Hummingbird Valencia provides a valuable opportunity to direct resources to prevent chronic homelessness. Thousands of unhoused San Franciscans navigate mental health and substance use challenges, and connections to stable housing and ongoing care can be elusive. This reality exists not only on our streets but throughout California, where we face a lack of residential treatment facilities and programs for residents with behavioral health challenges.
To meet this need in our city, Tipping Point partnered with the San Francisco Department of Public Health and invested $3 million to open Hummingbird Valencia, a new psychiatric respite center that offers people experiencing homelessness, mental health issues, and substance use challenges a low-barrier place to get connected to care.
Hummingbird Valencia hosts day guests who may come in to rest, talk with counselors, and get connected to medical care and social services. There are also 30 beds for overnight clients. Unlike other programs, length of stay is not pre-defined or limited. Instead, Hummingbird Valencia focuses on an individual’s needs, to make it easier to connect to continued treatment and stable housing. Since it opened in late May 2021, Hummingbird Valencia has hosted 97 overnight guests and provided services for 485 day-guests.
By combining one-on-one peer support and professional staffing, Hummingbird Valencia helps clients stabilize, connects them to social services, and offers an opportunity for referral to longer-term treatment and recovery at programs throughout the city. The Salvation Army is providing the property at 1156 Valencia St., and PRC provides services onsite as an extension of its existing Hummingbird Place at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.
As the State of California prepares to make unprecedented investments in mental health and housing services, Hummingbird Valencia is a powerful example of weaving together resources from the City of San Francisco, philanthropy, and community-based organizations to strengthen services for behavioral health needs and reduce suffering on our streets.