San Francisco Has Bused Out 55 Unhoused Residents Since August 1st
San Francisco officials revealed new numbers on Monday showing that 55 homeless people have been relocated out of the city since August 1st, thanks to the Journey Home busing program. This push comes after Mayor London Breed’s executive order in early August, aiming to expand efforts to address the city’s growing homelessness problem.
This isn’t San Francisco’s first attempt at a busing program. Back in 2005, under then-Mayor Gavin Newsom, the city launched Homeward Bound, which ran until 2013 and helped more than 10,000 homeless people leave San Francisco. Of those, only about one in eight ever returned. While the city didn’t continue that program, many local charities have quietly kept offering bus tickets to homeless individuals, with some even sent as far as Florida.
Journey Home started on a small scale in September of last year. By the time Mayor Breed made her announcement in August, only 92 people had been relocated through the program. But with her executive order, the city has ramped up its efforts, making busing a central part of its plan to manage homelessness. The new strategy prioritizes relocation, offering bus rides out of the city before providing shelter or housing—marking a shift away from the “housing first” approach San Francisco previously focused on.
Preliminary data shows most people leaving through Journey Home are headed to other parts of California, though some are moving to other states like Oregon, Florida, and Arizona. Despite this, the program has drawn criticism. Some counties, like Los Angeles, have voiced concerns that San Francisco is merely offloading its homeless population onto them, putting extra strain on their own resources. Humboldt County, which has its own homeless busing program called TAP, has been sending people to San Francisco, leading to an odd situation where both counties are essentially trading homeless individuals.
So far, 55 people have been bused out since August, but tracking where everyone went hasn’t been entirely clear. Of the 36 people whose destinations have been publicly shared, 13 went to other parts of California—like Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Humboldt counties—while the rest ended up in states like Georgia, Texas, and Missouri.
Despite the recent increase in activity, Journey Home hasn’t seen massive growth just yet. August’s numbers were higher than June’s, but May actually saw more people leave the city before Breed’s order. However, with winter approaching, we might see a rise in relocations to warmer places like Southern California, Arizona, and Florida. The upcoming holiday season could also play a role, as many homeless individuals may want to move closer to family before Thanksgiving and Christmas.
SUBSCRIBE TO MY SUBSTACK HERE
FOLLOW MY WRITING ON INSTAGRAM HERE
FOLLOW BAY AREA MEMES ON FACEBOOK HERE
FOLLOW BAY AREA MEMES ON INSTAGRAM HERE
PURCHASE MY BOOK HERE
Howdy! My name is Katy Atchison and I'm an Associate Editor for Broke-Ass Stuart.
I want to take the time to say thank you for supporting independent news media by reading BrokeAssstuart.com. Supporting independent news sources like Broke-Ass Stuart is vital to supporting our community because it amplifies the voices of a wide variety of diverse opinions. You also help support small businesses and local artists by sharing stories from Broke-Ass Stuart.
Because you're one of our supporters, I wanted to send over a pro-tip.
Our bi-weekly newsletter is a great way to get round ups of Broke-Ass Stuart stories, learn about new businesses in The Bay Area, find out about fun local events and be first in line for giveaways.
If you’d like to get our newsletter, signup right here, it takes 5 seconds.
You Might Also Like
