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San Francisco reports progress with RV program
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie's office has released new data on the number of tents, RVs and encampments on city streets, reporting that the number of people living in their vehicles has reached a new low.
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie's office on Wednesday released new data on the number of tents, RVs and encampments on city streets, reporting that the number of people living in their vehicles has reached a new low.
The mayor's office releases the data every three months, tracking the number of tents, structures and people living in their vehicles across the city.
By the numbers:
According to the latest count, the number of tents and structures on city streets is roughly flat compared with the same time last year — approximately 61 tents and 94 structures. The biggest decline was recorded in the number of people living in their vehicles, dropping from 529 in February of last year to 435 this February.
The decrease comes three months after the mayor's office began enforcing a new policy aimed at reducing the number of people living in RVs. The policy requires those living in RVs to apply for a temporary, six-month permit to live in their vehicle, with the expectation that they transition to housing.
The count conducted by Lurie's office is not the same as the point-in-time homeless count that counties are required to conduct every two years. It is a separate, internal estimate produced by the mayor's office.
Critics of the survey have previously argued that tallying tents, structures and vehicles is not equivalent to counting the number of unhoused individuals. The mayor's office, however, says it believes conditions are moving in the right direction.