San Francisco Paying $16.1 Million for Homeless Tent Camps – NBC Bay Space
San Francisco is paying $ 16.1 million to feed and house people in tented villages as the city grapples with a growing homeless population. But the cost worries some lawmakers.
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, six tent sites, known as “safe sleeping villages”, have been set up to accommodate people who might otherwise be sleeping on the sidewalks.
The 262 tents currently accommodate more than 300 people, some of which are unoccupied. The villages also provide access to restrooms, meals, and 24-hour security, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.
Funding is only a fraction of the more than $ 300 million the city spends annually on homeless services, and the average nightly cost is less than what the city pays under a hotel placement program for the homeless, said the Chronicle.
But the tent program is not entitled to reimbursement from the federal government. Some lawmakers say the program is too expensive, especially when the city faces a projected budget deficit of $ 650 million over the next two years.
“It’s breathtaking and we need to understand why that is,” said supervisor Rafael Mandelman. “We have to find a way to get exits from the street. But we need them to be cheaper. “
The program is funded from state and municipal funds and revenue from a 2018 business tax.
The city has had to rush to provide emergency shelters as interior facilities for the homeless who have been closed over COVID-19 concerns, Abigail Stewart-Kahn, interim director of the homeless section, said at a budget committee hearing on Wednesday.
The city didn’t have time for a more thorough tendering process and also had to provide water and electricity connections for the lots that are on vacant lots, Stewart-Kahn said.
“I understand the motivation to create (safe) sleeping space during this COVID-19 crisis,” said supervisor Ahsha Safaí. “But we have to dive really deep to see if this is a sustainable model … with no government reimbursement.”
Stewart-Kahn said her department is analyzing the program.
