Committee backs expanded Catholic Charities family rapid rehousing contract; questions focus on shelter capacity and vouchers

The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing asked the Budget & Finance Committee on Feb. 5 to approve the fourth amendment to its grant agreement with Catholic Charities for the SF Home Rapid Rehousing Program for Families. Emily Cohen, a department representative, said the amendment would extend the contract term through June 30, 2026 and increase the agreement's not-to-exceed amount to approximately $14,500,000, adding capacity to serve roughly 29 additional households under the program.

Cohen said the program pays subsidies and provides housing-focused case management, landlord liaison services, move-in assistance and supports that enable families to lease in the private market and assume rent over time. Department staff reported strong outcomes for the program's prior period: 94% of referred families were placed into housing, the median time-to-placement was 65 days (faster than the contract's 75-day benchmark), and 97% of households retained housing at 12 months in the earlier cohort.

Supervisors pressed the department on the number of families on the shelter waiting list (HSH said approximately 320 families were on the shelter wait list) and on whether the city maintains a master list of private-market units for rehousing. HSH staff said nonprofit providers — not the department — are responsible for recruiting and maintaining lists of landlord partners and available units; HSH maintains centralized data on families and placements. HSH identified funding (dollars) as the limiting factor for hotel vouchers and shelter placements rather than physical hotel-room inventory, and provided an average operating cost for family shelter of about $212 per night and an estimate of roughly $30,000 per year for a rapid rehousing intervention.

Catholic Charities Deputy Director Catherine Lee addressed the committee during public comment and affirmed the organization's commitment to executing the program and working with HSH and other community partners to serve families.

The committee forwarded the amendment to the full Board with a positive recommendation (roll call: 3 ayes). The amendment and HSH remarks make clear the city's rapid rehousing strategy relies on nonprofit landlord relationships and funding to maintain flow from shelter to permanent housing.