2024 Point-In-Time Count Reveals 21% Decrease in Street Homelessness in District 5

New 2024 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count data – which chronicles how many unhoused people there are across San Francisco every 2 years – reveals a remarkable 21% decrease in unsheltered homelessness in District 5, with numbers falling from 1,225 to 975 since the 2022 PIT Count. The new data, announced today, demonstrates the clear impact of policies based on providing housing and supportive services to those who lack housing.
 
"Over 250 individuals in District 5 have transitioned from living on the streets to living indoors," said Supervisor Dean Preston, whose district includes the Tenderloin. "Our work to fill vacant supportive housing units, in particular, has clearly had a major impact.”

Preston has led City efforts to fill vacant homes, both through advocacy for the citywide vacancy tax which took effect this year, and by specifically targeting persistent vacancies in permanent supportive housing (PSH). In September 2023, Supervisor Preston introduced legislation calling on the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing to immediately fill at least 50% of the 1,000 vacant units in the City’s site-based permanent supportive housing portfolio. As a result, by December 2023 the City had launched innovative programs to fill vacancies, including the Street to Home program which expedites the housing placement process for people moving directly from the street into housing, resulting in a 32% decrease in the number of vacant units. Over 300 people were able to get off the streets thanks to these efforts. 

Progressive tax measures like 2018’s Proposition C and 2020’s Proposition I funded key prevention and supportive housing initiatives to make possible the reduction. These tax measures – both championed by Supervisor Preston– have allowed for the expansion of the tenant right-to-counsel program, rent relief, and permanent supportive housing, driving meaningful, lasting change through anti-displacement and problem-solving through increases to supportive services. 

The newly announced data was collected before the Mayor shifted strategies this summer to what she referred to as “very aggressive” encampment sweeps. The Mayor’s pivot to aggressive sweeps threatens to reverse the gains reflected in the PIT count. Aggressive sweeps do not address the causes of homelessness nor do they reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness or give unhoused San Franciscans any resources to become rehoused. They appear politically motivated, aiming to sweep homelessness out of sight before the upcoming election.

"The Mayor's aggressive crackdowns undermine the hard work and effective policies that have been making a sustainable difference," said Preston. "The real story here is about the hundreds of people who’ve exited homelessness into vacant supportive housing units that have been filled, the expansion of shelter capacity, and the prevention of homelessness through rent relief and right-to-counsel programs. We should double down with urgency on what’s been working to get people housed.”