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During San Francisco’s initial response to COVID-19, the City launched the Shelter-in-Place (SIP) Hotel Program as part of the COVID-19 Alternative Shelter Program. The SIP Hotel Program made a historic commitment to serving the unhoused population by providing non-congregate shelter for over 3,700 people experiencing homelessness who were most vulnerable to COVID-19.

As the program wound down, the City and our partners helped three-quarters of guests exit to stable locations, including 1,835 guests who moved into housing.

This page has information about the SIP Hotel Program and where guests went after the sites closed. 

Program Overview

The first SIP hotel sites opened in April 2020. The SIP Hotel Program ended in December 2022.  At its highest capacity, the hotel program provided 2,288 rooms across 25 sites.

• The SIP hotels largely served adults. Many adult guests were particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 due to their age or underlying health conditions. Over the course of the program, HSH served 3,356 adult guests in these non-congregate hotel sites.
  • In November 2020, the City started a coordinated effort to transition these guests exit to stable locations through the SIP Housing Process.
  • The dashboards at the end of this page show where these SIP hotel guests went after leaving the program.
  • Two-thirds of eligible guests exited to housing.

• HSH also served more than 300 family guests at one site. Families at this site were redirected to housing and shelter through the family Coordinated Entry process.

• The Department of Public Health also operated a site that sheltered and served approximately 115 high-acuity guests.

San Francisco used a centralized referral system to place guests in the SIP hotels. To reach especially vulnerable populations, the City partnered with the Department of Public Health, the Office of Transgender Initiatives, the Department on the Status of Women, and other community partners for guest referrals.  

SIP hotels offered a variety of services, including:   

The SIP program model had onsite wraparound services from the Department of Public Health and the Human Services Agency, such as medical and behavioral health, In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), and benefits enrollment. This combination of services helped many guests stabilize. Drawing on best practices from the SIP hotels, HSH is expanding similar collaborations with city partners across our system of care. The Department is also committed to expanding new shelter models, including semi- and non-congregate shelter. Visit HSH’s Temporary Shelter and Crisis Interventions page for more information. 

The SIP Hotel Wind Down and Housing Process

The SIP Hotel Program was a time-limited response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the City moved from response to recovery, San Francisco slowly closed the Shelter-in-Place Hotel Program to support stable guest exists. The deliberate pace of the SIP program wind down allowed providers and staff to create individual exit plans and carefully match guests to appropriate housing units.

The City offered most SIP hotel guests a permanent solution to their homelessness at a lower cost than maintaining them in temporary shelter at a SIP hotel. For example, permanent supportive housing is more than twice as cost-effective to operate as the SIP hotels. City leadership made a commitment to permanently house most SIP hotel guests through a coordinated SIP Housing Process that started in November 2020.

• Guests were assessed to determine their housing options or options for other next steps.

• Providers offered guests eligible for housing up to three units.

• If the guest declined all three offers of housing, the City provided problem solving services to help the guest identify a stable housing option outside the homelessness response system, including reuniting with family and friends.  The City guaranteed a shelter bed for guests who had no other option.

In August 2021, housing eligibility broadened to include all guests remaining in the SIP hotels with a demonstrated vulnerability to COVID-19.

2,567 guests were eligible for the SIP Housing process.

• 1,662 people, or two-thirds of these eligible guests, moved into housing.

• Most guests from this group who did not exit to housing left for a stable indoor location.

• Only 15% left for an unknown destination after abandoning their bed, being discharged due to safety, or departing after being offered shelter. In comparison, 50% of all guests served at the SIP hotels came from an unknown or unsheltered destination.

There was a group of 789 other SIP hotel guests who were not eligible for the SIP Housing Process.

• Most people who were not eligible for housing had left the hotels before the City started the coordinated effort to house people in November 2020. About 500 guests left the hotels before November 2020.

• About 300 guests in this group were still in the hotels after November 2020. These guests were offered problem solving services and shelter bed placements. These guests did not have a high risk of negative impacts from COVID-19. 

• Although they were not eligible for the SIP Housing Process, the City was able to help 173 of these guests locate permanent housing.

Housing and Other Destinations for Guests

The dashboard below shows detailed exit destinations for the adults served in HSH’s SIP hotels, split by guests eligible and not eligible for the SIP Housing Process. 

• We tracked outcomes for guests who left the SIP Hotel Program as the sites closed through December 2022.

• We continued to track outcomes through the end of June 2023 for approximately 120 guests who were pending placements in permanent supportive housing sites or were engaged in the housing location process with a tenant-based voucher when the SIP hotels closed.

• Guests who exited the SIP Hotel Program from the DPH or family sites are not included in this dashboard since they did not go through HSH’s SIP Housing Process.

