Coalition on Homelessness filed a major lawsuit against San Francisco, alleging that the city violated the constitutional rights of the city’s homeless population.
Lawyers from the ACLU of Northern California and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area filed the 105-page complaint, alleging three violations of U.S. Constitutional amendments and allegations that the city violated its own laws
The lawsuit seeks to redirect funds from street enforcement, which costs the city tens of millions of dollars each year, to the construction of affordable housing. According to the lawsuit, this approach could save hundreds of millions of dollars in future costs such as healthcare, social services, and legal fees.
Plaintiffs in the suit include seven homeless people and the Coalition on Homelessness. The defendants are the City and County of San Francisco, the San Francisco Police Department, the San Francisco Public Works Department, the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, the San Francisco Fire Department, the Department of Emergency Management, Mayor London Breed, and Sam Dodge, Director of the Healthy Streets Operation Center.