California’s program to alleviate rent debts — and prevent a wave of evictions in July — makes it tough for some of the state’s most vulnerable residents to request financial aid, community groups in San Francisco say. The way the system is designed prevents many people from applying, including those who live in informal housing arrangements, those who do not speak English and those who lack digital proficiency, according to staff at local organizations helping tenants and landlords file applications.
Category: Housing
Posted inCity Hall, Economy & Business, Government & Politics, Housing, Public Housing in Private Hands
HUD Denies Request to Demolish Plaza East
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development denied an application to raze and rebuild Plaza East Apartments, a 20-year-old public housing complex in the Western Addition, the agency confirmed.
The determination was made on March 30 but not publicly disclosed until Tuesday, when HUD officials were questioned by the Public Press. The move comes three months after the San Francisco Housing Authority submitted a demolition application, with Mayor London Breed’s endorsement.
Posted inCoronavirus, Economy & Business, Housing
Seeking Rent Relief? State Says Apply Now. Here’s How.
San Francisco residents who are behind on their rent and other housing costs could soon get financial relief, thanks to government programs designed to help those who qualify.
Posted inCity Hall, Economy & Business, Housing, Public Housing in Private Hands
With Mayor’s Backing, Developer Asks to Demolish, Rebuild 20-Year-Old Public Housing
Federal officials are considering a proposal to allow a developer to tear down and rebuild a 20-year-old public housing complex in the Western Addition — a plan that does not address residents’ demands for repairs to health and safety issues in the current structures.
Posted inCity Hall, Coronavirus, Government & Politics, Homelessness, Housing
SF Creates New Office Tasked With Relocating Homeless Hotel Residents
A new city agency, founded in the wake of rising concerns about the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing’s ability to house the city’s homeless population, aims to bring 2,000 people into permanent shelter by the end of the year.
The new Office of Housing Opportunities will be a division of the COVID Command Center, shifting responsibilities away from the Department of Homelessness. Chris Block, formerly the director of the chronic homelessness division at Tipping Point, a nonprofit focused on battling poverty and homelessness, is directing the effort.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, California, Coronavirus, Housing, Renters at Risk
Renters Are Still Being Displaced, Tenant Advocate Says
Shanti Singh, legislative and communications director for Tenants Together, a coalition of 50 renters rights organizations in California, talked with “Civic” about state tenant protection legislation.
Posted inCity Hall, Coronavirus, Government & Politics, Health, Homelessness, Housing, News
Hundreds More Homeless People Could Get Housing Under Emergency Policy
More than 600 people living on San Francisco’s streets could soon get placed in permanent supportive housing.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an emergency ordinance that lifts restrictions on
who can access this type of shelter, which includes services like mental health and substance use treatment and employment assistance.
Posted inCity Hall, Coronavirus, Health, Homelessness, Housing
Advocates Press SF to Fill Supportive Housing Vacancies With People Living on Streets
San Francisco should move people living on the streets to the top of the list for permanent supportive housing, advocates and service providers said Tuesday.
The current system of setting aside all available housing units specifically for homeless people living in shelter-in-place hotels is not proving effective, advocates and city officials said at a hearing of the Board of Supervisors’ Budget and Finance committee.
Posted inCoronavirus, Economy & Business, Government & Politics, Health, Homelessness, Housing, Law & Justice, Public Housing in Private Hands, Renters at Risk
Despite Pandemic, New Wave of Court-Ordered Evictions Displacing Poor Tenants
After an eight-month pause, court-ordered evictions in San Francisco have resumed, and they’re coming down hardest on some of the city’s most vulnerable residents. The Sheriff’s Department has conducted evictions at 33 addresses across the city since November 2020, according to documents obtained through a California Public Records Act request. More than half — 18 — involved tenants in permanent supportive housing.
Posted inCity Hall, Coronavirus, Economy & Business, Government & Politics, Health, Homelessness, Housing
70 Hotels Could House the Homeless, if San Francisco Buys
More than 70 hotel owners have said they are willing to sell their properties to San Francisco, and now is the perfect time to buy some of them, homelessness activists said at a press conference Wednesday.