SF Department of Public Health moves forward on $17 million in budget cuts primed to devastate LGBTQ+, African American, and Chinese communities health equity and economic recovery
Press Contacts Available for Comment:
Anya Worley-Ziegmann, Coalition Coordinator People’s Budget Coalition: (925) 519 – 4524, or media@sfaf.org
For more information: DPH Cut Fact Sheet
SAN FRANCISCO, February 2, 2026–The San Francisco People’s Budget Coalition, representing dozens of community-based organizations on the frontlines of San Francisco’s recovery, condemned the Department of Public Health’s decision to move forward with more than $17 million in proposed cuts to community-based organizations. These cuts disproportionately impact LGBTQ+ health services, culturally and linguistically appropriate services, harm reduction programs, and workforce development pipelines that train the next generation of frontline care providers.
“We can’t be a ‘city on the rise’ if we’re leaving our most vulnerable residents behind,” said Laura Guzman, Executive Director of the National Harm Reduction Coalition. “Community-based health services are essential to training the next generation of frontline workers, and cutting them at the same time as the federal government is slashing healthcare funding will lead to real harm for residents across our city. We call on DPH to restore this funding, fight for SF’s recovery, and fulfill its mission of serving all San Franciscans.”
Among the organizations facing severe cuts are the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, which is losing more than $700,000 across two programs, including its Clinical Assistants Program that trains the next generation of HIV and sexual health care workers. Lyon Martin Community Services is losing its entire QTAPI Queer Fellowship, a workforce development program that has operated for more than two decades and provides economic support and harm reduction training to LGBTQ+ clients entering the field.
“We have serious concerns about any funding cuts that would harm HIV and AIDS prevention and care, but in particular ones that would cause disproportionate harm to communities that are already disenfranchised by existing health care systems. We know that Black and African American people in San Francisco experience higher rates of HIV diagnoses than other communities–now is not the time to pull back on valuable investments made to improve health outcomes in these communities.” says Tyler TerMeer, CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation.
These cuts are disproportionately targeting underserved populations like those served by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) SF. NAMI SF’s programs were 100% cut by DPH and focused on increasing mental health access and developing peer leadership in the African American community through support groups at faith centers and affordable housing sites. These culturally responsive, peer-led services reach individuals who face significant barriers to traditional behavioral health care and are essential to reducing mental health disparities in San Francisco.
NICOS Chinese Health Coalition is facing more than $200,000 in cuts to a long-standing program focused on cultural and linguistic access. While the program centers on workforce development and training, it also includes community organizing and coalition-building to address long-standing as well as emerging health needs and disparities. This program played a central role in coordinating a COVID-19 response when Asian Americans were not identified as a priority population by either the city or the state, and it remains essential to ensuring the well-being of seniors and limited-English-proficient residents during disasters and future public health emergencies.
“San Francisco’s Chinese community has already been through so much.” said Kent Woo, Executive Director of NICOS. “We saw during the COVID-19 pandemic that we were not a priority, and how important organizing in the community is to make sure folks have the right health information and access to services. DPH says that this funding is for ‘DEI training,’ but it supports much more than that.”
San Francisco must invest in equitable recovery as across the city neighborhoods are on the rise through block parties and activities, meanwhile the city is proposing cuts to this very same activation model in the Tenderloin. Livable City’s program Sunday Streets faces an unprecedented 100% cut and “ending [this program] would dismantle a 17‑year citywide collaboration, erase hundreds of public–private partnerships, and would make Sunday Streets the face full defunding with no path to alternative support.” says Patricia Barraza, Director of Community Activations at Livable City.
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