How is kicking people to the curb going to end homelessness in S.F.?

By Olivia McHaney

Regarding: “‘Not enough’: S.F. offers $5K Airbnb gift cards to residents ‘squatting’ in housing units” (San Francisco, SFChronicle.com, Aug. 28): The people being kicked out of their homes to make room for a development that isn’t even 100% affordable aren’t the problem. It’s the developers and officials without a clear view of the struggles of rent-burdened San Franciscans and working-class people who are. 

The average nightly cost of an Airbnb in San Francisco is $252, according to AirROI. A $5,000 gift card only covers about 19 days in a short-term rental. 

It’s concerning that 40 households are being displaced without any equitable or effective compensation. Kicking people out of their homes is insidious in itself — threatening them with litigation, without any real solution for where people are supposed to live. Unacceptable. 

There is a lot of talk about ending homelessness in San Francisco. How about we start by not kicking people out of their homes with nowhere to go? Seems reasonable to me.