Add The California Post on Google San Francisco homeless tents have been disappearing in droves over the past two years, new data shows — marking an astonishing turnaround in a city once derided for chronic street homelessness and public drug use.
Homeless tents and structures have decreased by 85% between 2024 and the current day, with roughly 1,000 fewer people living on the streets, Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office said Tuesday.
The numbers were based on the federally mandated Point in Time tally, which estimates the number of homeless people citywide through manual counts led by volunteers.
Lurie’s office pointed to the recent opening of the RESET Center, a facility intended to help homeless people using drugs to sober up and potentially seek treatment, along with stepped-up outreach efforts.
The RESET center had about 500 admissions between May and June, the city said.
A landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2024 also made it easier for San Francisco and other West Coast cities to dismantle homeless encampments.
The ruling, stemming from a case in Grants Pass, Ore., allows cities to enforce anti-camping ordinances — which had been previously challenged by homeless advocacy groups as unconstitutional.
“I’ve consistently advocated that San Francisco should step up arrests and custodial interventions for public drug use because they have the potential to save lives,” said Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who oversees the South of Market district, where homeless drug users have often congregated.
“The early results from the RESET Center are incredibly encouraging and demonstrate that this approach is far more effective than leaving people on the street without intervention, support, or a pathway to recovery,” he said.
Locals have noted, however, that the city did change its methodology for counting homeless people — adjusting the times and methods for interacting with homeless individuals, meaning it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison with past years, according to the San Francisco Standard.
Critics pointed out a concerning rise in family homelessness as San Francisco rents skyrocket due to the boom in artificial intelligence.
San Francisco one-bedroom rents have soared to an average of $4,000 per month, a record high — and some renters are dealing with sudden price shocks as landlords jack up prices.
One family of three was shocked to learn last month that their landlord was raising rent for their two-bedroom condo by 90% — to $7,000 per month.
Lurie said on X that the city has “more work to do” but hailed progress on street homelessness.
“San Francisco is seeing record-low numbers of tents and large vehicles on our streets — and we’re continuing to make progress helping people get off the streets and into stability,” he said.
