Major Win: San Francisco Enacts Council-Backed Sober Housing Ordinance

All new city-funded permanent housing for homeless individuals in San Francisco must prohibit the use of illicit drugs, according to a new ordinance adopted yesterday (7/14) by the Board of Supervisors. The ordinance, introduced by Supervisor Dorsey two years ago, is a crucial step towards creating drug-free environments for individuals recovering from addiction. San Francisco has over 18,000 permanent housing units for formerly homeless residents, nearly 40 percent of the region’s inventory despite the city having only about 10 percent of the region’s population. Nearly all those units allow onsite illicit drug use, which can be a severe obstacle to recovery for many. Since 2015, state law has required all homeless housing projects to allow onsite drug use in recognition that housing must often come first before people experiencing homelessness and/or addiction can have a chance at changing course. However, the policy unintentionally resulted in the loss of exclusively sober spaces for people who need them.

The Bay Area Council and Mayor Lurie are together co-sponsoring AB 1556 by Assemblymember Matt Haney to allow state grants to once again support drug-free housing. Thank you to the leadership of Supervisor Dorsey, Mayor Lurie, and to Supervisors Mandelman, Wong, Melgar, Sherrill, Mahmood, and Sauter for supporting this important reform. To engage with the Council’s Homelessness Committee, please contact Senior Vice President, Public Policy, Adrian Covert.