In the last two years, the San Francisco homeless population has dropped by 28 percent to 6,248. Homeless deaths are down 40 percent to 101.

Since October, Project Homeless Connect has held three volunteer rallies to connect the homeless to the agencies that help them. The most recent event drew 575 volunteers and referred 1,024 homeless people to food, shelter, substance abuse, and medical help, including 62 to temporary or permanent housing and 35 to methadone treatment programs.

The Coalition on Homelessness, among other organizations, fears that later budget cuts will trump current successes. "If the mayor keeps forcing his departments to pay attention to this issue like this, we may be OK," said Michael Bleckner, director of Swords to Plowshares, which helps homeless veterans.

"Homelessness is fundamentally a social problem that can't be solved by all of us experts," said Dr. Bob Okin, chief of psychiatry at San Francisco General Hospital. "What you have to do is build hope for not just our clients, but the whole community. That's what this mayor is doing -- he's creating a populist movement. And that's a real difference between him and the others before him."

"This Newsom guy must be serious, because I just heard about this 'connect' thing on the street," said Elmer Red Bull, 46, who has been homeless for five years. "They're saying out there that it's not bull -- they say you can get real help."