• Click the expand arrows in the bottom-right corner to view the dashboard full screen. 
• Use the buttons in the top-left pane to toggle between outcomes for “Guests Eligible for SIP Housing Process” versus “Other SIP Hotel Guests.” 

The dashboards below show the age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity of the guests served in the Shelter-in-Place Hotels, broken out by group and exit type. 

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Combined demographic information for all guests served in HSH’s adult SIP hotel program is available, including some additional data with population breakouts and the prior living situation of guests. 

Access archived monthly reports. Data is usually available at the beginning of the second month after the reporting period ends. For example, data from July becomes available in early September.

All LHCB Meetings in 2022 were held virtually.

December 2022 LHCB Meeting

November 2022 LHCB Meeting

Special Meeting: 2022 Continuum of Care Supplemental Notice of Funding Opportunity to Address Unsheltered and Rural Homelessness

October 2022 LHCB Meeting

September 2022 LHCB Meeting

August 2022 LHCB Meeting

July 2022 LHCB Meeting

Special Meeting: June 2022 HHAP Meeting

June 2022 LHCB Meeting

May 2022 LHCB Meeting

April 2022 LHCB Meeting

March 2022 LHCB Meeting

February 2022 LHCB Meeting

Special Meeting: January 2022 Point in Time Count

January 2022 LHCB Meeting

Since the Department’s founding, HSH has relied on research and data to guide our policies. Access archived reports on the homelessness response system and our Department’s work. 

Homelessness Response System Data

HSH’s periodic reports provide information about the people served in the six core components of our work. Access historical data in the Local Homeless Coordinating Board (LHCB)’s and Homelessness Oversight Commission’s records from the direct links from 2018 through 2023. Reports from the months with available data are linked below.

From 2024 onwards, all data records are available in the Homelessness Oversight Commission monthly director’s report.

*Please note: LHCB and Commission presentations are given two months after the end of the period of the reported data to ensure accuracy. Data is listed below by the month of the reporting period.

2023

January	February	March
April	May	June
July	August	September
October	November	December

2022

January	February	March
April	May	June
July	August	September
October	November	December

2021

January	February	March	April
June	July	August	September
October	November	December

2020

April	May	June	July
August	September	October	November
December

2019

January	February	March	April
May	June	July	August
October	November	December

2018

January	February	March	June
July	August	September	October
November	December

Homelessness Response System Reports

Find archived reports about our equity work and the core components of HSH’s system. 

Equity and the Homelessness Response System 

• Annual Racial Equity Progress Reports:
  • 2022 Progress Report
  • 2021 Progress Report

• San Francisco SPARC Report 

• SPARC National Phase One Study Findings 

• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Report – Fiscal year 2022-23

• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Report – Fiscal year 2021-22

• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Report – Fiscal year 2020-21

• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Report – Fiscal year 2019-20

• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Report – Fiscal year 2018-19 

• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Report for fiscal year 2017-18

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Shelter and Crisis Interventions

• Navigation Center Neighborhood Impacts Report 

• An Assessment of the Navigation Center’s First Six Months – December 2015 

• Navigation Center 1 Year Evaluation – June 2016 

• Perspectives from the Navigation Center: Report 1 

• Perspectives from the Navigation Center: Report 2 

• Perspectives from the Navigation Center: Report 3 

• Perspectives from the Navigation Center: Report 4  

Coordinated Entry 

• San Francisco Family Coordinated Entry Consumer Feedback Report 

• SF Family Homelessness and Coordinated Entry – Phase 1 Report 

• SF Family Homelessness and Coordinated Entry – Phase 2 Report 

• Overview of SF Primary Assessment for Adults 

• Analysis of Adult Prioritization Tool Data 

Housing  

Eviction Reporting:

• FY 2022 – 2023 HSH Eviction Report

• FY 2021 – 2022 HSH Eviction Report

• FY 2020 – 2021 HSH Eviction Report

• FY 2019 – 2020 HSH Eviction Report 

• FY 2018 – 2019 HSH Eviction Report 

• FY 2017 – 2018 HSH Eviction Report 

Department of Disability and Aging Services Reports:

HSH contributes to the Department of Disability and Aging Services’ citywide reports on affordable housing for seniors and people with disabilities.

