Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services

In October of 2004, Mayor Gavin Newsom changed the way the City and County deals with homelessness in San Francisco. A team of approximately 250 City employees and volunteers fanned out all over the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods to engage the homeless population on a one-to-one basis. With surveys in hand they listened to each individual and captured important data about exactly what their needs are. Over 300 of those surveyed then went to one of five intake centers to meet with a wide variety of City agencies. The outreach was an immense success and Mayor Newsom has committed to doing them as often as possible.