Social Policy
Implementation of Care Not Cash began on July 1, 2004. As part of his Care Not Cash initiative, 5,000 more homeless people were given permanent shelter in the city. As of October 21, 2007, about 2,000 people have been placed into permanent housing with support. Other programs initiated by Newsom to end chronic homelessness include the San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team (SF HOT), and Project Homeless Connect (PHC). SF HOT functions as a short-term intensive case management team, assisting the most disabled homeless individuals to access health, social and housing services. PHC consists of bimonthly events that bring together a host of public and private services at one location, making it easier for homeless individuals to connect with a number of services under one roof. Both of these programs have worked to move homeless people into permanent, supportive housing. In his 2004 State of the City Address, to highlight the issue of homelessness, Newsom declared that "homelessness has replaced the Golden Gate Bridge and the cable car as one of the city's most defining symbols."
Newsom has worked to improve San Francisco public housing through Newsom's public private partnership initiative called SF HOPE. Newsom has focused city resources on impoverished districts in Bayview-Hunters Point on San Francisco's southeast side, often arriving there without notice to follow through on city programs. On one occasion, Newsom took several Hunters Point children to Burger King and to a San Francisco 49ers game. The Baysview-Hunters Point project includes over 8,500 housing units and 350 acres (1.4 km2) of open space. Since Newsom became mayor, the city has put nearly $500 million into construction of affordable housing that house nearly 20 percent of San Francisco's families. Newsom also worked on plans for 6,000 new homes and apartments on Treasure Island, new high-rise apartments and condominiums on Rincon Hill, and has worked on rebuilding the Transbay Terminal.
Newsom helped secure $77 million to help some of San Francisco's underperforming schools and worked to put more police officers in schools. In February 2008, Newsom committed $30.6 million from San Francisco's budget reserves to help San Francisco Unified School District close a $40 million drop in state funding due to state budget deficits.
Read more about this topic: Mayoralty Of Gavin Newsom
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