An executive order signed Thursday by President Joe Biden allows for cities to be reimbursed fully for certain kinds of emergency housing for homeless people until Sept. 30, 2021, reports The San Francisco Chronicle.
The order could prove beneficial for San Francisco, which has one of the highest homeless populations and spends between $15 and $18 million to house more than 2,200 people in about 25 hotels, according to the news outlet.
San Francisco City Controller Ben Rosenfield told the Chronicle about 85 percent of the hotel guests utilizing the program are likely eligible for reimbursement.
“I think it’s safe to say it will apply from now until September, for those that are eligible,” he said.
The Trump administration said it would only pay for 75% of the cost.
Other programs to be fully reimbursed under the order includes child-care facilities, domestic violence shelters and costs for personal protective equipment.
As of Friday, 313 people have moved out of the hotels: 89 received some kind of housing assistance, 30 were moved to a temporary shelter, 14 were placed into an institutional setting and 17 died. Data was not available for the remaining 163 people.
Hillary Ronen, the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing Supervisor, tweeted Thursday that the executive order was “fantastic.”
“Now we can open more spots for people experiencing homelessness to stay safe during the rest of this pandemic,” she said.
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