Federal Cuts Threaten Human Link to Identity for SF's Unhoused

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – December 02, 2025 – For San Francisco's most vulnerable residents, identity is not a digital wallet or a plastic card; it is the simple, profound act of being seen. A new fundraising campaign by the San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium (SFCCC) highlights a growing crisis where this fundamental human recognition is now under threat. Faced with the fallout from historic federal funding cuts to the AmeriCorps national service program, the consortium has launched an urgent $35,000 Giving Tuesday appeal to sustain its vital Street Medicine and National Health Corps (NHC) programs. While the immediate goal is to cover educational awards for service members, the stakes are far higher, touching upon the very infrastructure of trust and identity for those living on the margins.

As NHC AmeriCorps member Emily Jiang, who serves with the Street Outreach Services (SOS) program, explained, the work transcends clinical service. "It can also be a form of recognition that helps people feel seen when it is easy to feel forgotten," she stated in a recent announcement. This sentiment cuts to the core of a challenge that precedes any technological solution for inclusion: the analog, human-to-human work of affirming a person's existence.

The Anatomy of a National Retreat

The crisis facing SFCCC is a direct consequence of a dramatic shift in federal policy. In 2025, the Trump Administration's newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiated sweeping terminations of AmeriCorps funding. Citing concerns of "waste, fraud, and abuse" following a series of failed financial audits, the administration terminated approximately $400 million in grants—representing 41% of the agency's funding and impacting over 32,000 members nationwide. Programs like AmeriCorps NCCC and FEMA Corps were effectively deactivated, and the President's subsequent FY2026 budget proposal called for dismantling the agency entirely.

While legal challenges led to the partial restoration of some funds, the damage was done. Hundreds of local projects were thrown into financial chaos. For SFCCC, which has hosted NHC members since 2019, the national cuts resulted in a significantly reduced grant. This left five of its new 2025 cohort members ineligible for the AmeriCorps education awards—a critical benefit members rely on to pay for tuition or student debt. The consortium's $35,000 campaign aims to bridge this specific gap, but it underscores a much larger vulnerability for programs dependent on a shrinking pool of federal support.

More Than Medicine: The Analog Layer of Identity

For the unhoused population, the lack of a stable address, government-issued ID, and access to technology creates a state of systemic invisibility. They are effectively “identity-less” in the eyes of the formal systems required to access healthcare, banking, and social services. This is where the work of NHC members becomes crucial, serving as the human, analog layer of an identity infrastructure that does not yet exist for them.

Street medicine teams do more than treat wounds or manage chronic conditions. They build relationships through consistent, non-judgmental engagement. They become trusted intermediaries who can vouch for an individual, help them navigate bureaucratic hurdles, and connect them to services that would otherwise be inaccessible. This work is the essential prerequisite for any scalable digital identity solution. Before an unhoused individual can use a digital locker for their documents or a biometric ID for healthcare, they must first have a reason to trust the system offering it. The NHC members are that reason.

The power of this human-centric approach is captured in a story shared by Jiang. After accompanying a patient to an urgent care appointment, the woman turned to the team and said, "Today, I felt important." That feeling—of mattering, of being recognized as an individual with needs and dignity—is the bedrock of identity. When federal cuts threaten the people who facilitate these moments, they are not just reducing healthcare capacity; they are severing the fragile lines of trust and recognition that are the first step toward bringing a person out of the shadows.

The Disrupted Pipeline for Inclusive Innovation

The long-term consequences of underfunding national service extend far beyond immediate service gaps. Programs like the National Health Corps are a primary training ground for the next generation of public health and social service professionals. They provide immersive, real-world experience in serving marginalized communities, equipping members with the empathy, cultural competency, and practical skills needed to address complex social determinants of health.

By cutting off this pipeline, we risk losing a generation of innovators who are uniquely positioned to solve the challenges of digital inclusion. These are the individuals who, having worked on the front lines, understand that an identity solution for the unhoused cannot be designed in a vacuum. They know that technology must be paired with trusted human support to be effective. Weakening programs like AmeriCorps ensures that fewer future leaders will have this foundational understanding, potentially leading to a greater disconnect between technological solutions and the people they are intended to serve.

As local organizations like SFCCC scramble to fill the void left by the federal government's retreat, their efforts are a testament to community resilience. The Giving Tuesday campaign is more than a plea for donations; it is a defense of a model that places human dignity at the center of service. Supporting the service and education of these members is an investment in sustaining not only immediate care for the vulnerable but also the human infrastructure essential for building a more inclusive future, one where no one feels forgotten.