Let’s do the impossible: End street homelessness—and grow a national stewardship movement in the process.

Francis of Assisi—the name sake of San Francisco—famously challenged himself and others to take action when facing humanitarian issues: “First do what’s necessary, then do what’s possible, and soon you will be doing the impossible.”

Challenge accepted.

Founded in San Francisco in 2015, Saint Francis Challenge (SFC) emerged with a bold mission: To end the crisis conditions of street homelessness through informed action, mutual accountability, and scalable policy. Since day one, we’ve embraced Saint Francis’ simple yet powerful mandate to do what is necessary and possible in pursuit of transformative change.

Do what’s necessary. Do what’s possible. Innovate for the greater good.

SFC started where the need was greatest—addressing the needs of people living in and/or impacted by large unsanctioned street encampments—and partnered with encampment residents, neighbors, volunteers, advocates, service providers, SFPD, city departments, elected officials, and community leaders to pilot scalable solutions and shape local, regional, and state policy. Our work supported the proliferation and innovation of cabin villages, safe outdoor shelter, and interim housing as actionable ways to end the crisis conditions of unsanctioned encampments.

Headquartered in New Mexico since 2021, SFC currently works with municipalities, service providers, residents, neighbors, and volunteers to improve the experience of transitional shelter, interim housing, and permanent supported housing, with a focus on residents exiting street homelessness.

Join our efforts to co-create places of Belonging, Essential Needs, Shared Agreements, and Teamwork—aka BEST Places—via the Resident Steward Program!

SFC’s 10 Resident Steward Values

At Saint Francis Challenge, our values have evolved through real world practice. Since 2015—working with large encampments to city-sanctioned supported outdoor shelter—we’ve iterated, refined, and pressure-tested what works across residents, staff, neighbors, and stakeholders with differing motivations and strategies. Out of that lived experience, we organized our learning into a framework of 10 foundational values that guide how—and why—we do this work.

1. You Belong

2. Your Needs Matter

3. Be a Team Player

4. Consider Your Impact

5. Love your Neighbor—Even if You Don’t Like Them

6. Be Humble and Be Curious to Do What’s Right

7. Stand up for Truth, Safety, and Well-Being for Everyone—Yes Everyone!

8. There’s no Shame in Our Game—Shine a Light with Grace

9. Seek Win-Win Solutions

10. Critique when Necessary, Give Credit When Due, Work Together When Possible

We invite you to adopt these values as-is—or use them as a starting point for your own shared agreements—and join us in building communities grounded in belonging, accountability, safety, and care.

Mission & Activities

Since 2015, SFC has worked to end street homelessness and build a Resident Steward movement—grounded in wellness baselines, needed innovation, and collaboration—and informed by frontline data, current policy, proven and emerging practices, and real-world pilots.

• Research & Evaluation with Impacted Communities: Designing and implementing surveys and research studies with people living on the streets and within supported outdoor shelter, transitional shelter, and supported housing—engaging residents, site staff, neighbors, and local officials to inform real-world solutions and build connections.

• Direct Services: Providing essential services at unsanctioned and sanctioned encampments, including portable toilets, trash removal, mobile sleeping cabins, food, clothing, health supplies, connections to service providers; Implementing SFC’s Resident Steward programming at encampments, supported outdoor shelter, and supported shelter/housing sites

• Innovative Shelter Solutions: Developing and piloting SOS (Safe Organized Spaces/Supported Outdoor Shelter) policy to activate underutilized public and/or private land for community-integrated supported shelter; Funding the R&D of mobile shelters—including an award-winning hemp-insulated mobile shelter

• Wellness, Co-living, and Employment Training Frameworks: Implementing the Resident Steward Model and BEST places framework, focusing on Belonging, Essential needs, Shared Agreements, and Teamwork within encampments, shelters, and supported housing

• Accountability for All—with Trauma Informed Practice : Utilizing trauma-informed practices to foster healing and stability, while also holding individuals accountable for how their behaviors impact co-living and community integration.

• Advocacy for Shelter Initiatives: Championing SOS village pilots and advocating for sufficient interim shelter across San Francisco, the Bay Area, California, and the Southwest region (Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico)

• Network Building: Strengthening our local, statewide, and national network of advocates, service providers, policy experts, and government officials to enhance our collective impact.

• Collaborative Solutions: Partnering with local, regional, and state stakeholders—including unsheltered residents, neighbors, service organizations, and government officials to create actionable solutions.

• Selected Collaborations/Partnerships: City of Santa Fe • City of Ojai • Intersection for the Arts • University of Tennessee, Knoxville • MIT’s J-PAL (Poverty Action Lab) • The Life Link • Consuelo’s Emergency Shelter • St. Elizabeth’s Shelter • Santa Fe Suites • SOS Arroyo Chamiso • DignityMoves • SOS Richmond • YWAM SF • Resolana Farms • Fibershed • Urban Alchemy • Mission Creek Merchants Association • Downtown Streets Team • Mission Housing • Asian Neighborhood Design • Lava Mae • The Village in Oakland • Artists Building Communities • Dykes With Drills • Chico Housing Action Team • Moksha Designs • Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation • ImpactHUB SF •

Founder/Director: Amy Farah Weiss

• SF Chronicle: “With an extra $492 million to spend, S.F. needs a plan to end street homelessness” by AFW (9/2020)

• SF Examiner: “Addressing SF’s anticipated shelter service gaps with Safe Organized Spaces” by AFW (3/2019)

• SF Chronicle: "A better approach to homeless encampments" by AFW (10/2016)