Addressing the Homeless Crisis

By Matt Tuchow

Matt Tuchow supported and campaigned for Mayor Newsom's homeless plan. He sees the homeless everyday at Ocean Beach, along the Park Presidio Boulevard greenway, and in Golden Gate Park. He believes we need to treat the homeless with compassion and respect and at the same time seek real solutions that reduce the negative impacts on the community of homelessness.

I will continue to work with the Mayor to support new approaches to homelessness. We must provide supportive housing for the homeless--rather than cash hand-outs. We must also provide 24-hour access to shelters for those unable immediately to get into supportive housing. Currently, many shelters are open only 12 hours. We also must provide counseling for alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental illness, and 24-hour access to crisis intervention, not just weekdays, 9:00 to 5:00. Finally, the City must tackle the root causes of homelessness, such as the foster care discharge program. Other cities such as New York have taken great strides in creating real solutions to homelessness. We must learn from their experiences, and replicate and adjust these approaches to effectively address the problems in San Francisco.