San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, elected on a platform addressing the pressing concerns of homelessness and cleanliness in the city streets, is set to take significant steps toward tackling these issues. Today, Lurie plans to issue an executive directive that, he says, will outline a clearer vision and set objective targets for the next year to deal with the city's vulnerable, unhoused population.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the plan includes immediate actions as well as long-term reforms intended to streamline and improve the efficacy of city services for roughly 8,300 unhoused residents; the mayor is focused on accountability and efficiency in providing aid to those in need, working under the notion that the care for the city's most vulnerable serves as a measure of societal commitment the city looks to bring in unprecedented changes to the existing bureaucracy, possibly merging certain city departments with an eye on enhancing coordination and accountability.
The new directive comes on the heels of a fentanyl emergency order recently signed into law, as noted by NBC Bay Area. It returns to a pledge made by Lurie to expand the shelter system by 1,500 beds within the first six months of his administration, to overhaul San Francisco’s diverse street outreach teams to consolidate their efforts and merge programs like Journey Home and Homeward Bound better to connect homeless people with relatives in other areas.
However, while the mayor’s initiative highlights revamping the current system and revisiting harm reduction policies, critics charge that harm reduction enables addiction, while Lurie aims to pull back from city-funded nonprofits distributing fentanyl smoking supplies. Yet, advocates contend that harm reduction efforts like needle exchanges are vital to stave off diseases such as hepatitis C and AIDS, "The problem is there’s an emotional and political narrative around harm reduction that is not based on what harm reduction actually is," according to Anna Berg who told the San Francisco Chronicle, clinical program director for the Harm Reduction Therapy Center, who also expressed concern about the lack of inclusivity in the mayor's planning process.
Amidst this movement towards reform, the city faces an $876 million budget shortfall, adding a layer of financial complexity to Lurie's mission to manifest his vision into practical and substantial change.
