New Hummingbird behavioral health beds opens in the Mission

John Joumaa/Unsplash

A new Hummingbird behavioural center opened yesterday in the Mission for people experiencing homelessness, behavioral health and substance use disorders.

The Hummingbird Valencia currently has a handful of day guests and will expand to a more limited 26 overnight beds by the end of June because of COVID-19 safety protocols..

The center will provide a place for adults with issues that are considered difficult to treat, those experiencing the combination of homelessness, mental health issues, and substance use disorders in order for them to rest and get the care they need.

Mayor London Breed, who together with Supervisor Rafael Mandelman announced the opening yesterday, said via statement;

Hummingbird Valencia is the result of our City and community partners coming together to provide a solution to the mental health crisis we see on our streets.We need to pull together to make our City a more compassionate place where we take care of those in need and get them on a path out of homelessness. I’m grateful to Supervisor Mandelman for his support in bringing this facility to his district.

Hummingbird Valencia will add 30 beds for overnight clients at a time, and up to 20 daytime drop-in clients, where people can get connected to social services, and be referred to longer-term treatment and recovery at an array of programs throughout the City.

The new facility at 1156 Valencia Street, used to be the Salvation Army building and it is a collaboration between the San Francisco Department of Public Health, PRC/Baker Places, The Salvation Army, and Tipping Point Community.

Supervisor for District 8 where the center is, Rafael Mandelman, said regarding opening;

I’m proud that District 8 will be home to the first-ever community-based Hummingbird Navigation Center. The Valencia location will provide shelter, supportive services, and a path to stability and wellness for unhoused people struggling with mental illness and substance use. These beds represent one more step toward meeting the City’s acute need for exits from the streets, emergency rooms and jail for unhoused people with behavioral health needs. The Hummingbird model is a proven concept that can make a real difference in the crisis on our streets, and we need many more of them.

According to the latest San Francisco homeless Point in Time count reports from 2019, approximately 8,000 people experience homelessness on any given night. Of these, 42% self-report alcohol and drug abuse and 39% report psychiatric and emotional conditions.

Clients are referred to Hummingbird Valencia from urgent care providers or by street teams including the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT), the City’s new Street Crisis Response Team, the Department of Public Health’s Street Medicine and Comprehensive Crisis Services.

The City has confirmed that services provided at the new Hummingbird Valencia will include; referral to primary medical and psychiatric community providers, coordination of services and discharge planning, connection to shelter and housing, transportation to medical and social services appointments, food, clothing, access to showers, and laundry facilities, individual and group counselling to engage in motivational interviewing, one-on-one peer support, daily living skills training, referrals to vocational services for assessment of job skills, training, and employment opportunities.

Hummingbird Place originally opened in 2015 as a day drop-in program providing peer counselling and support. Two years later, it joined forces with PRC-Baker Places to become part of San Francisco’s Navigation Center system by transforming it into a 15-bed, 24-hour facility.

Last week, the City announced a proposal to create a Street Wellness Response Team that will offer appropriate medical and social service response for people in distress who are not in an acute behavioral health crisis.

The new Hummingbird Valencia will no doubt help many people on the road to recovery .

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