HUD Secretary Ben Carson to visit San Francisco Tuesday

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson is expected to be in San Francisco on Tuesday, though there is no confirmed meeting between Carson and SF Mayor London Breed. 

Breed toured the newly-expanded Division Circle Navigation Center in San Francisco's Mission District. The mayor's staff confirmed that Carson will be in town, and he'll possibly tour some of the city's public housing.

Breed said her request to the secretary is to fund more housing. 

"We have seen a significant under-investment in affordable housing in our state," said Mayor Breed. "I think that's had a direct impact on homelessness."

She said navigation centers like Division Circle, which just added 60 new beds bringing the total to 186, are a critical step in getting people into permanent housing.

Vallejo's mayor, Bob Sampayan, joined the tour hoping to replicate the center's ability to bring services directly to the homeless. 

"Now, my hope is with a navigation center with the program we're hoping to start, that all of that will be a coordinated effort and we can bring it together for these folks," said Sampayan.

Paul Forbes who met with the mayor, said the navigation center is proving to be a critical bridge for him to permanent housing. 

"Whenever something becomes available, I'm just waiting, waiting for the housing to come through," said Forbes.

Breed said despite pushback from neighbors along the Embarcadero, who are opposing a new navigation center, the facilities are a safe place for the homeless to get a real chance at a fresh start and are no threat to the community. 

"You look at the proximity of what happens in terms of crime and it's proximity to a navigation center we've not seen any indication with the data that having one of these has increased crime," said Mayor Breed.

For their part, the opponents to the Embarcadero Navigation Center, maintain that crime has already increased in their area since plans for the navigation center were announced.

They filed a brief last Friday asking a judge to consider a temporary injunction order to block construction.