New San Francisco campaign aims to house 1,100 homeless

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KTVU) - More than a hundred people in Duboce Park Thursday to kick off a new campaign to create more housing for people currently on the street.

Among those was Joe Wilson. He used to sleep on a sidewalk South of Market Street.

"I felt I was worthless. It was hard to maintain a sense of hope," said Wilson.

But Wilson got help from a non-profit agency called "Hospitality House."

Now years later. He's the CEO of that very same agency. 

"First and foremost it was people taking an interest in you. People feeling like you were worth something," he said.

The group leading the charge is called "All In." 

It's a coalition that includes tech companies, non-profit services, Airbnb and the San Francisco Giants. It also is looking for vocal support from the public.

"Tell me where you have seen an array of companies, non-profits, labor all in support of solutions. We haven't seen this before," said Daniel Lurie, head of All In.

The goal is to create housing for 1,100 homeless people within two years.

But the group is also promoting a plan that could cause pushback.

Currently, almost all homeless programs and low-income housing are in the Tenderloin, Bayview or South of Market.

ll In wants housing and perhaps services in every supervisorial district in the city. That could include Pacific Heights one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the country.

"People say I don't want homeless living next to me. But guess what, if they are housed they are no longer homeless. They're just your neighbor," said Lurie.

The neighbors near the proposed Embarcadero navigation center have gone to court to try to stop that from happening.

"What we see at these community meetings is a vocal minority who come out. What we are trying to build is a vast majority," Lurie said. "A loud voice that says yes to solutions." 

Lurie hopes to begin finding homes for some people in the coming weeks.