San Francisco’s program to send homeless people out of town — which ramped up Thursday with an order from Mayor London Breed — is nothing new.
Since August 2022, the city has sent at least 857 homeless people to other states and California counties.
While the city is unable to say where hundreds have gone through its longstanding Homeward Bound program, newly obtained data from the Journey Home program — which launched in September 2023 — show 27% of 92 clients were sent to other California counties.
The Journey Home program does not require clients to have a home where they are being sent, according to officials. But they must prove some connection to the area, such as a previous address.
After California, Oregon is the second-most-popular destination, making up roughly 10% of the 92 clients in the program, according to data collected from the time of its launch to Aug. 2. Nevada and Texas are third, each accounting for 6 clients.
Los Angeles, Sacramento and Humboldt were the top three destinations for homeless people traveling within California, according to the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing and the Human Services Agency.
The city started Journey Home as part of a multi-agency drug crackdown, adding it to an array of “problem-solving” services that aim to help homeless people by offering financial assistance or trips home to their families. A similar program called Relocation Assistance, or Homeward Bound, has relocated over 13,000 homeless people since 2005 and now operates as part of Journey Home.
In an executive directive issued Thursday, Breed ordered all city employees working with homeless people to offer referrals to these relocation programs before offering shelter or other services. Breed pointed to an uptick of homeless people moving to the city, saying local services can no longer support the influx.
Advocates for homeless people argue that the directive doesn’t drastically change how the city deals with the issue. In June, the waiting list for shelter was 12 days, as most available beds are typically kept open for emergency admissions. Shelters were at 93% capacity as of Monday morning.
“This is as old as homelessness itself,” Paul Boden, executive director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, said. “How many different ways can you make people disappear?”
The order comes as the city conducts “very aggressive” encampment sweeps enabled by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made it easier for local governments to clear tents from streets. A video captured by The Standard on July 30 showed a man clinging on to his tent as he was caught in an unscheduled sweep under the Central Freeway.
Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, who is running for mayor, issued a press release Friday accusing the mayor of ramping up the bus program to distract residents from these “appalling scenes.”
“The mayor has suddenly discovered the benefits of the program and is sloppily attempting to rebrand it ‘Journey Home,’” he said.