SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – The Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights has filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of people who are homeless in San Francisco.
The lawsuit goes after several city departments and Mayor London Breed.
The complaint states San Francisco tries to create an image that they’re addressing homelessness, but the lawsuit claims there hasn’t been significant action taken.
Thousands have been forced to use tents and cars as shelter.
A survey shows more than 7,700 homeless people were counted in the city this year, with nearly 60% living unsheltered.
The complaint also states the city has failed to build affordable housing, has threatened to arrest homeless people, and taken their belonging when they do encampment sweeps — even when shelter isn’t offered.
In 2018, a federal court ruled it’s unconstitutional to cite or arrest people for sleeping in public when there is no shelter available. The City and County of San Francisco stated its not commenting on the lawsuit for now, but the city attorney’s office stated the city is focused on expanding temporary shelter and providing more permanent housing options.
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Breed’s office stated the city has added about 3,000 permanent supportive housing units since 2020.
The lawsuit estimates San Francisco would need to build nearly 6,700 new affordable housing units. Housing everyone who is currently unhoused would cost 4.8 billion.