Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced a goal for his second term of helping at least 8,000 people out of homelessness forever through strategies that stabilize people’s lives through the City’s nationally recognized housing and services and building a system that ends a person’s homelessness before it becomes chronic. Mayor Lee is creating a new Department to help homeless residents permanently exit the streets and move into housing and services and has committed to maintaining and enhancing funding for homeless prevention and solutions of at least $250 million per year.

“Despite decades of best efforts, we haven’t eliminated homelessness, and as we house and serve thousands, they’re replaced by new thousands. And they all deserve our compassion and care,” said Mayor Lee. “Building on the work that came before us, we can solve street homelessness, but it will require cooperation like never before. With a goal of helping at least 8,000 people off our streets in the next four years, we can make a difference if we leverage the passion and energy from our service providers, advocates, national experts and our City departments and work together. All of the ingredients for success on ending homelessness for thousands of our fellow citizens are already here in the City of Saint Francis. Moving forward with progressive approaches on mental health, expanding the successful navigation center program, creating a Department to coordinate these and other efforts, with the nation’s best minds working with us, we can make homelessness rare, brief and one-time.”