The Tenderloin has been prioritized for outreach services and placement into shelter beds within San Francisco’s system of care. People experiencing homelessness can connect to available shelter through street outreach teams or through the Tenderloin Center. They can also connect to housing resources through assessments, referrals and navigation support provided at the Tenderloin Center.
The Tenderloin Center closed December 4, 2022. The center, part of San Francisco’s Tenderloin Emergency Initiative, was planned as a temporary site to reduce overdose deaths and increase connections to services, as well as to collect data for future sites and services. SF Public Health is supporting people seeking and receiving services by facilitating their transition to trusted providers in the neighborhood, who offer similar services as the TLC.
Outreach encounters
The following chart shows outreach encounters conducted by the San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team (SFHOT) in the Tenderloin neighborhood.
The dashboard provides a cumulative number of encounters in the Tenderloin since the launch of the Tenderloin Emergency Initiative. For weekly totals, each week is represented by an operational period, which begins on Monday and ends the following Sunday.
Data notes and sources
Data notes and sources
The data is reported by the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing each week.
Shelter placements
The following chart shows placements to shelter made by the San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team (SFHOT) in the Tenderloin neighborhood either directly from the streets or from the Tenderloin Center. Individuals may be linked to a congregate shelter, such as a Navigation Center, or to a non-congregate shelter, such as a private room in a hotel. The rate of placements is typically driven by availability of beds in the shelter system.
This data does not include all shelter placements citywide. In addition to placements from SFHOT, clients can access shelter through a variety of referral sources including intra-system transfers, the hospital system, isolation and quarantine discharge, Healthy Streets Operations Center outreach, and Access Points (for specific shelter sites). Clients can also access emergency pop up shelters and drop-in centers without a referral.
The dashboard provides a cumulative number of shelter placements from the Tenderloin since the launch of the Tenderloin Emergency Initiative. For weekly totals, each week is represented by an operational period, which begins on Monday and ends the following Sunday. Weekly totals show the number of placements made at the Tenderloin Center as well as the number made by SFHOT through street outreach in the Tenderloin.
Data notes and sources
Data notes and sources
Placements to shelter mean that there was space at a shelter and the individual was connected to that shelter, including by transport directly to the site. The data does not currently include placements to shelter made by SFHOT staff assigned to the Healthy Streets Operations Center, or HSOC. HSOC may also make placements to shelter from the Tenderloin, but this data is recorded separately and has not yet been integrated with other SFHOT reporting. The data is reported by the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing each week.
Housing assessments, prioritization, and placements at the Tenderloin Center
Staff and contractors of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing support guests at the Tenderloin Center through the housing placement process. The following chart shows the number of guests at the Tenderloin Center who have been assessed for housing, referred to a housing opportunity, or placed into housing.
- Housing assessments are used to determine whether a person can be housed in a City-managed housing program. A guest is identified as Housing Referral Status if their unique needs and vulnerabilities demonstrate a good fit for City-managed housing programs.
- Housing referrals occur when a guest has been identified as Housing Referral Status and referred to an open housing opportunity. Placement occurs when the guest completes required paperwork, is accepted into the unit and moves into their new home.
The dashboard provides the number of guests who are assessed for housing at the Tenderloin Center and identified as Housing Referral Status. It also shows the number of Tenderloin Center guests who have been referred to housing and the number of those who have moved into housing, though some of these assessments and referrals may have occurred at a location outside of the Tenderloin Center. Each week is represented by an operational period, which begins on Monday and ends the following Sunday.
We've changed the way the data is presented: Data collection and posting has been discontinued as of December 4, 2022.
Data notes and sources
Data notes and sources
Housing assessments are the Coordinated Entry Primary Housing Assessment conducted in the Online Navigation & Entry (ONE) System database. Participation in the assessment is required to determine eligibility for City-managed housing opportunities. The data does not include housing assessments administered at other Tenderloin locations outside of the Tenderloin Center. On March 28, 2022, HSH implemented a database change to track all assessments conducted at the Tenderloin Center. Data before March 28, 2022 represents a partial count of assessments conducted in the Tenderloin Center.
Guests are eligible for housing if the assessment score is above a threshold specified by the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. Housing referrals and placements are reported for two housing types: Care Not Cash Housing available for individuals receiving County Adult Assistance Program (CAAP) benefits, and the federally-funded Continuum of Care (CoC) housing program.
The data for referrals and placements may include guests of the Tenderloin Center who received an assessment and were made eligible for housing at a different location. The data does not include referrals or placements for other housing programs. The data also does not include referrals or placements made for individuals in the Tenderloin who did not visit the Tenderloin Center.
Placements are reported in the operational period associated with the referral date, and not the guest move-in date. Guest move-ins may occur weeks or months after an initial referral date and only appear in the dashboard once confirmed.
The data is reported by the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing each week.
Tents and structures
San Francisco’s Healthy Streets Operations Center (HSOC) conducts a count of the number of tents and improvised structures in San Francisco several times per year. Not every tent or structure belongs to someone that is homeless. Outreach teams engage with people to understand their situation and help them connect the support they need. More information about healthy streets and the tent count can be found on the Healthy Streets Data and Information site.
The following chart shows the number of tents and structures recorded in San Francisco and in the Tenderloin neighborhood during recent counts. It also shows tents and structures in the Tenderloin as a percent of all tents and structures recorded citywide. Use the buttons at the top of the chart to toggle between totals and percentages.
Data notes and sources
Data notes and sources
This data is reported by HSOC at the conclusion of each citywide count. The geographic boundary used for this data aligns with the San Francisco Police Department’s Tenderloin District boundaries. Additional data for the tent and structure count can be found on the Tent, Structure, and Vehicle Count data page.
This dashboard represents initial data that is under review and may change. As data is reviewed and confirmed, the measurements will be added to the dashboard.