By Cassi Feldman

Signature-gatherers had no trouble getting sunburned revelers at the Haight Street Fair to sign on to Sup. Gavin Newsom's proposed ballot initiative, which was cheerfully described as "a new program to help the homeless." Neither did the hordes of volunteers who hit the streets after the initiative's June 15 kickoff party. But critics say they hope these easy converts read the fine print before Election Day. Because beneath the catchy "Care not Cash" slogan is a poorly researched policy shift.

Currently there are approximately 2,800 homeless single adults receiving a monthly cash grant of up to $395 from the city. If Newsom's initiative passes in November, they would lose the cash and instead receive in-kind services such as housing and meals plus a monthly allowance of $59. The point, according to the initiative, is to eliminate "the incentive for homeless individuals who want cash rather than services to congregate here" and "reduce deaths from drug overdoses."

But while these ideas have surface appeal, there's very little data to support them. Neither the Department of Human Services nor the Mayor's Office on Homelessness could provide us with any evidence that cash benefits attract homeless people to San Francisco.

And though Newsom points to a 1999 New England Journal of Medicine study that found an increase in deaths nationwide during the first week of the month, right after federal benefits were mailed out, there's no been no local study on the correlation. When Department of Public Health director Mitchell Katz conducted a cursory review of a 48-month period – Nov. 1, 1997, through Oct. 31, 2001 – he found only a minor difference between the number of deaths in the days just after checks go out (approximately 19.4) and the rest of the month (18.8).

So why make the change? According to the initiative, one major reason is to "bring San Francisco in line with almost every other California county." Most Bay Area counties have recently switched from cash to in-kind services, yet according to a May 9 report from the city's legislative analyst, it's too early to tell how their clients have fared. At best, the counties reported "some cost savings" and a drop in caseloads. And that may not be a good thing. Alameda found that most homeless people chose to go without General Assistance rather than be forced into shelter.

Overall, the report concludes, "policies that are developed on the basis of anecdotal evidence, even though they are responsive to the hardening tide of public opinion, may lead to inefficient and ineffective use of public resources, or to punitive withdrawal of funds that are desperately needed."

That fits right in with what City Controller Ed Harrington reported in his May 15 audit of San Francisco's homeless services. Harrington wrote that shifting political whims were exacerbating the problem. He suggested all "legislation, budget actions, and ballot initiatives related to homelessness" be presented to the Local Homeless Coordinating Board, which includes service providers and homeless people, for input.

Newsom must have missed that part. According to Darryl Smaw, coordinating board liaison, the board has not been asked to comment on Care not Cash. Newsom told us there was no point in asking the board since its executive committee already "wrote a letter shooting [the initiative] down."

Newsom doesn't seem to mind the opposition. He said that cutting cash aid would free up $10 million a year, which could fund 1,000 new residential hotel rooms and 150 methadone treatment slots. But the initiative doesn't explicitly promise the G.A. money will be used to help homeless people.

The lack of detail isn't what bothers many homeless folks about the proposal. Those we spoke with say the initiative will simply make their lives harder. They'll no longer be able to chip in on informal rental agreements or save up money for a security deposit. If they get evicted from a shelter or homeless program, they'll lose their benefits entirely.