SF’s Lurie aims to make homelessness nonprofits much more accountable (2/3)

Image by Kevin Wong

Countering mounting evidence that nonprofits are grifting the City by the Bay, new mayor Lurie outlines plans to demand that nonprofits receiving taxpayer largesse actually deliver. The Chron reports.

At the same time, Lurie wants to revisit San Francisco harm-reduction policies with an eye toward preventing city-funded nonprofits from distributing fentanyl smoking supplies that people use in public. Critics have argued that harm reduction has enabled addiction, while supporters have said it saves lives.

The Chronicle previously reported that some nonprofits hand out foil, straws and pipes to fentanyl users, though officials said the city didn’t provide the equipment itself or expressly fund their purchase. Lurie’s directive indicated that the city would “re-focus” its harm reduction work on “longstanding evidence-based public health interventions,” including needle exchanges that help prevent the spread of diseases such as hepatitis C and AIDS.

Go Deeper:

• Opinion on SJ homeless nonprofit flops: We don't just need “more shelters”—but better financed/managed shelters
• Case studies SF, Seattle: How so-called "homelessness services" non profits rip off cities
• Housing expert says: San Jose—lots of homeless spending, still-soaring homelessness

In the six-month time frame, Lurie said he wants to create a new contracting standard for nonprofits that provide homelessness and mental health services. He said the standard would include “minimum qualifications, clear objectives, and performance tracking” to improve outcomes. Critics — including Lurie when he was a mayoral candidate — have often complained that the city isn’t doing enough to ensure that the money it gives to nonprofits is being spent effectively. 

“We will take a hard look at our funding streams and our relationships with nonprofit providers to make sure we are getting the most from the $1 billion we spend on this crisis every single year,” Lurie said at the news conference.

Lurie also wrote that city officials over the next half-year should encourage other Bay Area cities to “build sufficient capacity to meet their responsibilities to their residents, as it is unsustainable for San Francisco to serve as the services hub for the region.” 

Read the whole thing here.

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