Hundreds of San Franciscans urge supervisors to fund homelessness prevention, food security and higher nonprofit contract increases

Hundreds of San Franciscans pressed the Board of Supervisors— Budget & Finance Committee on June 20 to restore and add funding for homelessness prevention, basic services and nonprofit contracting after the mayor unveiled his proposed budget.

Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, told the committee that the city spends about 2 percent of its budget on homelessness and urged immediate investment in prevention and rehousing: "We can halt all preventable displacements, ensure tenants have a right to counsel and fully fund rapid rehousing," she said, asking the board to adopt a roughly $11 million HESPA package to stop evictions and expand subsidies.

Multiple providers and residents described long shelter waits, overflowing family rolls and dangerous living conditions in SROs. Gail Gilman of the Community Housing Partnership asked supervisors to increase baseline funding for supportive housing to prevent avoidable homelessness as development booms across the city.

Speakers representing homeless youth programs, family-service agencies and SRO tenant groups said rapid rehousing subsidies, eviction-prevention legal services, and rehabbing vacant public-housing units would prevent more expensive shelter stays or hospitalizations later. One case manager urged the board to fund HESPA—s plan so nonprofits can deliver services that keep families housed.

Advocates for seniors and people with disabilities also asked the board to fund the Food Security Task Force—s recommendations, including $10 million for home-delivered meals and groceries for seniors and adults with disabilities and $2 million to expand the Community Living Fund to help people stay in their homes. Jessica Layman of Senior and Disability Action said elevator repairs in SROs and funding for legal services would avert downstream crises: "We have the resources — now we need political will," she said.

Nonprofit contractors and their unions urged the committee to increase the mayor—s proposed 1.5 percent "cost-of-doing-business" add-back to 3 percent, saying year-after-year flat contracts and rising rents and health premiums have whittled away agencies— capacity. Episcopal Community Services and other shelter providers described contracts that fall hundreds of thousands short of operating costs and asked the board to close gaps so shelters and programs can retain staff and maintain services.

The witnesses stressed that many requests are preventative and cost-effective: program directors and community advocates said $11 million for eviction prevention could keep thousands of households from entering homelessness, and expanded CalFresh outreach and nutrition services would reduce emergency care costs.

The committee did not vote on budget changes at the hearing. Chair Mark Farrell ended public comment and proposed two procedural motions that the committee later approved by unanimous consent: continue items 1 and 2 to a special meeting on June 23 and transmit items 3 through 25 to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration on July 8.