S.F. Revises Homeless Busing Policy

City welfare officials have agreed to stop sending homeless people to Humboldt County without notifying their counterparts in the far northern county.

The agreement reached Friday resolves a dispute that began after Humboldt County officials learned that San Francisco had sent at least 13 homeless people north on one-way bus tickets over the last year.

San Francisco officials said they would start informing Humboldt County officials whenever homeless people were sent over its borders through the city’s Homeward Bound program. They will also verify beforehand that the person is actually from Humboldt County, about 200 miles to the north.

Created about a year ago, the Homeward Bound program sends street people home if friends or family members are willing to help them. So far, more than 960 homeless people have been given one-way bus tickets.

After learning about the program, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors sent a letter to San Francisco’s Human Services Director Trent Rhorer on Thursday, complaining that San Francisco is sticking the Humboldt County area with its problems and dubbing Homeward Bound warmed-over “Greyhound Therapy.”