OPINION: The serious problems with Dorsey's sober-housing legislation - 48 hills

"The support for this type of legislation among PSH tenants has been misrepresented. Based on my conversations, tenants overwhelmingly support having the option to have recovery housing available for those who need it, and that includes myself. I support recovery housing options-but there are plenty of PSH tenants who don't believe that sobriety should be forced and would not be in support of anything that didn't give a harm reduction option."

"The legislation isn't necessary to enable new drug free/recovery permanent supportive housing. The city could, as of right now, commission new PSH that has restrictions on drug use. There is no need for a ban on new non-sober housing. This legislation is both overly proscriptive and requires community engagement only after the policy is operationalized. This is an ass-backwards way of writing public policy."

"This legislation comes at a point where there are still concerns about PSH evictions and a lack of policy that balances public safety and health with autonomy and dignity. While the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing has put non-binding guidelines for non-payment evictions, there is nearly no guidance around lease violation evictions. This will exacerbate the eviction crisis and make conditions on the streets worse."

Support among Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) tenants for abstinence-only rules has been misrepresented; many tenants want recovery-housing options but also expect harm reduction choices. New drug-free or recovery PSH can be commissioned now without banning non-sober housing. The proposed approach is overly prescriptive and schedules community engagement only after implementation, reversing normal policy practice. Existing gaps in eviction guidance, especially for lease-violation evictions, raise the risk of increased evictions and worse street conditions. Connections between proponents and organizations with controversial histories raise concerns about impacts on marginalized communities, including TLGBQ+ individuals.

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