“Shelter should be more than a safe place to sleep – it should be a pathway to stability and housing,” the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing said in a statement. “The proposed Shelter Engagement Policy is about strengthening that pathway by establishing clear expectations for shelter providers and guests to work together.”<\/p>\n
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Under the proposal, the city would allow shelter operators, including the one shown above, to grant residents up to three 90-day extensions. Additional extensions would require HSH approval, but there would be no maximum number of extensions. Shelter residents could appeal denials. (Jessica Christian\/S.F. Chronicle)<\/p>\n
Currently, there are no limits on stays at most city shelters. Many people remain for months at a time, with hundreds on the waitlist for a bed. The large majority fail to find permanent housing upon leaving as the city faces a dire shortage of affordable homes.<\/p>\n
The proposed policy would reinstate a prior 90-day limit for most the city’s roughly 2,200 shelter beds for adults and young adults. The limit was suspended during the pandemic as shelters reduced capacity to comply with social distancing.<\/p>\n
Under the proposal, the city would allow shelter operators to grant residents up to three 90-day extensions. Additional extensions would require HSH approval, but there would be no maximum number of extensions. Shelter residents could appeal denials.<\/p>\n
To be eligible for an extension, residents would be expected to meet with case managers weekly and work with shelter operators on a plan to find housing, among other requirements. Eligibility would also take into account factors such as mental health or addiction or barriers to moving into housing that’s outside of a client’s control.<\/p>\n
Last fiscal year, the average stay length at city shelters was 117 days, and just 21% of people who left adult and young adult shelters moved to housing, according to city officials.<\/p>\n
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A man sits on the sidewalk across the street from the Multi-Service Center South St. Vincent De Paul shelter at 5th and Bryant streets in San Francisco. (Jessica Christian\/S.F. Chronicle)<\/p>\n
Officials said there would not be specific performance metrics tied to the policy, but added that could change in the future.<\/p>\n
Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said imposing limits on shelter stays can cut people off from services and cycle them back to the street. She questioned whether all shelter and service providers in the city are equipped to help residents remain eligible for extensions.<\/p>\n
“Arbitrary time limits often create instability,” Friedenbach said. “While we appreciate the flexibility of the time limits, we would want to make sure the extension process is fair.”<\/p>\n
In late 2024, HSH enacted a controversial 90-day stay limit<\/a> on shelters for families with children, with the goal of making beds available to more families. The agency later expanded the first operator-approved extension from 30 to 90 days<\/a>. Any further 90-day extensions require HSH approval.<\/p>\n HSH said that the family shelter stay policy has shortened average wait times for shelter by 30%. But Friedenbach said some families had extension requests denied after they struggled to contact their case managers. HSH said the policy’s impact on shelter turnover and housing outcomes was unclear because shelter eligibility and prioritization rules changed at the same time.<\/p>\n City homelessness officials say the proposed changes are meant to encourage shelter residents and service providers to work together to find residents lasting homes, in turn freeing up more shelter beds for those who need them most. (Jessica Christian\/S.F. Chronicle)<\/p>\n Starting in March, HSH plans to also extend the new proposed time limits to the nearly 500 units in family shelters. Officials said the goal is to establish limits and minimize burdens across the shelter system.<\/p>\n To help shelter operators move people into housing, HSH said it is working to reduce vacancies in its permanent supportive housing stock, including by more quickly repairing vacant units.The city’s supportive housing vacancy rate is about 8%, with a goal of 7%.<\/p>\n Even as vacancies remain in supportive housing – which is generally prioritized for those with serious health or addiction issues – there’s still not enough affordable units available for everyone in shelters, said Sherilyn Adams, CEO of Larkin Street Youth Services. The nonprofit runs a 40-bed shelter for homeless young adults.<\/p>\n “Time limits or not, there is insufficient housing,” she said.<\/p>\n Still, Adams supports time limits, saying they would provide young adults at Larkin’s shelter more structure and guidance to work toward finding housing.<\/p>\n Shelter resident John Zimmer, 67, sits outside of the Multi-Service Center South St. Vincent De Paul shelter. (Jessica Christian\/S.F. Chronicle)<\/p>\n Outside an adult homeless shelter in SoMa, shelter resident John Zimmer sat on the sidewalk smoking a Pall Mall cigarette before heading to the Tenderloin to meet with his case manager and make progress on his housing search.<\/p>\n Zimmer, 67, said he’s stayed at the shelter since May. With case workers’ help, he’s filled out numerous housing applications and visited low-income apartments throughout the city, but has yet to find a place of his own.<\/p>\n It’s a lot of work, but he remains undeterred.<\/p>\n “If I can’t do that, I don’t deserve it,” he said.<\/p>\n Subscribe<\/p>\n There’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25\u00a2.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"City](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/san_francisco_chronicle_hearst_178\/ac7e1e08b909558d52bf8485fd87eefe.jpg\"\/)
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