HOMELESS SERVICES
“For people who are constantly being told no, constantly having a door slammed in their face, it's important to have a space where people can grow together, people can learn together, have the opportunity to imagine, have the opportunity to dream." - Junebug Kealoha, Community Health Worker, Community Living Room
A Space for the People
Located in the Tenderloin, the epicenter of homelessness, substance use, mental illness, and HIV in San Francisco, SFCHC casts a wide net in welcoming the city’s most marginalized individuals.
As part of our commitment to eliminating barriers to high–quality health services, we offer street-based programs designed to bring services directly to folks who are experiencing homelessness or who are marginally housed. Our team of talented and compassionate clinicians, case managers, and volunteers are routinely out in the neighborhood delivering care to folks in the streets and connecting them to the services they need to stay healthy.
Our homeless services includes a community drop-in space at the Community Living Room, housing for trans/GNC folks at Taimon Booton Navigation Center, primary care on the streets with Street Medicine, and HIV care through programs at our Wellness Clinic.
Homeless Health in the News
Check out our Newsroom for all of our media statements and coverage
SF Homeless Sweeps are threatening lives
On July 25, 2024, a US Supreme Court ruling allowed municipalities to bar unhoused persons from sleeping outdoors in public spaces, even if they have nowhere safe to shelter. In response, the Governor of California issued an executive order directing state agencies, in partnership with local authorities, to take action and address homeless encampments. This policy has resulted in sweeps by local police, harassing and displacing unhoused people in our community. It has had devastating effects.
We have seen an increase in the stress and trauma that already affect the everyday lives of our unhoused patients. Individuals are being handcuffed and cited. Their belongings, including essential medication, are confiscated and discarded. Our patients are harder to locate, and their health needs are more difficult to meet. These actions are hurting our patients, hindering our ability to deliver effective care, and taxing our teams. Our staff have also been harassed by police while doing their jobs.
Community Drop-in Space
The Community Living Room is as a vibrant community hub for people experiencing homelessness. Now in the same location as our Wellness Clinic, it is a casual environment in which guests experiencing the stress of housing instability are invited indoors, into a community, to enjoy a warm meal, hang out, and choose for themselves whether to engage in services we offer.
Emergency Shelter
The Taimon Booton Navigation Center (TBNC) is our shelter and service center for transgender, gender non-conforming & intersex people, as well as cisgender women, to find sanctuary, community, and a pathway to housing.
Marginalized gender identities often face challenges in finding safe housing due to discrimination and violence. Gender-supportive housing offers a crucial refuge, fostering belonging and safety.It is our hope that everyone who stays at the Taimon Booton Navigation Center leaves feeling safer, more supported, and on their way to stable housing.
Taimon Booton Navigation Center is not open to the public. If you’re seeking shelter at the Taimon Booton Navigation Center, please visit Adult Coordinated Entry at 123 10th St., San Francisco, CA to get a coordinated entry assessment and access to shelter. Anyone can speak with any of our team members at Trans: Thrive to find out more information.
Street Medicine
Our medical providers deliver primary health care, urgent care, wound care, phlebotomy and lab results, behavioral health care, and case management outside of our clinic walls, directly to our community members living on the streets.
We believe that everyone deserves high quality accessible healthcare. We aim to build long term relationships and partner with people to support their health and wellness.
NIGHT NAVIGATION TEAM
Night Navigation Team
San Francisco Community Health Center and Code Tenderloin operate the Night Navigation team, which reaches out to people experiencing homelessness every night from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. with the goal of bringing people into substance use treatment. During the day, care coordination continues with our team at SFCHC. This team connects individuals with on-the-spot telehealth visits with an addiction medicine provider and a safe and supportive place to start treatment.
HHOME
HIV Homeless Outreach and Mobile Engagement (HHOME)
HHOME deploys a mobile multidisciplinary team to serve San Francisco's most vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness and living with HIV. The team mandates mobility and care coordination through regular meetings and case conferences. They form close, one-on-one relationships with clients, ensuring daily contact, delivering HIV medications, and monitoring treatment adherence through in-the-field observations.