Newsom: San Francisco Homeless Down By 12,000
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Mayor Gavin Newsom says San Francisco has cut its homeless population by 12,000 since he took office six years ago.
The San Francisco Chronicle says Newsom's count includes those helped by programs including Care Not Cash to slash welfare checks in exchange for housing and Homeward Bound to pay for people's bus tickets home.
The mayor's director of homeless policy, Dariush Kayhan, says the biennial homeless count shows a 25 percent drop in homelessness in the city since Newsom took office.
Newsom, who is running for California lieutenant governor, says he wants to expand such San Francisco programs as one-stop services Project Homeless Connect statewide.
Earlier this year, the city said there were more than 6,500 homeless people in the city. But homeless experts at the time put the number between 10,000 to 15,000.
