Home by the Bay: Year One Progress Report

Home by the Bay: An Equity-Driven Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness in San Francisco is the citywide strategic plan guiding the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing’s work from 2023 to 2028. 

Goal 1

Our first year progress toward goal 1:
Between the February 2022 and January 2024 PIT Counts, the number of people who were unsheltered was reduced by 1% and the total number of people experiencing homelessness increased by 7%.

Goal 2

Our first year progress toward goal 2:
Defined measures to track racial inequities and other disparities through the life of the Plan and beyond, established baseline data, and identified 12 areas to monitor carefully in FY 2024-25.

Goal 3

Our first year progress toward goal 3:
Between July 2023 and June 2024, 5,256 people were supported to move from homelessness to permanent housing.

Goal 4

Our first year progress toward goal 4:

83% of people who exited homelessness between July 2021 and June 2022 did not return to the homelessness response system within 24 months.

Goal 5

Our first year progress toward goal 5:
Between July 2023 and June 2024, prevention services were provided to 8,235 people at risk of losing their housing and becoming homeless
To read the full Year One Progress Report click here.

Expansion Targets

The Home by the Bay strategic plan goals were developed through comprehensive system modeling described in detail in the System Modeling Summary section of the Home by the Bay strategic plan. This system modeling used local data to assess the productivity of the homelessness response system and to project impacts of additional resources and quality improvements. To achieve the Plan Goals, the City must add the following interventions to the homelessness response system between July 2023 and June 2028.

Action Area

The City is implementing a comprehensive array of activities to strengthen operations and outcomes across every element of the homelessness response system, leading with a focus on racial equity and housing justice, across five strategic Action Areas.

#1: Advancing Racial Equity & Housing Justice

Focus of activities in the Home by the Bay strategic plan for advancing racial equity and housing justice:

• Equity- and justice-focused data and analyses.
• Collaborative partnerships and shared decision making.
• Internal and external equity-focused capacity-building and non-profit sustainability activities.
• Empowering the leadership of impacted communities and people with lived expertise.

Our first year progress toward Advancing Racial Equity & Housing Justice in the homelessness response system:

• Incorporated people with lived experience into program design and evaluation.
• Developed equity measures based on the intersectional identities of those we serve to allow leadership to monitor the impact of HSH policies on those most marginalized by society.
• Concluded our groundbreaking, four-part Racial Equity Training for all HSH staff with an 88% attendance rate.
• Continued Just Home, MacArthur-funded work to better serve justice-involved individuals.
• Advanced the Ending Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Homelessness Initiative.

To read our full report of progress toward this Action Area click here.

#2: Enhancing System Performance and Capacity

Focus of activities in the Home by the Bay strategic plan for enhancing system performance and capacity:

• Building and supporting nonprofit provider capacity and sustainability.
• Enhancing performance management and accountability.
• Strengthening the quality, diversity, and utilization of data.
• Improving alignment of citywide strategies and resources.
• Implementing a redesigned equitable Coordinated Entry system.

Our first year progress toward enhancing system performance and capacity:

• Launched Mayor London Breed’s Safer Families Plan to reduce family homelessness.
• Launched the HOPE system, a coordinated entry system for survivors of violence that allows full access to resources while protecting their safety.
• Increased HSH’s presence and outreach at Project Homeless Connect, a quarterly event that brings together over 20 services and benefits to people experiencing homelessness.
• Advanced the CalAIM initiative in collaboration with the Department of Public Health.
• Launched “Changing the Narrative” a social media campaign in partnership with nonprofit service providers to amplify the client-level success within the homelessness response system.
• Completed 78 appointments and funded 7 new staff positions for the upcoming fiscal year.
• Incorporated bed management for adult and TAY shelters and transitional housing programs into the ONE system.
• Published updated Continuous Data Quality Improvement Expectations.

To read our full report of progress toward this Action Area click here.

#3: Strengthening Response to Unsheltered Homelessness

Focus of activities in the Home by the Bay strategic plan for strengthening response to unsheltered homelessness:

• Adding 1,075 new shelter beds.
• Embedding expanded services and resources within outreach efforts, crisis interventions, shelters, and transitional housing programs.
• Addressing the health, behavioral health, and services needs of people who are unsheltered.
• Connecting people who are unsheltered directly to permanent housing.
• Addressing community impacts and neighborhood concerns.

