Youth! Get free & confidential health services during COVID-19!

We're still here for you! Call one of the numbers below if you need sexual healthcare, counseling, and/or help with housing, food, and safety concerns. IMPORTANT! If your call goes to voicemail, make sure to leave your name and a confidential phone number or email so that staff can contact you!

Where to Call for Youth Services

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Sexual Health & Gender Care

  • New Generation Health Center

    and Dimensions Clinic

    415-502-8336
  • Teen Clinic at MNHC

    (Mission Neighborhood Health Center) 

    415-552-3870
  • 6M Pediatric Clinic @ZSFG

    During the weekend, for urgent needs (ages 12-21)

    628-206-8376
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Counseling & Safety

Icon with a House and an Apple

Housing and Food

Health Services and Info FAQs

Getting Health Care

Getting Health Care

1. Do I need to leave the house?  

  • You can get many services over the phone (birth control counseling, morning after pill).
  • You may need to be seen in person for some services, like an STD test.
  • When you call, a staff member will tell you if whether or not you will need to come in.

2. Are services still confidential?

  • Yes, you can still get confidential counseling and sexual healthcare. 
  • If you need confidentiality, make sure to find a place where no one can overhear you when you call.

3. What about health insurance / cost?  

  • Many programs cover the cost of health services.
  • There are programs to help if you have insurance but need confidentiality. 
  • If your Family PACT has expired, we can recertify you over the phone.
  • Call New Generation Health Center at 415-502-8336 and we can help you to figure out what you might be eligible for.

Sex During COVID-19

Sex During COVID-19

1. Can COVID 19 be spread during sex? 

  • COVID-19 is not an STD, but you can get it from close physical contact (6 feet or less) with someone who has it.
  • COVID-19 can be easily spread by kissing. 
  • COVID-19 may be spread through feces (poop).
  • At this time, we don’t know if semen or vaginal fluid can spread COVID-19.

2. How can I stay safe if I do have sex? 

  • Masturbating by yourself is safe.
  • Have sex only with people who are close to you, either someone you live with or a partner you know well. Hooking up is not considered safe at this time.
  • Don’t have sex If you or your partner is sick, or might have been exposed to COVID-19. 
  • The following may help reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 during sex:
    • Condoms & dental dams
    • Handwashing with soap and water for 20 seconds before and after sex

3. Where can I learn more about safer sex during COVID-19?

  • See this document from the New York City Department of Public Health

4. How can I get tested?

  • You can get tested in SF for free if: 
    • You have symptoms of COVID 19; 
    • Have had contact with someone with COVID 19;
    • Are considered an essential worker (e.g., food or health services)
  • Schedule an appointment online.
  • If you have health insurance, you can also contact your healthcare provider.
  • For more info, go to SF.gov/GetTestedSF.

Stress, Isolation & Depression

Stress, Isolation & Depression

If you have been experiencing increased stress, isolation, or depression during COVID-19, you are not alone. Here are some tips for coping during COVID-19:

  • Practice self-care. Find healthy ways to relax and unwind, like enjoying a hobby or spending time outside.
  • Use the buddy system. Have someone you can express your emotions to.
  • Be a friend: Call and check how loved ones are doing. If you can, FaceTime or video chat.
  • Keep your mind occupied. Find ways to not get stuck on fear, anger, or worry.
  • Maintain your health. Try to eat right, get fresh air, stay hydrated, and get some physical activity, even if it’s just walking around your block, yard, or living room.
  • Stay informed, but not 24/7. Checking the news nonstop can make you more stressed. Make sure you get your info from reliable sources only.
  • Try mindfulness or meditation. There are many free apps to get you started, such as Smiling Mind App
  • Remember, you are not alone! Listen to this great public radio podcast by Samuel Getachew. It includes a section on challenging anti-Asian racism during the pandemic.

What if I need more help? 

  • Call one of the agencies listed at the top of this page. 
  • If you have a mental health emergency, call 911 or visit the nearest emergency room. 
  • If you are having thoughts about hurting yourself, reach out right away:
    • Call the San Francisco Crisis Line 24/7 at 415-781-0500 
    • Text MYLIFE to 741741

Credit: Adapted from Texas A&M Today

Safety at Home/In Relationships

Safety at Home/In Relationships

1. What can I do if I don’t feel safe at home?  

  • Call Huckleberry Youth Programs 24-hour Teen Crisis Hotline at 415-621-2929. 
  • If you are thinking about hurting yourself, call or text the San Francisco Crisis Line 24/7 for confidential support. Call 415-781-0500 or text MYLIFE to 741741.

