SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Tuesday announced a new plan to end homelessness in the city's transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) community.
For more, stream KCBS Radio now.
The proposal would work to house about 400 transgender people over the next five years.
Transgender San Franciscans are about 18 times more likely to end up homeless than the rest of the population, according to a release from the mayor's office.
"Many of the people who come here are escaping homophobic or transphobic hometowns or families or situations and coming here to seek refuge, and they’re ending up on our streets. That's why we're so disproportionately impacted by homelessness,” Honey Mahogany, Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party and Co-Founder of the non-profit "The Transgender District," told KCBS Radio.
"It is still, relatively to the general population, a rather small community, so I think that makes it easier to start with a smaller community, see if this works and then apply it to the general community," Mahogany continued. "I think that's what is happening here. This is in many ways, I think, a pilot with what could be happening with the rest of the homeless population here in San Francisco."
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said the transgender homeless community has specific needs that other policies may not address.
"You have to actually target these most vulnerable people. They're not going to be caught by the larger homelessness initiatives in the way that you would hope," he told KCBS Radio.
Breed's plan, which is a collaborative effort between multiple public agencies and non-profits in San Francisco, aims to end transgender homelessness by 2027. Mandelman said it is an ambitious but achievable goal and not just about getting people off the streets.
"This is long term housing subsidies, this is permanent supportive housing — specifically for gender nonconforming and transgender folks, this is rental subsidies, flexible financial assistance, and behavioral health services," he said. "So, this is not an investment in getting people into shelter — this is an investment in getting people out of homelessness."
The plan also will specifically address the homelessness crisis within Black, Indigenous, Latina and other trans women of color communities.
The proposal includes multiple commitments to the city's TGNC homeless community including 150 long-term housing subsidies, a new Permanent Supportive Housing site, $6 million in funding over two years for short-term rental subsidies, flexible financial assistance, and support to build capacity among non-profit providers, and $500,000 to fund behavioral health services.
DOWNLOAD the Audacy App
SIGN UP and follow KCBS Radio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Related
