On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved legislation to expand a program that relocates unhoused people out of the city.
The so-called “Homeward Bound” program began in 2005 under then-Mayor Gavin Newsom. It buys one-way bus tickets for unhoused San Franciscans to go stay with family or friends elsewhere.
But some—like San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safaí—say that the program has languished, and over the last several years there’s been a decline in participation.
That’s why he proposed expanding the program to those living in supportive housing units, or shelter beds.
Mayor London Breed’s office has been critical of the legislation. They claim the program has been working well under her leadership, and the new law offers no real change to the program.
Critics of Homeward Bound say it fails to address the root causes of homelessness and is just another way of pushing people out of the city.