2. What if I’m not feeling safe sheltering with my partner?

  • Local resources to call: 
    • La Casa de las Madres: Adult Line 1-877-503-1850/Teen Line 1-877-923-0700/Text Line 1-415-200-3575 
    • Woman, Inc.: 877-384-3578 or 415-864-4722
    • Asian Women’s Shelter: 877-751-0880 
  • National Domestic Violence Hotline: 
  • For more information on relationship safety during shelter-in-place, visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline

Birth Control & Emergency Contraception

Birth Control & Emergency Contraception

To obtain birth control or pregnancy counseling services, call one of the clinics listed at the top of the page under “Sexual Health/Gender Services” or call your primary care provider.

1. How can I get Plan B (the morning after pill)?

  • There are three different types of emergency contraception. 
  • Talk to a provider to get the most effective type for you.
  • If you can’t speak with a provider, get your own prescription at SF City Clinic's website.

2. How can I get birth control?

  • You can get the pill, patch, or ring by a phone appointment. 
  • You can pick up the pill, patch, ring, or condoms at a pharmacy or clinic. 
  • Once you have a prescription you can also ask to have these mailed to your home.
  • You will need to go into a clinic for the implant or IUD.
  • For the birth control shot, you will need to be seen at a clinic. You can also ask your provider about giving yourself the shot at home.

3. What should I do if my IUD/Nexplanon has expired?

  • Your provider can tell you if it might still be effective to leave it in longer.

4. How can I get free condoms?

STDs & Sexual Health

STDs & Sexual Health

For sexual health services, please call one of the clinics listed at the top of the page or call your primary care provider, especially if you are having infection symptoms.  For info on STD symptoms, visit SF City Clinic's website.

1. How can I get an STD test?

  • If you have symptoms, call your clinic or health provider as soon as possible.
  • If a partner has told you they tested positive for an STD, you can get treatment after a phone visit. 
  • Right now, most clinics are not testing patients for STDs if they do not have symptoms. Call New Generation Health Center at 415-502-8336 if you ​think you need to be tested. 

2. How can I get PrEp?  

  • Call your clinic or health provider. Funding is available even without insurance.
  • If you are LGBTQI, Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center has PrEp Navigation Services.  Email gustavo@lyric.org

3. Where can I get transgender hormone therapy? 

4.  How can I get free condoms?

Pregnancy

Pregnancy

1. I think I might be pregnant. What should I do?

  • First take an at-home pregnancy test. You can pick up a free test at New Generation Health Center, if needed.
  • If your home pregnancy test is positive, call your provider or clinic as soon as possible.
  • All options are still available during COVID-19, including abortion or prenatal care.
  • Your provider can discuss all your options with you over the phone.
  • Clinic staff can help you get insurance coverage, including confidential services.

"We are nothing if not each other. Care for one another. Love one another. The human species is a resilient one. We will get through this together." ~ Samuel Getachew in "High Schoolers Cope with The Coronavirus Shutdown"

Everything's Canceled: Coping Tips Straight from a Psychologist

In this video

This Above the Noise video from KQED answers the question, "How do you deal with so much uncertainty in the time of COVID-19, when the coronavirus is messing up every aspect of society?"

Transcript:

(light music)

- This whole coronavirus thing is pretty scary.

Worldwide hundreds of thousands of people are getting sick

and the death toll keeps rising.

The stock market is tanking.

People are losing their jobs.

You know, we're all stuck at home.

That's why I'm still shooting episodes on my phone,

in my apartment, with no production crew.

Social distancing, (laughs) right?

The only positive is that because I'm working from home

I don't have to wear pants.

I mean, I am wearing pants.

It's just knowing that I don't have to that's pretty cool.

Now I do realize that I am lucky

that I can work from home though

because a lot of people can't.

As a recent college grad myself,

it's weird to see how messed up school is right now too.

Most are closed in the U.S.

and they probably won't open open again this school year.

So you've got millions of students stuck at home.

Now, that doesn't just mean

that they have a really long spring break

and everybody's just chilling.

This is no vacation.

Uncertainty is cranked up to an 11.

The normal routine of going to class,

take a test, doing homework,

that's all out the window.

It's been replaced by new stressors like

family members who might get sick

or might have to work with people who are sick,

a parent losing a job.

Even more everyday stuff like SATs being rescheduled

or prom being canceled.

And access to guidance counselors

or school therapists to help deal with all those disrupters

aren't available now either.

So, how do you deal with so much uncertainty

in the time of corona?

To get a better sense of the uncertainty

that students are going through,

I thought, why don't I go ahead and talk to some students?

So, I had a video chat with a bunch of high schools

from the Bay area during the first week

of our stay at home work.

Most had been out of school for a week or two

and were still adjusting to their new reality

of spending everyday at the crib.

- I'm kind of stressed out about like, prom,

my graduation and even,

will I have to go to online school next semester

when I start college?

- My father has stage four colon cancer

and the treatment it takes a toll on your immune system

and so it is concerning to have my father go out

and not be able to distance himself socially,

just to, you know, support my family.

