A proposed ordinance by gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman to enhance shelter solutions for people experiencing homelessness and sheltering on the city's streets hit an unexpected snag during a committee hearing May 12, and has left Mandelman trying to decide what to do next.
The proposed ordinance, titled "A Place for All," would make it the policy of San Francisco to offer all people experiencing homelessness in the city a safe place to sleep.
The original proposal, introduced back in 2020, failed to make it out of the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee, which instead supported safe sleeping sites, or sanctioned outdoor camping spaces.
This newer version includes a broader array of options while placing less emphasis, but not doing away with, congregate housing such as shelters.Then-Supervisor Matt Haney, who was sworn in as the new assemblymember for the 17th District on May 3, had been one of the measure's initial opponents but signed on as a co-sponsor this time before his departure for Sacramento, along with Supervisors Catherine Stefani (District 2), Myrna Melgar (District 7), and Gordon Mar (District 4).At a news conference before the supervisors' public safety and neighborhood services committee meeting, Mandelman accused the city of being oblivious to the needs of, not only the homeless, but housed residents as well.