Our first year progress toward strengthening response to unsheltered homelessness:

• Opened the Mission Cabins, 60 private cabins offering meals, case management, health services and activities for people experiencing homelessness.
• Passed legislation to open Jerrold Commons, a new safe parking and cabin site in the Bayview neighborhood.
• Reinstated a self-referral process for adult shelters to reduce barriers to shelter access.
• Printed resource cards to help unsheltered neighbors connect with HSH services.
• Piloted the RESTORE Project with the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
• With the help of two Encampment Resolution Funding grants from the State, established two new four-person neighborhood encampment resolution teams in the Mission and Tenderloin neighborhoods.
• Under the leadership of the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, integrated some data with the San Francisco Fire Department, the Department of Public Health, and the Department of Emergency Management. The resulting database allows outreach teams to coordinate care for clients with complex health needs.
• Introduced a hotel voucher program for youth, serving 154 clients.
• Introduced a hotel voucher program for survivors of domestic violence, serving 77 survivors to date.
• Piloted a new outreach program to bring assessments, problem solving, and other resources directly to unsheltered households living in RVs or vehicles not meant for human habitation.
• Launched the Street to Home program.
• Expanded the Multi-Disciplinary Team with the Department of Disability and Aging Services.
• Collaborated with the Department of Public Health to increase the ability of clinicians in primary and emergency health care settings to improve client access to the homelessness response system.

To read our full report of progress toward this Action Area click here.

#4: Increasing Stable & Successful Entries into Permanent Housing

Focus of activities in the Home by the Bay strategic plan for increasing stable and successful entries into permanent housing:

• Adding 3,250 new units of permanent housing in the homelessness response system, including site-based and scattered-site permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and shallow subsidies.
• Improving access to housing outside the homelessness response system, through direct financial assistance and lighter-touch services.
• Enhancing services to better support people’s housing stability.
• Implementing new models to address people’s complex care needs.
• Expanding efforts to support people to move from permanent supportive housing to other housing they can afford.

Our first year progress toward increasing stable and successful entries into permanent housing:

• In partnership with the Department of Emergency Management, trained 128 Permanent Supportive Housing employees on how best to navigate SF emergency services.
• Expanded the Permanent Housing Advanced Clinical Services team to 100% of PSH sites.
• Launched the Enhanced Care PSH pilot, which brings 24/7 nursing, caregiving, and medical case management services to support aging in place at a site with a high number of older adults with chronic conditions. 84 people have been served by this program to date.
• Increased the number of sites with Narcan available and staff fully trained in overdose response.
• Established a panel of medical and behavioral health experts to review reasonable accommodation transfer requests and assign higher-level services such as nurse-supported housing.
• Incorporated transfer functions under Housing Placement, aligning our efforts to identify and fill available units.
• Added unit-level inventory data into the ONE System to strengthen vacancy tracking.
• Lowered the housing vacancy rate to 8.9%.

To read our full report of progress toward this Action Area click here.

#5: Preventing People from Experiencing Homelessness

Focus of activities in the Home by the Bay strategic plan for preventing people from experiencing homelessness:

• Expanding prevention services to serve 4,300 additional households.
• Strengthening current homelessness prevention and eviction prevention strategies and targeting.
• Enhancing housing problem solving for people at risk of homelessness who have not yet entered the homelessness response system.
• Creating an expanded supply of affordable housing units.
• Developing upstream prevention strategies that prevent people from experiencing housing crises and risks of homelessness.

Our first year progress toward preventing people from experiencing homelessness:

• In partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, provided over 8,000 households with homelessness prevention services, including back rent, move in assistance, future rent, and stipulated agreement assistance.
• Engaged 11,000 households in problem solving services and resolved over 1,200 households’ homelessness crisis.
• Launched the Shallow Subsidy program, which provides a smaller subsidy to reduce rent burdens on low-income households and prevent a return to homelessness.

To read our full report of progress toward this Action Area click here.

You can read our full Home by the Bay: 2023 to 2028 Strategic Plan here.