U.S. San Francisco announces strategic plan to address homelessness

SAN FRANCISCO, April 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Friday announced a strategic plan outlining top priorities and goals to help individuals exit homelessness across the city.

Home by the Bay, San Francisco's blueprint for the next five years, builds on the city's success to increase access to shelter and housing over the last few years, which resulted in a 15 percent decline in unsheltered homelessness and a 3.5 percent decrease in overall homelessness, the announcement said.

"Home by the Bay is founded on the pillars of equity and housing justice, quality, and innovation, and is anchored by a set of five bold goals that aim to drive significant, lasting reductions in homelessness," it added.

The city intends to reduce the number of people who are unsheltered by 50 percent and the total number of people experiencing homelessness by 15 percent, and to actively support at least 30,000 people to move from homelessness into permanent housing.

Achieving the plan's vision is essential to address the current homelessness crisis, especially for communities who continue to be impacted by structural racism and inequities, and for people whose health and lives are at risk by being unsheltered, according to the announcement.

"This plan sets forth strategies that build on what works and strengthens partnerships and accountability to ensure our efforts are making a real difference and that investments are making an impact," said Breed.

The plan's implementation will begin in July this year.