San Francisco’s Democratic mayor issued an executive order on Thursday in an effort to remove homeless people from the city.
Mayor London Breed’s executive order mandates city staff to offer bus tickets to homeless people before any other service, according to ABC 7 News. Breed stated that the homeless population will be offered relocation services because the shelters and housing options are reaching capacity.
Breed stated in the order that a recent survey “found that 40% of unsheltered people in San Francisco did not live here before arriving.” A January survey found that San Francisco had 8,323 homeless living in the city. (RELATED: San Francisco To Fine Stores Trying To Deter Homeless Encampments On Streets: REPORT)
Breed said in the order that the city must “be more aggressive and intentional with our approach,” when dealing with the homeless individuals who “cycle in and out of city-funded programs without accountability and a clear path to securing stabilized housing and care.”
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 21: San Francisco mayor London Breed speaks during a press conference at Hamilton Families on November 21, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Much of the city’s homeless population are not from San Francisco, and some flock to the city because they know they will receive services, Breed noted in the order. Breed said the city “cannot continue to ask San Francisco residents to support the needs of those who travel here simply for care.”
“A lot of people come out here thinking San Francisco is going to be this wonderful state for them to live and thrive and they’re actually leaving home because they think they’re going to find something here,” Donna Hilliard, the executive director of nonprofit Code Tenderloin, told ABC 7 News.
Breed’s “journey home” program involves three directives, which include offering relocation services before offering housing, training first responders with information regarding the program and tracking those who refuse to offer the relocation services, according to the order. Breed has ordered that the directives are to be finished by September 1, 2024.
“San Francisco will always lead with compassion, but we cannot allow our compassion to be taken advantage of,” Breed stated in the order. “We will not be a city with a reputation for being able to solve the housing and behavioral health needs of people across our country.”
Breed’s office deferred the Daily Caller News Foundation to a press release.
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