A group of nonprofits are rallying at City Hall Wednesday because Mayor Lurie’s budget slashes programs addressing homelessness, and they say that under Lurie’s budget, the problem in San Francisco will just get worse.

What with the City and County of San Francisco looking down the barrel of an $800 million budget deficit ($245 million for fiscal year 2025 and $554 million for fiscal year 2026), Mayor Daniel Lurie is going to have to slash some jobs and programs. And there’s already been plenty of pushback over potential layoffs and the possible elimination of free-meal programs. And now NBC Bay Area reports that nonprofits and advocates for the homeless community were planning a City Hall rally on Wednesday over Lurie’s proposed cuts to homelessness programs, cuts which they say will lead to even more San Franciscans living on the streets.

One of those groups rallying is Open Door Legal, a nonprofit providing legal services to people at risk of losing their homes and falling into homelessness. And KQED reports that organization’s founder and director Adrian Tirtanadi has gone so far as to go on a hunger strike in protest of Lurie’s budget cuts.

“My overall reaction is extreme disappointment,” Tirtanadi told NBC Bay Area.“The budget will make homelessness worse, not better.”

Open Door Legal partially relies on funding from the San Francisco Civil Legal Services program, a $4 million-a-year City Hall program that Lurie has decided to eliminate entirely. That means Open Door Legal is losing the $2.2 million it gets every year from the city.

“I want to be very clear, this is a painful budget,” Lurie said last month when he introduced his budget. “I am hopeful and I am optimistic about our economic future here in San Francisco because we are prioritizing clean and safe streets.”

Open Door Legal would continue to exist without city funding, but with its current caseload of 3,000 clients each year, the organization would have to serve 900 fewer clients annually. And that’s 900 more people a year who could fall into homelessness if Lurie’s budget cuts go through, according to Tirtanadi.

But will Lurie’s thoroughly slashed budget pass? That’s up to the SF Board of Supervisors. NBC Bay Area asked all of them about it, and the only ones who responded were Supervisors Joel Engardio, Bilal Mahmood, Danny Sauter, and Stephen Sherrill. All four said they felt Open Door Legal should still be funded.

But those four moderate, three of who are brand new to city government, have so far been reliably loyal votes for Lurie, and have yet to cross him on a substantial level. And simply voicing support for funding Open Door Legal is a far cry from actually defying Lurie and voting against the overall budget.

Related: Mayor Daniel Lurie Promises 'New Era of Accountability' In New Homelessness Plan [SFist]

Image: @TheCoalitionSF via Twitter