Hummingbird Valencia Prepares to Open its Doors in Spring 2021

PRC Baker Places will soon open the Hummingbird Valencia behavioral health respite center for adults experiencing homelessness, behavioral health and substance use disorders. Hummingbird Valencia is a partnership between PRC, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH), Tipping Point Community, and the Salvation Army. The facility will serve adult residents of San Francisco, particularly in the Mission District, who are frequent users of crisis and inpatient services and typically the hardest to engage in stabilizing treatment.

The stand-alone Hummingbird Valencia location is scheduled for a soft opening in May.  Short term overnight services will become available once all required renovations are complete. The facility will include up to a 26 beds and will include a separate day guest component offering services for up to an additional 20 adults daily

“PRC is pleased to be partnering with the Mayor’s Office and the San Francisco Department of Public Health to launch the first free-standing Hummingbird Navigation Center in the City,” said Brett Andrews, PRC Chief Executive Officer. “Building on the successful partnership we began together in establishing and growing the Hummingbird program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, we look forward to the opportunity to provide this unique model of evidence-based care to our most vulnerable residents living in the Mission neighborhood and beyond. We thank Mayor Breed for her leadership and her commitment to expand the capacity of mental health beds for San Francisco residents living in the most desperate of circumstances.”

The original Hummingbird Place located at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, opened in the summer of 2017 when PRC Baker Places joined forces with the San Francisco’s Navigation Center system. The facility made use of an empty hospital ward and transformed it into a 15- overnight bed, 24-hour facility. This partnership allowed the center to offer a blending of peer and professional staff counseling, respite, hot meals, showers, and overnight accommodations to help clients regroup and find their footing after a crisis. The facility has since grown to provide overnight accommodations and services for up to 29 people, while also supporting up to 25 additional people through its day drop-in program. The services provided at the original Hummingbird Place have undoubtedly assisted thousands of individuals on the road to recovery and growth since its opening, but many more services of this kind are needed in order to serve the roughly 8,000 individuals that experience homelessness nightly in SF.

The average stay of Hummingbird Place clients is 24 days. Client demographics:

• 64 % are people of color, the majority of whom are African American.
• 16 % identify as LGBT;
• 7% veterans;
• 62 % male,
• 33 % female and
• 2% transgender.

44 percent – or nearly one in two – of overnight clients’ transition out of Hummingbird Place to more stable housing or into a continued treatment program.

Once at the facility, clients will have access to a multitude of professionally staffed recovery-based programs including:

• Personal and group counseling,
• Motivational interviewing engagement,
• Harm-reduction strategies,
• Trauma-informed care,
• Assistance with accessing social services,
• Longer-term treatment,
• Peer support,
• Daily living skills training
• Medication monitoring,
• Transportation to social services appointments, and
• Help reuniting individuals with their families.

The facility provides individuals with access to:

• Showers, including hygiene supplies
• Laundry services,
• Three nutritious meals each day
• Clothing if needed
• Referrals to primary medical and psychiatric community providers
• Connection to shelter and housing
• Referrals to vocational services for assessment of job skills, training, and employment opportunities
• Information about medical, mental health care, and social services
• Assistance with obtaining photo identification cards, Medi-Cal, Social Security benefits, CAAP application, and enrollment in any other benefits for which they qualify
• A safe place to sleep.