lalo said the outreach function is collaborative, and while more resources are always helpful, Naomi does have backing from other departments.

Committee members asked whether funding had been included in the mayor's FY26 proposal for Naomi's work. Lalo said the mayor's office included $300,000 in the budget for houseless solutions related expenditures; she explained the administration expects the funds to be used for storage, cleanup, bus passes, and cell phones and that larger projects would be procured through RFPs or purchase orders as appropriate. Lalo said human concerns is leading and will coordinate with Naomi on how the funds are used; the mayor's office said it will coordinate with departments that also hold relevant responsibilities.

Members also asked whether specific projects such as parking-lot conversions for safe parking would be handled by Naomi or by Department of Human Concerns; staff replied some projects have been run through human concerns with coordination from Naomi and others.

Committee members sought clearer written details on how the $300,000 will be allocated and how procurement and contract procedures will be followed; the mayor's office agreed to provide written follow-up.