Do what's necessary.
Do what's possible.
Innovate for the greater good.
#SAINTFRANCISCHALLENGE

Francis of Assisi famously challenged himself and others to take necessary and possible action when facing seemingly insurmountable humanitarian issues.

Join Saint Francis Challenge in our #TEAMHUMANITY approach to taking on the biggest challenges of OUR day: Creating places of belonging, essential needs, shared agreements, and teamwork for all people currently experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity.

➤➤➤ADOPT/ADAPT OUR MODELS for Supported Outdoor Shelter/Safe Organized Spaces (SOS Villages), Resident Stewardship, Outreach and Organizing, and more (SEE PROJECTS)

➤➤➤DONATE/SUPPORT A FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN FOR OUR #1000CABINCHALLENGE with a focus on building mobile cabins for SOS Villages 
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From "move along" to "YOU BELONG"

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The #BESTPLACES to live are places of:
BELONGING
ESSENTIAL NEEDS
SHARED AGREEMENTS
TEAMWORK.

#TEAMHUMANITY VALUES
​TEN VALUES TO ADOPT/ADAPT TO SUPPORT CO-LIVING, RESIDENT STEWARDSHIP, & DEALING WITH CHALLENGES ON PLANET EARTH

1. YOU BELONG--YOUR NEEDS MATTER
2. BE A TEAM PLAYER—CONSIDER YOUR IMPACT
3. IF YOUR BEHAVIOR AFFECTS THE COMMUNITY, IT INVOLVES THE COMMUNITY
4. IF YOU DIDN'T SEE IT OR HEAR IT YOURSELF, TAKE IT WITH A BOULDER OF SALT
5. STAND UP FOR TRUTH, SAFETY, & FAIRNESS FOR EVERYONE—YES EVERYONE!
6. THERE'S NO SHAME IN OUR GAME—SHINE A LIGHT WITH GRACE
7. LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR—EVEN IF YOU DON'T LIKE THEM
8. BE HUMBLE AND BE CURIOUS IN SERVICE TO THE GREATER GOOD
9. SEEK WIN-WIN SOLUTIONS
10. BE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE SPIRIT OF SHARED AGREEMENTS

​There are people who need places to belong, and there are places in need of  stewardship — challenge yourself to connect the dots and create solutions in support of a thriving humanity & planet.  

FOUNDING MISSION, PRINCIPLES, AND SERVICES

​FOUNDING MISSION (2015)
​SAINT FRANCIS CHALLENGE was founded in 2015 in San Francisco and focused on ending the street homelessness crisis at the local (San Francisco), regional (Bay Area), state (California), and national (USA) levels from 2015-2020.

During COVID, Saint Francis Challenge relocated to New Mexico and is now headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As of 2023 we have expanded our mission to include additional humanitarian challenges and a national focus for our campaigns.

​FOUNDING PRINCIPLES (2015)

• Do what is necessary and possible to end the crisis conditions of street homelessness ASAP.
• Secure sleep, secure storage, healthy food and water access, privacy, sanitation, garbage disposal, and a place to belong in community are essential human needs that should be met for all human beings ASAP.
• Shine a light with grace—look at harmful behaviors through the lens of unmet needs, confusion, and/or unhealed trauma.
• Take the side of truth, justice, safety, and wellbeing for everyone—including yourself (not one particular group or person).
• Agree to disagree when necessary, give credit where it's due, and always work together for the greater good when possible.
• Living in community is challenging—whether you live in an encampment, SRO, group housing, or condo; Shared agreements and systems of accountability and participation make it easier.
• Aim to support transition from crisis living conditions in the least restrictive and most autonomous setting possible—with baselines for wellness (including safety, health, and privacy).
• De-stigmatize the need for healing, off-grid living, interdependence, and dual accountability.  
• Everyone is a participant, not just a recipient. Share responsibility for solutions, site operations, and stewardship.
• No matter where you go to sleep tonight, next week, or next year, you belong to the human family, the earth, and the cosmos.

FOUNDING SERVICES (2015-2023)
Below is an overview of the work we have done over the years to create actionable, cost-efficient, and community-integrated alternatives to unsheltered homelessness:

1. Provided direct services at encampments (including portapotties, trash removal, mobile sleeping cabins, linkage to service providers, etc.);
2. Organized with local, regional, and state-level stakeholders to develop actionable solutions, including currently/formerly unsheltered residents, impacted neighbors, service/advocacy organizations, and government officials; 
3. Developed and piloted Safe Organized Spaces/Supported Outdoor Shelter (SOS) policy and programming for activating underutilized public/private land with community-integrated transitional villages;
4. Developed a scalable and benefits-friendly model for Resident Stewardship programming and training;
5. Advocated for SOS transitional village pilots in San Francisco, California, and nationwide;
6. Updated the SOS policy and operations toolkit for cities experiencing a shelter shortage crisis and worked with the City of Santa Fe to develop Supported Outdoor Shelter interventions.
7. Developed partnerships with advocates, government officials, and/or funders for SOS pilots in San Francisco, California, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, and nationwide;
8. Built upon and supporting a local, statewide, & national network of advocates, service providers, policy experts, and government officials;
9. Gathered signatures and conducting outreach for SOS petition, site specific projects, and advocacy campaigns; 
10. Developed trauma-informed values as a foundation to support healing, wellness, stability, and co-living.

#1000CABINCHALLENGE: HEMP-INSULATED CABIN CHALLENGE—3 DOWN, 997 TO GO (2020-PRESENT)

SUPPORTED OUTDOOR SHELTER (SOS) BLUEPRINT FOR CITY OF SANTA FE (2021)

180 JONES/TENDERLOIN/DOGPATCH PROPOSAL—PRE/POST COVID (2019-2020)

Najib “Jim” Yaser, volunteer organizer for 180 Jones SOS “Stewardship Village and Community Wellness Hub”

SOS VILLAGE PILOT AT IMPACT HUB (2017-2018)

ORGANIZING WITH ENCAMPMENT RESIDENTS & VOLUNTEERS (2015-2020)

Box City encampment residents (7th Street at Mission Bay) holding up signs with transition goals (Fall 2016)

Encampment Residents in Mission Bay working together with SFHC (Winter 2017)

Box City displaced on January 6th 2017: Avery, an unhoused resident who was part of the Box City community, talks about his experience at Box City and what is means that it was disbanded.

Encampment residents and SFHC supporters at Cesar Chavez & 101 Encampment (Spring 2016)

FOUNDER/DIRECTOR: AMY FARAH WEISS

SF Chronicle Editorial: "A better approach to homeless encampments" by AFW/SFHC (10/2016)
SF Examiner Opinion Piece: “Addressing SF’s anticipated shelter service gaps with Safe Organized Spaces” by AFW/SFHC (3/2019)
SF Chronicle Editorial: " With an extra $492 million to spend, S.F. needs a plan to end street homelessness" by AFW/SFHC (8/2020)

Volunteers

SFHC Community Planning Meeting at Brown and Black Social Club (12.16.2016)

Volunteers and participants at Saint Francis Super Bowl Sunday event at SoMa StrEat Food Park (2.7.2016)

Young volunteers at Saint Francis Super Bowl Sunday event at SoMa StrEat Food Park (2.7.2016)

Members of the web design and survey analysis team

Volunteers at the Division Street Overnight Vigil and Portapotty Service

Volunteers at the Saint Francis Homelessness Challenge Showcase at SomArts (1.2.2016)

SFHC leadership, collaborating organizations and supporters, volunteers, and participants at the 1/2016 SOMArts SFHC Showcase.