Challenge: End the crisis conditions of homelessness
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.”
Saint Francis Challenge (SFC) was founded in 2015 with a mission to end the crisis conditions of street homelessness.
Do What’s Necessary. Do what’s Possible. Innovate for the greater good.
After a decade of innovative action, SFC continues to serve our mission by developing, advocating for, and implementing scalable models and policies to end the crisis conditions of homelessness—including the particular challenges of unsheltered homelessness, housing insecurity, interim shelter, and supported housing.
take necessary & possible action
Learn more about Saint Francis Challenge’s projects and models:
BEST Places Framework
Resident Steward Model
Supported Outdoor Shelter/Safe Organized Spaces (SOS)
1000 Cabin Challenge
San Francisco’s first Supported Outdoor Shelter (SOS) program in the Mission District, implemented by SFC at former Impact Hub location 2017-2018, featuring two of SFC’s mobile cabins for transitional sleep and storage.
Since 2015, Saint Francis Challenge has supported the funding, building, and distribution of over a dozen mobile cabins to provide safe shelter for encampment residents and participants in our resident steward programs, including three hemp-insulated cabins in Southwest farming communities.
Mission & Services
Saint Francis Challenge has worked towards our founding mission to end the crisis conditions of street homelessness since by:
Providing direct services at San Francisco encampments (including portapotties, trash removal, mobile sleeping cabins, linkage to service providers, volunteer events, organizing, etc.);
Developing trauma-informed values as a foundation to support healing, wellness, stability, co-living, and community-integration;
Conducting outreach and education for petitions, site specific projects, and advocacy campaigns;
Organizing with local, regional, and state-level stakeholders to develop actionable solutions, including currently/formerly unsheltered residents, impacted neighbors, service/advocacy organizations, and government officials;
Developing and piloting SFC’s Safe Organized Spaces/Supported Outdoor Shelter (SOS) policy and operations resources for activating underutilized public/private land with community-integrated supported shelter;
Developing and piloting SFC’s Resident Steward and BEST places framework in support of Belonging, Essential needs, Shared Agreements, and Teamwork at encampments, shelter, and supported housing.
Advocating for SOS village pilots in San Francisco, the Bay Area, and throughout California;
Updating the SOS policy and operations toolkit for California cities experiencing a shelter shortage crisis;
Seeking partnerships with funders to fund SOS pilots in San Francisco, throughout California, and in the SW region;
Building upon our local, statewide, & national network of advocates, service providers, policy experts, and government officials;
From 2015-2020, Saint Francis Challenge worked to alleviate crisis conditions at unsanctioned street encampments in San Francisco by: Working as a liaison between encampment residents, elected officials, city services (DPW, DPH, SFPD, etc), and neighbors; Providing portable bathrooms, locking mobile cabins, food, and cleaning supplies; Organizing clean-up and community events with encampment residents and volunteers; and Linking encampment residents to social services.