City opens SOMA Recreation Center for emergency winter shelter use

From the Mayor's Office of Communications

February 17, 2006

The Human Services Agency (HSA) has announced that the SOMA Recreational Center- (Gene Friend Rec. Center)- located at 6th and Folsom Streets opened its doors last night to provide temporary shelter for any person seeking shelter during this unseasonably cold wave affecting San Francisco.

SOMA Recreation Center has up to 100 shelter beds to serve as an "overflow" location to the existing emergency winter shelters already servicing the city's homeless residents.

Reservations are not required in order to get a bed at SOMA's Gene Friend Rec. Ctr. Human Services officials report that there were 62 vacancies in the emergency winter shelters Wednesday night. However, city officials want to make certain that there are enough shelter beds available to accommodate any clients needing shelter during this cold spell. The emergency shelter beds at SOMA Recreational Center are made available through a partnership with the Human Services Agency (HSA), the American Red Cross, and the City's Recreation and Park Department.

The following is a schedule for the existing City's Emergency Winter Shelter Program including the San Francisco Interfaith Council Emergency Winter Shelter Program and shelter site locations.

The following churches will provide overnight emergency shelter for the winter, beginning December 1, 2005 and ending March 31, 2006.

First Friendship Institutional Baptist Church
510 Steiner Street
Capacity of 60 men

Bethel AME Church
916 Laguna
Capacity of 50 beds for families*

*Family is defined as a single parent or couple with a child or children below the age of 18, or pregnant women
with or without a partner, who are seven months or more pregnant.

Additional winter shelter beds will remain open at:

Providence Baptist Church
1601 McKinnon
Capacity of 45 beds for men and 5 beds for women

Third Baptist Church
1399 McAllister
Capacity of 100 men

PLEASE NOTE: All single adult clients (not families) must reserve beds at winter shelter sites by going to any of the city-funded Resource Centers listed below. Bed reservations will be made for seven night stays.

Multi-Service Center South (24 hours)
525 Fifth at Bryant

McMillan Drop-In Center (24 hours)
39 Fell

Bayview Hope Center (24 hours M-F, 4:00pm-9:00am Sat/Sun)
2115 Jennings

Mission Neighborhood Resource Center (7:00am-7:00pm M-F)
165 Capp

Glide Foundation Resource Center (7:00am-11:00am and 5:00pm-9:00pm)
330 Ellis

Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center (7:00am-8: 30pm)
163 Golden Gate

Canon Kip Senior Center (8:00am-4: 30pm)
705 Natoma

For information on the emergency winter shelter program, call the city Department of Human Services at 415-558-1902.

SAN FRANCISCO INTERFAITH COUNCIL 2005-2006 INTERFAITH EMERGENCY WINTER SHELTER PROGRAM SHELTER SITE LOCATIONS

This winter's Interfaith Emergency Shelter Program will begin
Sunday, November 20, 2005. All shelter sites will open each night at 7:00pm.

Jan 29 - Mar 4 First Unitarian Church Dinner and Breakfast provided
1187 Franklin Street Enter from Starr King Way
Capacity of 80 men,

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