Stop the Reallocation of Prop C Funds – Advocate for Youth and Families

Send an email today to OPPOSE the Mayor’s Our City, Our Home Homelessness Proposal or Call into the Budget Hearing Committee
(Contact Information Below)

We hope this message finds you well. We urgently need your help to protect the crucial resources that are instrumental to our families and youth facing the harsh reality of homelessness in San Francisco.

The proposed change to the Prop C spending categories is a looming threat to our community. A YES vote on this budget proposal means increasing homelessness for Transition Age Youth (TAY) and families immediately, with the risk of increasing adult chronic homelessness in the future. This is not merely a shift in funding allocation, but a clear disregard for the well-being of our city’s most vulnerable citizens.

Last year alone, Compass Family Services, one of San Francisco’s vital providers, supported over 2500 families in dire need of housing support. Yet only 14% of the City’s homeless housing units are available for families with children. Additionally, Domestic Violence providers in our city had to turn away thousands of women and children from emergency shelters and transitional housing due to a lack of resources.

Moreover, every night in San Francisco, nearly 1,100 youth experience homelessness, over half of whom are African American. Without the necessary funding, only 15% of youth seeking housing resources will receive them, leaving an estimated 850 youth each year without shelter.

The proposed cuts will severely impede our equity goals, particularly given the higher racial and queer disparities among homeless youth and families. Almost half of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ and 61% are BIPOC. Over half of homeless families are African American.

What is Our City Our Home: The 2018 Prop C initiative, Our City Our Home, was deliberately designed to curtail the inflow into homelessness. We know that children who experience homelessness are five times more likely than their peers to become homeless adults. By reducing funding for TAY and families, we are setting up these young people to become the city’s next generation of homeless adults.

This is more than an issue of housing. This is a matter of life and death. A recent six-year study showed that young people without a safe place to call home die at rates ten times higher than their housed peers.

We urge you to take action today!

Please send an email to the list below
(you may use the sample email below)
Board of Supervisors: board.of.supervisors@sfgov.org

OR call into the hearing today:

Stand with us in the fight to prevent increased homelessness in our city and to provide essential resources for those in need.

We need your immediate attention and response. Thank you for your consideration and your commitment to creating a better future for all residents of San Francisco.

Sample Email:

Subject: Urgent: Oppose the Reallocation of Prop C Funds – Protect Our Youth 

Dear [Board of Supervisors Member’s Name], 

I hope this email finds you well. As a steadfast supporter of Larkin Street and a committed advocate for ending homelessness in our city, I write to you today with grave concern over the proposed reallocation of Prop C funds. 

The threat this change poses to families and Transition Age Youth (TAY) cannot be overstated. As we have seen in the work of Larkin Street, early interventions are key to ending the cycle of homelessness. We know that a large percentage of those experiencing homelessness in San Francisco had their first episode before they turned 25. By diminishing funding aimed at our TAY and families, we not only endanger these vulnerable populations now, but we are also setting the stage for increased adult chronic homelessness in the future. 

I urge you to vote NO on this proposed reallocation. Let us stand together for the dignity and well-being of our city’s youth and families. It is not just about reallocating funds, but about investing in a safer, more secure future for the very heart of our city – our youth. 

Thank you for your time and consideration, and for your ongoing service to our city. 

Sincerely, 

[Your Name] 

[Your Contact Information