• 2021 Overview Report on Housing for Seniors and People with Disabilities

HSH Strategic Planning and Reports

Strategic Framework 

• Strategic Framework Update and Implementation Plan – 2020

• Strategic Framework Update and Implementation Plan – 2019

• Update – January 2018 

• Update – October 2017 – December 2017  

Other Strategic Reports 

• The San Francisco Local Homeless Coordinating Board Strategic Plan Framework 2014-2019 

• San Francisco Coordinated Community Plan to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness – 2018 

• San Francisco Civil Grand Jury: Homeless Health and Housing Crisis Unfolding on Our Street 2015-2016 

• San Francisco’s Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness: Anniversary Report Covering 2004 to 2014 

Point in Time (PIT) Counts

Additional Local Reporting

Annual Reports

Reports from the Board of Supervisors’ Budget & Legislative Analysts 

• BLA Performance Audit of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing – Aug. 2020

• BLA Report on Homelessness and Cost of Quality of Life Laws – June 2016 

• BLA Homeless Services Audit – June 2016 

• BLA Report on Supportive Housing – December 2014  

Provider Conference Reports

2019 Nonprofit Conference Report

2018 Nonprofit Conference Report

The San Francisco Housing Authority and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) are administering over 900 Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs). These vouchers move more San Franciscans who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness into permanent housing. 

We call these “emergency” housing vouchers because they are funded through federal COVID-19 relief. The vouchers offer long-term rental assistance. Voucher holders use the EHV to lease units on the private market.  

• The Housing Authority covers part of a voucher holder’s rent based on income.  
• HSH: 
  • Referred eligible households to the Housing Authority for the program. 
  • Provides supportive services to households that need them. 

Issuing Emergency Housing Vouchers

HSH started the referral process to the Housing Authority in fall 2021. The last referrals took place by the referral deadline of September 30th, 2023.  We are tracking our progress on referrals and move-ins.

HSH created community-informed local priorities for referring households. These priorities align with our agency’s strategic plan and equity goals. Addressing racial inequities in homelessness was one of the priorities. We identified historically underserved neighborhoods in San Francisco’s District 10, which includes the Bayview neighborhood. HSH’s goal was to refer at least 30% of our EHVs to people staying in District 10. 

More Background on EHVs

Tenants who receive EHVs: 

• Live in their own unit throughout the private rental market.  

• Pay 30% to 40% of their income on rent, with the rest covered by the Housing Authority through the voucher. 

• Keep the voucher for as many years as needed. The voucher holder must be in compliance with HUD and Housing Authority regulations. 

• Receive help searching for housing and paying for move-in costs. These costs can include security deposits and furniture.   

• Can receive voluntary housing-focused supportive services funded by HSH. These services include connections to benefits, communications with a landlords, and case management. 

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Eligibility for EHVs:

In San Francisco, EHV referrals were only for families and individuals who are:    

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Local Priorities:

San Francisco also had local goals to determine who received a voucher. We needed more criteria to distribute the limited number of vouchers equitably. This program was referral-based. This means individuals could not apply directly to the Housing Authority. Instead, HSH identified and referred applicants. HSH’s priorities included: 

• Addressing racial inequities in homelessness caused by structural racism. We prioritized households who have been historically marginalized through community-based referral partners. 

• Reducing homelessness by prioritizing people who are currently experiencing unsheltered homelessness. 

• Decreasing inflow into homelessness by prioritizing people at risk of homelessness. 

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Referral Methods:

There were several referral methods for this program.  

• HSH’s Coordinated Entry system referred many households to the program. These referrals came through our standard housing prioritization process.

• HSH also worked with 15 designated referral partners, including providers who serve survivors of violence. We selected these providers based on their experience working with our focus populations. These partners identified households to refer to the program.  

• HSH also opened an online screener. This screener allowed households that were not yet in our system of care to apply. 

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Number of EHVs:

The federal government allocated 906 EHVs to San Francisco. We issued far more than 906 vouchers since we were able to refer new households to some vouchers that were not used or were no longer being used. These vouchers were available for a new referral before the September 30, 2023, referral deadline. There were three main reasons we re-referred vouchers, as shown on the first dashboard: 

1. Voucher went to another county: A household could bring their EHV to another county. Transferring the voucher to the housing authority in another county is called porting. Some of the ported vouchers returned to San Francisco and a new household was referred.

2. Household moved to other permanent housing: Some households found other permanent housing options and no longer needed an EHV. Their vouchers were open for a new referral before the referral deadline.  

3. Vouchers expired: There is a 180-day window for households to lease a unit, with a possible 60-day extension. After this period, vouchers became available for a new referral before the deadline. 

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More Information and Useful Links:

• Frequently Asked Questions 

• San Francisco Housing Authority webpage 

• HUD EHV program website  
  • Contains data that updates less frequently than HSH’s dashboard. 

• For questions about the emergency housing voucher program, please contact HousingChoiceVouchers@sfgov.org 

• To learn more about available housing choice voucher programs, contact the San Francisco Housing Authority.