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Supervisor Safaie presses Mayor Breed for details on $3.6 million sober‑housing allocation
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Summary
Supervisor Safaie asked Mayor London Breed to explain what happened to $3.6 million the board set aside last year for sober housing and to commit city staff to collaborate on identifying sites; Mayor Breed said the money is “taxpayers’ money,” described recent and planned recovery investments and said her staff will follow up.
Supervisor Safaie asked Mayor London Breed on Tuesday for a clear accounting of a $3,600,000 budget allocation the Board of Supervisors approved last year to develop sober housing in San Francisco and requested that the mayor’s office work with his office to identify a site and reopen collaboration on the project.
The request came during the mayor’s regular appearance before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Safaie said his office had led efforts with probation and local partners in the Union Square area and that he and community stakeholders learned of a separate mayoral announcement about sober housing only after the fact. “We were greeted with ‘this is the mayor’s money, and this is the mayor’s priority, and we’ll let you know,’ ” Safaie said.
Mayor London Breed replied that “this is not the mayor’s money. This is the taxpayers’ money that we are the stewards of,” and said she remained committed to expanding recovery services and sober housing. Breed told the board she had invested “over $20,000,000 in abstinence based, recovery programs,” noted recent expansion at the Her House program for women — increasing beds from 18 to 39 — and said her staff would touch base with Safaie’s office about identifying locations to open new facilities.
Safaie pressed for greater transparency about the specific status of the $3.6 million the board prioritized, asking for confirmation of the location, the project lead, and how the funds would be spent. Breed said departmental staff do the “heavy lifting” to implement such programs and said she expects collaboration to be carried out with department staff and with respect for their role in operations.
The exchange did not produce a formal vote or a staff commitment on the record with a site or timeline; Breed said only that her staff would “reach out” and “touch base” with Supervisors’ offices as they explore potential locations. Neither the mayor nor Safaie identified a finalized property or a current contract manager for the $3.6 million allocation during the remarks recorded at the meeting.
Why it matters: San Francisco faces a large budget gap this fiscal year and high demand for supportive housing and recovery services. Supervisors said sober housing is a citywide priority for people leaving homelessness or incarceration; the board has repeatedly pushed for placement and programmatic clarity when funds are designated during the annual budget process.
What’s next: Safaie requested that mayoral staff contact his office to coordinate next steps. The mayor said department staff will be the principal contacts to advance any site identification and operator selection.
