4/20/2025
The City is planning massive budget cuts, here’s the rundown from the People’s Budget Coalition:
San Francisco is facing a moral and political crisis. The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) has proposed devastating funding cuts that disproportionately target the very communities most in need—BIPOC, immigrant, LGBTQ+, unhoused, and survivor-led programs. These aren’t just budget decisions—they are life-and-death choices that abandon San Francisco’s core values of equity, care, and safety for all.
- These cuts are not neutral—they actively harm the communities already under national attack, especially trans people, immigrants, survivors of violence, and low-income tenants.
- This is not “fiscal responsibility”—it’s structural disinvestment. Decades of trusted services are being dismantled under the false pretense of performance data and budget scarcity.
- San Francisco must not double down on national patterns of harm. We are witnessing a dangerous national trend of scapegoating trans people, immigrants, and survivors—and these local cuts replicate that harm at home.
- “Public safety” must be redefined. Real safety comes from legal support, housing stability, harm reduction, reentry care, and culturally competent community organizations—not policing and incarceration.
- Cuts = Reallocations. The money isn’t gone. It’s being redirected—often away from community-rooted care and toward carceral systems like policing, jails, and emergency response.
💬 Key Talking Points by Area
📊 General Legal Services ($3.944M cut)
- These services are essential for keeping families housed, employed, and safe.
- Legal aid helps people win custody, avoid eviction, access benefits, and protect themselves from violence.
- Removing these programs means thousands will face court alone—justice only for those who can afford it.
⚖️ Gender-Based Services ($1.6M cut)
- Programs supporting GBV survivors, including trans and GNC individuals, have been defunded despite decades of proof that they work.
- Court-based legal help, shelter access, and reentry support are being eliminated—putting survivors directly at risk.
- This is part of a documented long-term erosion of gender-based services—down by one-third over recent years.
📢 Broader Narrative
- This isn’t about performance or data. Many of the programs being cut have met or exceeded deliverables year after year—some by over 60%.
- The justification of “impact” is inconsistent and unclear. MOHCD has demanded new “data” while disregarding years of documented outcomes.
- These are programs that were promised protection. When transferred from the Department on the Status of Women, GBV and gender justice programs were told they’d be safe—now they’re being erased.
- This is fiscal harassment. Small nonprofits face intense scrutiny while large “anchor” organizations still aren’t receiving the redirected funds—so where is the money going?
- We must protect our city’s care infrastructure. These programs are not extras—they are the backbone of what makes San Francisco livable and just.
💡 Closing Message
This is not safety. People will die as a result of these cuts. If San Francisco is to live up to its values, it must reinvest in the programs that save lives, house families, and uplift those most at risk. We call on Mayor Lurie and the Board of Supervisors to reverse these cuts and stand with the people who make this city whole.
Budget Spreadsheet Showing Changes
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NWRrez2HIfmIUcA_kaj_ivOczeLewZM_FisIg_gIwbo/edit?usp=sharing
Letter Template
Send Email: to the mayor: daniel.lurie@sfgov.org &
Board Of Supervisors: Board.of.Supervisors@sfgov.org
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ayoUFZA_DYWAmIAOPZWDU6gTy-cXb8poYT4ZzmglFXU/edit?usp=sharing
Hearing: April 23, 1:30pm, City Hall, Rm 250. Make your voice heard!