- How do you cope with the being alone with your thoughts

for this long?

Because I don't want to be on my phone,

but then sometimes I don't have motivation to do anything.

So, I'm just sitting around.

- How do we still stay optimistic?

How do we not worry about this almost postapocalyptic

world we're kind of, stumbled our way into with this virus?

- So how do we deal with all this uncertainty?

To figure that out I jumped on another video chat

with Natalie Todd.

She's a psychologist

who runs an adolescent mood and anxiety clinic

at The University of California, San Francisco.

How do you know when your anxiety is appropriate

to a situation?

You know what I'm saying?

- Look, this COVID is super new.

It's totally normal to feel anxious about the virus,

about the way it's impacting our life.

I think if someone is losing sleep over this

and having nightmares,

is not able to focus on their school work,

is avoiding talking to friends.

Any of those things I would say that maybe the anxiety

is impacting them in a way that it might be helpful

to check in with someone about

or talk to their parents about.

But I think some level of anxiety

around this is completely expected.

- I mean, I remember being a teen

and things that were most important to me at the time.

And it's just like I can't image,

you know,

not being able to potentially not go to my graduation

or not go to my prom or you know what I'm saying?

Not have the senior night or whatever it is.

You know what I'm saying?

So how would you tell students

or help them cope with potentially missing out on that?

- Yeah, I think that's really hard

and it's so up in the air.

I would say,

you know if it's reassuring to think about

the fact that's it's not gonna just be you.

That there is gonna be this generation of seniors

that are potentially missing graduation

and prom in the way that they usually happen.

Are there other ways that they can still celebrate

in small groups

or make new memories in new traditions?

- How do you respond to people that are like,

you know, corona's life or death?

So worrying about something like this is, you know,

graduation or prom is silly or unimportant.

How do you respond to that?

- I'm really glad you brought that up

because I can imagine that some teens might feel selfish

or self-centered that they're worried about those things

when there are people dying

and they're not the same and they're both valid.

They're both valid things to be worried about.

That's what teens are supposed to care about.

That is totally okay and normal.

- Dr.Todd gave me four general tips

on how to deal with all the worry

and anxiety that uncertainty can bring us.

Tip number one,

establish a routine.

Now, it doesn't have to be the same routine

you had when you were working

or going to school,

but you just got to keep a basic schedule of the stuff

you got to do. You know, when you're gonna go to sleep,

when you're gonna eat,

and when you're gonna get your work done.

But, don't forget to schedule time to you know,

just relax and talk to your friends.

That's just as important.

Maybe even more important.

Tip number two,

you got to reach out to people.

It sucks to not be able to hang out in person

with your friends,

but with technology, you can try to recreate those moments.

You know, you can face time over lunch.

You can have a karaoke or a dance party.

You know, the limits really don't exist anymore

since we're all in the house at the same time now. (laughs)

And tip number three,

and this is a great one,

if you're a worrier,

limit how much time you're spending reading

about the coronavirus.

It's fine to keep up to date

with the latest coronavirus news,

but don't just keep sitting there

and constantly refreshing your browser over and over again.

Me personally, I had to turn off my notifications.

You know, for all the news and Twitter, all that stuff.

I just turned it off.

And tip number four,

use the time you have to stretch yourself a bit.

Go online and learn that new language

that you hadn't had time before.

Order a pizza with pineapple and anchovies.

I mean, I'll totally judge you,

but it's your thing.

Go for it.

I mean, I'm personally gonna just work on my baking skills.

I have time.

I have all the ingredients.

I'm about to go crazy.

You're in for a treat.

- The question that I've been asking all the teens

I work with is, you know,

what is the potential silver lining here?

How can you make lemonade from these COVID lemons?

- All right, that's all I got for you for now.

Let us know how uncertainty is effecting your life

and if any of Dr.Todd's tips seem helpful.

Also, what are you doing right now to take care of yourself?

Are you coloring by numbers?

Are you petting cute dogs?

Are you learning to yodle?

Tell us in the comments below

and remember we're all in this together

and we'll get through it together.

Take care of yourself and each other.

I'm your host, Myles Bess.

Until next time everybody.

Peace out.

View transcript

An Appeal To Fellow Youth To Face Coronavirus

Youth can get and spread COVID-19. But, I can protect you and you can protect me. Read this 20-something's request to her peers asking youth to take the lead in protecting themselves, their families, and friends from COVID-19. From National Public Radio.

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About

This web campaign to inform youth about services available to them during the COVID-19 pandemic is a collaboration between the San Francisco Unified School District Health Programs Office, UCSF/New Generation Health Center, San Francisco Health Network’s Family Planning Program, and the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Community Health Programs for Youth.

For more information or to provide feedback, contact Shivaun.nestor@sfdph.org or Nalleli.Martinez@ucsf.edu.