MORE SAN FRANCISCO FAMILIES were experiencing homelessness in 2026 compared to 2024, according to preliminary numbers released by Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office Tuesday.
The data in the federally mandated Point-in-Time Count that was conducted on a single morning this January did show a decline of about 4% in overall homelessness, including a 22% decline in those without shelter.
But a jump of 15% in families experiencing homelessness raised questions about how the city’s artificial intelligence-driven economic boom and the mayor’s homeless and housing policies were working for some of the city’s most vulnerable.
The city changed its methodology for this year’s bi-annual PIT count — which is widely interpreted by advocates and governments at the local, state and federal level to be a partial picture of any community’s homeless population. It is conducted by street survey teams in a single day. Previous counts were conducted during late night hours, but this year’s count was conducted in the morning.
Kunal Modi, San Francisco’s chief of Health and Human Services, said the change presented a more accurate picture and that teams asked about housing status this year, as opposed to making a visual assumption, as past counts did.
On Tuesday, Lurie and other city leaders gathered at Hope House, a sober housing complex in the South of Market neighborhood, to cheer on the overall decline in the number of people without shelter and a sharp 85% drop of tents on city streets.
“Fewer people are sleeping on our streets compared to 2024, a major sign that our strategy is working.” Lurie told a group of reporters. “More people are coming inside to get shelter and treatment and we’re moving in the right direction.”
According to this year’s PIT count, a larger percentage of the homeless population was sheltered than any previous count, with 57% of the 7,973 people recorded in the count with access to some form of shelter that day.
That’s a total of 3,400 unsheltered people in the 2026 preliminary count, down from 4,354 in 2024.
Youth homelessness and transitional aged youth, who are between 18-24 years old, declined by 54%.
There was a 55% decline in unsheltered veterans, which was part of an overall 44% drop in veterans experiencing homelessness in 2026 compared to 2024, with a total of 324 recorded in this year’s preliminary count.
But despite the drop in some categories and the slight decline overall, there were 465 families recorded in the preliminary 2026 count, up from 405 families experiencing homelessness in 2024.
The family counts rely on two numbers: Total families and the total number of people within the families. In 2026, there was an even greater rise in the number of individuals in families of 34% from 2024, with 1,474 people as part of a family unit experiencing homelessness in this year’s unofficial count.
Lurie acknowledged there was more work to do for families but said that the upward trend in San Francisco matched increases in families experiencing homelessness around the state and nation, citing the rising cost of living in several categories as one factor.
About 75% of families counted were sheltered, with many of the unsheltered living in RVs, according to Lurie.
RVs and other vehicles are not considered “shelter” under the federal government’s definition because it evaluates shelter as “a place meant for human habitation,” which does not include vehicles.
“I’m still frustrated every day. But I’ve never been more motivated,” Lurie said.
Administration touts response measures
The mayor touted several key initiatives he had pushed for since taking office in January 2025, including declaring a “Fentanyl State of Emergency” and a series of policy initiatives he has called the “Breaking the Cycle Plan.”
The Breaking the Cycle Plan included a list of time-based reforms to implement in the first 100 days of his administration and over the next year. It included multiple reforms of city departments involved in street cleanliness, public safety, public health, and homelessness. It also consolidated and reorganized street outreach teams and put them under the control of the Department of Public Health.
The policy plan also included a directive to end distribution of fentanyl smoking supplies in public spaces and pair safe needle access with a requirement for drug counseling.
The city opened a 24/7 stabilization center at 822 Geary Boulevard last year that was in the works since 2021. The clinic is run by Crestwood Behavioral Health Inc. and has 16 beds for people experiencing acute medical emergencies.
Lurie has also pushed for a controversial quasi-jail called the RESET Center that has drawn legal concerns from the City Attorney’s Office because of questions about whether people brought there are free to leave or not.
RESET stands for Rapid Enforcement, Support, Evaluation and Triage. The center is run by the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office, which says on its website that the facility is not a jail but that those brought there by a sheriff’s deputy are not free to leave until they receive a certificate allowing them to do so. It is not open to the public and does not offer walk-in care.
Over 140 people were admitted to the RESET Center in its first week of operation last week. About 25% of those admitted accepted some form of substance treatment, compared to about 50% of those admitted to the Geary Stabilization Unit staffed with trauma-informed nurses, according to the mayor’s office.