Gavin Newsom’s Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness Turns Twenty

Then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s plan to end homelessness has now almost reached drinking age.

As Newsom took office following the city’s 2003 mayoral election, he crafted a 10-year plan to end homelessness, which included taking in tens of millions of federal dollars to create 550 “supportive housing units” for the homeless. 

There were some early signs of progress - though the statistics are arguably questionable. Based on a “one-night homeless count” taken over a 12-hour period from 8pm to 8am the next morning, San Francisco’s leaders estimated that the homeless population declined from 8,640 in October 2002 to 6,248 by 2005. Newsom touted the statistic as progress, but was met with “disbelief” from local homeless advocates who said they simply didn’t match up with the reality on the ground. 

The latest data from San Francisco’s government website is even shakier, as they estimate the homeless population from a street count on a single day in the year from 8pm to midnight. While this is hardly ideal, it's the only data we have, and it shows that the trend is rising homelessness - and that more are homeless now two decades after Newsom’s “ten year” plan took effect. 

And more to the point - homelessness certainly wasn’t ended. 

As Townhall’s Spencer Brown noted in his coverage of this story, the problem statewide has only risen with Newsom elevated to Governor, with 30% of all homeless, and 50% of all unsheltered people in the entire country not residing in his state. 

While Newsom never managed to reduce the homeless population of San Francisco or California as a whole, he has had some successes in reducing the middle and upper class populations as they flee for Texas. 

At this point, the homeless are the only ones not fleeing his state.