SFHOT engages people currently living outside. Outreach workers assess people’s needs and goals and connect them to:
- Crisis interventions
- Shelter
- Health and behavioral health care
- Permanent housing
- Other services and opportunities
HSH funds Heluna Health to operate SFHOT.
We also partner with other outreach and response teams in San Francisco and are involved in the citywide effort to address street homelessness.
SFHOT works 7 days a week to provide outreach and case management to people living on the streets of San Francisco.
Services are provided by small, skilled teams with expertise in the complex issues that are barriers to stability for this population.
For individuals who are not ready to accept the services HSH has to offer, SFHOT continues to outreach and build motivation to ensure services are available when they are needed.
SFHOT works collaboratively with the Department of Public Health’s Street Medicine team and other teams to address medical and behavioral health needs. They use an individualized approach that includes:
- Wrap-around services
- Promotes harm reduction and stability-based recovery
Get monthly information about SFHOT’s outreach encounters
Outreach services
Outreach services include:
- Skilled teams working in neighborhoods provide:
- Practical support
- Information and referral
- In-depth assessment
- Referrals to SFHOT case management (for those who qualify)
- Access Partner for Coordinated Entry providing on-the-spot assessment or reassessment.
Case Management services
The Case Management team:
- Stabilizes individuals by addressing the numerous day-to-day and long-term problems related to homelessness
- Provides shelter beds and stabilization rooms within the limited resources available
- Works to connect each person with shelter and housing
- Develops a stabilization plan for each of the individuals SFHOT works with to reduce the harms of homelessness
Street Medicine
Medical staff joins outreach services to help transition people living on the streets into shelter and housing.
The street medicine team:
- Provides healthcare using an adapted patient-centered medical home model
- Assesses patients and establishes care for chronic conditions such as medical, mental health, substance use, and cognitive disorders.
- Provides health care services in shelter and Navigation Centers
Inclement Weather
SFHOT activates inclement weather protocols during hot weather, cold weather, wet weather, and air quality incidents. The team increases wellness checks, distributes appropriate supplies, and provides information on additional resources.