Supervisor Fiona Ma: My Votes on Recent Homeless Legislation

Let me be clear - I strongly favor the concept of replacing cash grants to the homeless with temporary housing and other services. In July, I co-sponsored legislation that will do exactly that. The only material difference between this now-passed legislation and "Care Not Cash" is that the term "shelter" has been deleted from the definition of "housing." I know from first-hand experience, during unannounced and unscheduled visits to many shelter sites around the City, that these shelters are already over-crowded, unsafe and unhealthy - relying on them as a substitute for temporary transitional housing is a recipe for failure.

Two weeks ago, when the Care Not Cash legislation came up for a vote, I proposed an amendment that I believed was more responsible, accountable and compassionate by limiting shelter stays to six months (versus an indefinite amount of time).

My proposed amendment, supported by Supervisor Gavin Newsom and the SF Department of Human Services (DHS), did not alter the essence of Care Not Cash. Instead, it added an accountability component and provided the incentive needed for DHS and their clients to identify and implement viable solutions. It also required DHS to be more accountable to the board by providing mandated reports on the status of General Assistance clients, the number of people in shelters and the conditions at these facilities. To my disappointment, my amendments failed and I did not feel that I could, in good conscience, support the legislation as written.

I feel it is important to note that homelessness in San Francisco is a complex issue with deep-rooted problems and there is no simple solution. With that said, even a first step in addressing this problem requires careful, well-considered and thoughtful legislation that addresses the whole issue of homelessness and does not aggravate our current situation.

As I have stated both on the campaign trial and in office, the infrastructure providing these services is broken, ineffective and in some instances simply non-existent. Care Not Cash only stood to affect a small percentage of the City's homeless population. Now it even appears that many of the assumptions Care Not Cash was based on may have been flawed because the city's problems with service delivery are even greater than we first thought.

San Francisco currently spends more than $200 million a year in direct and indirect costs associated with homeless services. While calling for the transfer of monies currently spent on various homeless services may help to a degree, the reality is that we need much larger reforms. I plan to continue to scrutinize the city's budget and ensure that our resources are spent wisely on programs that will allow us to clean up our neighborhoods, promote business, address quality-of-life issues and help those who are homeless.

In short, better day-to-day management may go a lot further than small legislative adjustments and it is up to us on the Board of Supervisors to hold the administration and city departments accountable for their tasks.

Make no mistake about it - this fight will take some time and I am in this fight for the long haul because our quality of life depends on it. That's what is most important to me as both a supervisor and a San Franciscan.

San Francisco Supervisor Fiona Ma represents District 4.