San Francisco wants federal taxpayers to help cover the more than $423 million it spent housing approximately 5,000 homeless people in hotels and other “non-congregate” facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The total cost per homeless person housed by San Francisco during the pandemic was $84,600, according to data reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco city officials had expected the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse the city $190 million for housing homeless people during COVID-19, however, due to a rule change, the city could be on the hook for the spending.
San Francisco and other cities across California housed the homeless in hotels during the pandemic to aid with social distancing and reduce COVID-19 transmission.
FEMA said in October 2023 that it would not reimburse local governments for many hotel stays that lasted…
