Mayor Gives Homeless One-Way Ticket Out of San Francisco

On Thursday, Mayor London Breed told city officials to offer homeless people a one-way ticket out of San Francisco before offering them housing and sheltering services.

"We've made significant progress in housing many long-time San Franciscans who became homeless. But we are seeing an increase in people in our data who are coming from elsewhere. Today's order will ensure that all our city departments are leveraging our relocation programs to address this growing trend," Breed stated in an executive order.

"San Francisco will always lead with compassion, but we cannot allow our compassion to be taken advantage of. This directive will ensure that relocation services will be the first response to our homelessness and substance use crises, allowing individuals the choice to reunite with support networks before accessing other city services or facing the consequences of refusing care."

The call to bus homeless people out of San Francisco marks a distinct change in policies from the city's past, one of which called upon local residents to house homeless people. However, following the Supreme Court's June 28 ruling banning homeless people from sleeping outdoors, the decision is seen as a way to empower San Francisco officials.

Breed's executive order is her latest attempt to clean up the streets of San Francisco as she faces a tough reelection fight.

According to the Washington Examiner, Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, who wrote legislation passed by the Board of Supervisors earlier this year to expand the city's flagship relocation program, said, "This is just a fundamental attempt of the mayor to cover up failings of her administration and rebrand something that had already been made permanent. It's very telling that this announcement comes two days after there are videos and reports of people being pushed off the streets, arrested, and stripped of belongings, without anywhere to go." 

On Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that city police officers came by the tent of 48-year-old homeless man Ramon Castillo, asking if he wanted shelter. After he refused the request, police took him into custody.

Castillo was detained for 20 minutes, during which public works employees threw out all his belongings, according to the report. Afterward, Castillo was charged with a misdemeanor for illegal lodging and released. The day after Castillo's belongings were thrown away, three new tents lined the same block. 

According to Breed, this effort comes amid the attempt by California politicians to launch a "very aggressive" crackdown on homeless encampments. On July 25, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order giving local authorities the green light to initiate large-scale removal of encampments.

San Francisco has a $846.8 million budget to combat homelessness for the fiscal year 2024-2025. Critics, according to the Examiner, have argued that the homeless sweeps are ineffective.

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