Let’s Offer Recovery Housing – Because One Size Doesn’t Fit All

By Lanier Coles

I’ve lived in San Francisco for 25 years, and like many residents, I’ve watched our City struggle with the growing crisis of homelessness, addiction and untreated mental illness. Despite billions in spending and new programs, too many people remain unhoused, and too many lives are being lost to fentanyl overdoses.

Compassion and generosity are core San Francisco virtues. Yet these virtues are threatened when our City’s well-intentioned programs don’t deliver results. One obvious modification we need is to offer homeless people in recovery a choice to live in drug-free, supportive environments that help them stay sober and rebuild their lives.

In the early 2000s, the George W. Bush administration adopted “Housing First” as a federal policy to end chronic homelessness and get people into housing without requiring sobriety or treatment first. It was a necessary shift away from policies that made housing conditional on being clean – policies that left many people on the streets.

But in our effort to move away from outdated, punitive models, we’ve gone too far in the other direction. In 2016, California enshrined Housing First into law with the passage of Senate Bill 1380, making it almost impossible to fund abstinence-based, recovery-oriented housing, even when people ask for it.

Here in San Francisco, since 2016, under Housing First principles, we have doubled the number of drug-tolerant, permanent supportive housing beds to approximately 15,000[1]. We now have the second-highest per-capita rate of permanent supportive housing in the country[2]. Yet the number of people living unsheltered hasn’t budged, and overdose deaths have soared since 2016. In fact, in the first half of 2025, nearly 30% of all fatal overdoses in the City happened inside permanent supportive housing units, according to an analysis conducted by Gina McDee from Moms Against Drug Addiction and Deaths.

For someone just finishing residential treatment, it can be counterproductive to place them in drug-tolerant, permanent supportive housing. Equally importantly, drug-free housing is something many homeless residents want. A Rand survey of nearly 400 encampment residents in Los Angeles found that about one-third preferred placement in drug-free housing[3].

It’s time we added more tools to the toolbox. That’s why the San Francisco and California Democratic Parties have both passed resolutions calling for recovery housing options.

Now, Assembly Bill 255 – the Supportive Recovery Residence Program – offers a practical, compassionate solution.

This bill would allow up to 10% of state supportive housing funds to be used for abstinence-based housing programs for those who want it. This is not about turning people away. It’s about expanding options and respecting the different paths people take to get better.

The bill includes strong protections: No one can be evicted simply for relapsing, and those who find abstinence isn’t right for them will be supported in moving to a harm-reduction setting. It’s a compassionate, flexible solution that recognizes the complexity of addiction and recovery.

This legislation is led by Assemblymember Matt Haney, who represents the east side of San Francisco, where most of the City’s supportive housing is located. It’s co-authored by Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, who represents the west side, including the Richmond and Sunset districts.

Why does this matter for westside neighborhoods? Because as politicians look to expand housing for people experiencing homelessness into more areas – including ours – residents want to know what that means. Wouldn’t you want any new facility in your neighborhood to include a pathway for people who are actively working to get clean and turn their lives around?

Providing government-subsidized, drug-free supportive housing for those who want it is a common-sense step we can take right now to improve outcomes, save lives and better serve people who are trying to make a change.

Lanier Coles
Director, San Francisco Democratic Party
Delegate, California Democratic Party
President, Drug-Free Sidewalks