San Francisco Rolling Out 2 More Homeless Navigation Centers
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- San Francisco is moving ahead with two new homeless navigation centers, including a temporary center which will eventually be converted into a housing development.
The Board of Supervisors' Budget and Finance Committee voted Wednesday to approve a lease for a 49,000-square foot navigation center at 33 Gough St. at the southwestern edge of the city's South of Market area.
District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney said the planned new shelter is very much needed in the neighborhood. "I know this particular area around 33 Gough is an area that has a significant amount of neighborhood homelessness and is in need of additional services."
The 200-bed center would include "enhanced shelter health services to meet the needs of acute residents staying at the shelter, as well as triage and stabilization services," according to the Budget and Legislative Analyst report
The site, currently owned by City College of San Francisco, is expected to operate for just two years beginning in the fall. It is slated to be converted into a residential development with a mix of affordable and market rate housing, according to the report.
The committee vote, which will be followed by a full board vote on Tuesday, comes a day after the city approved another navigation center in the Lower Nob Hill neighborhood which is targeted toward homeless youth.
The 75-bed facility at 888 Post St. is expected to open by the end of the year and would be the city's first homeless navigation center for people 18-24 years old.
"There are far too many young people sleeping on our streets every night, and this proposed shelter at 888 Post will help us provide much-needed shelter and services to those who need it," said Mayor London Breed in a prepared statement.
Mayor Breed said the new navigation centers are part of her initiative to add 1,000 new shelter beds in San Francisco by the end of the year.
San Francisco currently has seven homeless navigation centers in operation with a total 804 beds located. The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing says a 2017 count estimated 7,500 individuals experiencing homelessness, with approximately 4,400 living unsheltered on any given night.
