Location for San Francisco’s newest Navigation Center proposal announced

Although the city’s west side and northern neighborhoods have yet to do their part by hosting SAFE Navigation Centers, the next one will be located in the Mission at 33 Gough, near the border of Lower Haight and Hayes Valley, two blocks away from the Division Circle Navigation Center

The newest center will come with 200 beds. San Francisco Public Works will design and manage renovations of the facility, which will open by the end of the year.

“I’m proud we are on track to deliver on our promise to open 1,000 new shelter beds by the end of this year—the largest expansion in the last 30 years—but we know we need to do more,” said Mayor London Breed in a written statement. “We have to make sure we are expanding our homeless response system across the entire spectrum of interventions, including housing, behavioral health beds, shelter, and other places. This is how we can create a place for everyone in need.”

When the center opens, it will be the city’s eighth active Navigation Center. These centers differ from traditional homeless shelters in that they allow residents to bring their partners, pets, and belongings with them while providing support and services aimed at moving them into permanent housing.

At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, where Mayor Breed introduced a resolution for approving the lease for the transitional shelter, she also introduced a lease for 888 Post for an upcoming Transitional Age Youth Navigation Center.

The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing noted in 2018 that Navigation Centers permanently housed only 57 percent of residents (more than 1,700 people since 2015), with the most common means of relocation being whisked off to another city.