Youth Commissioners Sound Alarm on Gun Violence, Title IX Failures and Budget Threats

San Francisco's Youth Commission came to the Budget & Appropriations Committee on March 25 with 19 priorities and a blunt message: young people are being shot at rising rates, sexual harassment complaints are going uninvestigated, and the commission itself could lose the staffing and charter protections it needs to function. The hearing unfolded against a nearly $1 billion projected city deficit that will force painful choices on every line item the commissioners touched.

• Youth shootings up 74% in five years; commissioners push gun buybacks, mental health funding and reject restoring school resource officers

• Only 5 of 24 Title IX complaints investigated in SFUSD in 2022; dissolved student advisory group leaves students without a voice

• $3.4 million ask for SF Environment to save eight at-risk staff positions working on climate equity and youth education

• Family homelessness surged 82% between 2022 and 2024; commission calls for youth-specific housing assessments outside the Tenderloin

• Youth Commission fights to stay in the city charter after Commission Streamlining Task Force recommends removal; Vice Chair Dorsey floats hybrid compromise

• Chair Chan assigns homework: come back with recommended spending cuts, not just asks

Why it matters: Firearm violence has been the leading cause of death for youth ages 0–17 since 2020. The Youth Commission issued three statements on youth violence in just five months this term — an unprecedented pace that reflects how urgently young San Franciscans view the crisis.