Collaborative Funding in Support of Local Housing Initiative
Foundation News & Updates
On Tuesday, July 19 Mayor London Breed and Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing Shireen McSpadden, along with other dignitaries, cut the ribbon for a new shelter at 711 Post Street at the Ansonia Hotel, which will allow the site to be used as a semi-congregate shelter, with 123 units ranging from singles to quads and will be able to shelter approximately 250 people, just three blocks from Saint Francis Memorial Hospital. The shelter will begin housing individuals on Monday, July 25. The City is also opening the Baldwin SAFE Navigation Center, which will add 180 private rooms to the shelter system at the same time.
“We are working tirelessly to continue expanding shelter, housing, and supportive services throughout San Francisco,” said Mayor Breed. “The openings of these two new sites add hundreds of new beds for people to transition off our streets into shelter, and get them on a path to stable housing instead of camping in our neighborhoods. With each new facility we open, paths are being created that ultimately lead to safer, healthier lives for people on our streets.
711 Post is a former youth hostel located in the lower Nob Hill neighborhood that is being leased by the City. The units are a mix of singles, doubles, and quads. The building has several amenities including lobby and front desk, basement, community area, commercial kitchen, dining space, laundry room, office space, security camera system, elevator, lockers and luggage storage, and bathrooms and showers on each floor. Staffing will include a site director, a facilities manager, site supervisor, site monitors (practitioners), maintenance, janitorial, security/front desk, and care coordinators. Two meals a day will be provided as well as laundry service.
711 Post Shelter Site
The 711 Post Shelter site will include 24-hour staffing, services, and daytime case management provided by non-profit partner Urban Alchemy, who was selected due to their recent success managing Shelter in Place Hotels, Safe Sleep programs, and community ambassador programs.
Saint Francis Foundation, together with Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and Sutter Health, pooled grant funds to support Urban Alchemy to provide street activation and monitoring in the surrounding area 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, focusing on discouraging loitering and preventing encampment activity and disruptive behavior outside of the shelter.
We are excited to partner with Dignity Health Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center, Sutter Health, Urban Alchemy and the City of San Francisco to add shelter for those in need and to do so in way that reduces and manages any detrimental effects to our community.”
-Kate Smith, President of the Saint Francis Foundation.
The 711 Post Street model provides both dignity and stability to our guests, which are the building blocks to healing. We are an organization that is in the business of transforming chaotic environments and this housing gives us an opportunity to disrupt negative cycles with a safe, clean and healthy environment that can change lives.”
-Lena Miller, CEO of Urban Alchemy
We are proud to have supported the opening of 711 Post homeless shelter. We know that supporting individuals to exit from homelessness is a positive investment in health, which is why over the past two years, Dignity Health has made investments into San Francisco’s short, medium, and long-term housing solutions.”
-Daryn Kumar, CEO of Saint Francis and St. Mary’s Hospitals
As members of this diverse community, the Saint Francis Foundation recognizes the importance to support both the housed residents of our community and those who lack shelter. Through grants and community partnerships, the Saint Francis Foundation engages with organizations and Saint Francis Memorial Hospital to serve patients both inside and outside of the hospital setting. These opportunities support individuals before they are in crisis or after they have accessed care at Saint Francis and demonstrate an investment by the Foundation in a continuum of care that advances community health.
As the philanthropic partner to Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, the Saint Francis Foundation enables better health outcomes for tens of thousands of San Francisco residents and visitors each year. Since 1979, the Foundation has provided more than $120 million in funding for advanced medical facilities and technologies, physician and staff training, and integrated health care and support for patients and their families. Through its community grants program, the Foundation also partners with local nonprofit organizations to ensure a high-quality and affordable continuum of care within and beyond the Hospital setting. Recognized as one of San Francisco’s leading independent charities, the Saint Francis Foundation advances community health through investments in Medical Innovation and Transformation, Behavioral and Mental Health, Aging, and Crisis Management and Response. For more information, please visit saintfrancisfoundation.org.