San Francisco Mayor Orders City to Offer Bus Passes Before Providing Homeless Housing

San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Thursday ordered city officials to offer homeless people one-way bus tickets out of the city before offering them other services, such as housing or shelter.

Breed said the number of homeless people moving to San Francisco from other states and counties has increased from 28% in 2019 to 40% of the total homeless population in 2024.

“We have made significant progress in housing many long-time San Francisco residents who have become homeless,” Breed said in a statement. “But we are seeing an increase in the number of people in our data who are coming from elsewhere. Today’s order will ensure that all of our city departments are using our relocation programs to address this growing trend.”

Specifically, the ordinance mandates that all city employees and contract workers who serve homeless people offer relocation as a first option. It also requires all responders to provide informational materials about the city’s relocation services and a contact number. It also establishes a tracking system with publishable data to measure the effectiveness of the city’s various homeless programs.

“San Francisco will always lead with compassion, but we cannot allow our compassion to be exploited,” Breed wrote in the order. “This directive will ensure that relocation services are a first response to our homelessness and substance use crises, giving individuals the opportunity to reconnect with support networks before turning to other City services or facing the consequences of being denied care.”

The mayor’s new executive order marks a departure from how San Francisco has historically dealt with its homeless population.

The change in strategy comes after a June 28 Supreme Court ruling that gave city officials more authority to prosecute people living on public streets and in parks. San Francisco officials are also increasing citations and arrests of homeless people who refuse to move into their homes.

Breed’s new directive is her latest effort to clean up San Francisco’s streets, reduce crime and address the overdose crisis. She is in the midst of a tough re-election fight and has taken a much more aggressive approach to the problems.

Although a program to evacuate San Francisco residents by bus had been considered for years, the COVID-19 pandemic drastically limited it.

“This is simply a fundamental attempt by the mayor to cover up the shortcomings of her administration and rebrand something that has already been entrenched,” said Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, who authored legislation passed by the Board of Supervisors earlier this year to expand the city’s flagship relocation assistance program. “It’s very telling that this announcement comes two days after videos and reports surfaced of people being pushed off the streets, being arrested, having their belongings taken away, with nowhere to go.”

Safai referred to Tuesday’s report San Francisco Chronicle about Ramon Castillo, a 48-year-old homeless man living in the Mission district. A group of San Francisco police officers came to his tent, asked if he wanted shelter, and when he refused, they took him to jail.

Castillo was arrested, detained for 20 minutes, fined for illegal accommodation and released.

While he was sitting in the back seat of the police car, public works workers came and threw out almost all of his belongings.

Castillo’s arrest and the destruction of his belongings came two weeks after Breed, a Democrat, announced the city would begin a “very aggressive” crackdown on homeless encampments. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, also a Democrat, issued an executive order July 25 that gave local officials the green light to begin cleaning up encampments.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE IN THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Homeless advocates and other critics have criticized the efforts, saying they are ineffective.

The day after Castillo was arrested and his belongings were thrown out, three new tents were erected on the same block.