A political attack on supportive housing - 48 hills

"Sup. Matt Dorsey is pulling from the same playbook as he seeks to win approval for legislation that would ban any new city money for supportive housing that isn't "drug free." Dorsey is, in effect, arguing that existing supportive housing is riddled with drugs, that people are dying of overdoses, and that the only solution is to mandate abstinence and sobriety for all new supportive housing residents."

"Even his language, that current housing is "drug tolerant," suggests, in an almost Trumpian way, that everyone in supportive housing is using drugs, and that the city thinks that's just fine. Some truth here: There are, indeed, issues with some supportive housing, as is not surprising given the population the city is trying to help. But many of the nonprofits that manage supportive housing are doing a good job, and a lot of that housing is well run, safe, and not packed with dangerous addicts."

"Ten years ago, permanent supportive housing was radically underfunded. But since then, the nonprofits have made the case for reasonable staffing, have learned from mistakes, and are making huge strides. Dorsey is undermining all that work to make it appear that the only solution is to cut all funding for anything that isn't sober housing. I know the nonprofits get city money, but at a certain point they need to stand up and say: Dorsey is wrong."

Former Mayor London Breed helped create a false media narrative portraying San Francisco as crime-ridden and criminals as walking free, which aided in ousting Chesa Boudin and damaged the city. Supervisor Matt Dorsey is pursuing legislation to ban new city funding for supportive housing that is not labeled "drug free," effectively arguing that existing housing is riddled with drugs and overdoses and that mandatory sobriety is the only solution. Many nonprofits run supportive housing well, have improved staffing and practices, and have made huge strides after past underfunding. Dorsey’s proposal undermines that progress. State laws block commercial rent control and right-of-return protections for small local businesses.

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