The CIty Releases the Bay Area's First Detailed COVID-19 Alternative Housing Program Data Tracker
News Release
San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed, the Human Services Agency (HSA) and the Controller’s Office today announced the release of new data integrated in the San Francisco COVID-19 Data Tracker (https://datasf.org/covid19) regarding the COVID-19 Alternative Housing Program. The detailed data, which will be updated daily, outlines efforts by the City to establish temporary emergency housing and shelter options for vulnerable populations, individuals directly affected by the coronavirus, and critical frontline workers.
“San Francisco is in the middle of an unprecedented effort to house people experiencing homelessness and we are leading the way on this effort. We have nearly 25% of the rooms available for occupancy statewide under Governor Newsom’s Project Roomkey, while only having 5% of the State’s homeless population,” said Mayor Breed. “This tracker brings a new level of transparency to these efforts so the public can see the progress that we are making every day.”
Since Mayor Breed declared a State of Emergency on February 25th, the City has been establishing a number of innovative alternative housing options, including private hotels, congregate sites, trailers and recreational vehicles (RVs). Many sites have on-site medical and behavioral health staff as needed for guests. Public health and human services officials assess and determine the most appropriate housing options and on-site services to meet the needs of the different populations. The City monitors and manages the flow into and out of sites used for individuals isolating with COVID-19 or awaiting test results. Once they no longer require sites with medical care, they can be transferred to other City-operated sites or back to their homes with health instructions on how to ensure their continued health and safety post-virus. This site management process ensures that the most space is available for those who need it.
“As San Francisco continues to strengthen its response to reduce the spread of coronavirus, we are adapting to the needs of our residents and adhering to public health guidance at a pace we have never seen before. I am incredibly proud of the achievements of our City workforce and partner agencies to provide thousands of hotel rooms to some of our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Trent Rhorer, Executive Director of the San Francisco Human Services Agency. “Protecting the health of people experiencing homelessness is essential to the health of us all. The addition of our COVID-19 Alternative Housing Program to the City’s open data tracker allows the public to understand our many accomplishments towards providing temporary housing for those in need at this difficult time.”
For asymptomatic people experiencing homelessness, the City is actively developing new sites to ensure the most vulnerable have safe spaces to shelter in place for the duration of the emergency. Sites for this purpose include hotels and trailer/RV sites. Frontline workers who are directly impacted by or face greater exposure to COVID-19 while performing essential duties may access hotel sites for a two-week respite period to preserve our healthcare system capacity and help prevent community spread of the virus.
“I’m immensely proud of our office’s efforts to adapt and learn quickly to produce meaningful data stories in the midst of this emergency,” said Ben Rosenfield, City Controller. “This latest addition to the series of data trackers will help provide clarity about the Alternative Housing program and inform decisions to support San Francisco’s vulnerable residents and those working on the front lines. The Controller’s Office will continue to champion data-driven decisions and work closely with DataSF and all branches of the Emergency Operations Center to support the City’s tremendous response to the COVID-19 emergency.”
The COVID-19 Data Tracker (https://datasf.org/covid19) is an open data partnership of the Department of Public Health, Controller’s Office Performance Unit and DataSF to aggregate feeds of data and review them for public release. DataSF engages City departments and the public in establishing best practices for data sharing, dashboarding, and data science.
###