City grants $18M to expand San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ homeless shelter

San Francisco’s only adult LGBTQ+ homeless shelter, Jazzie’s Place, has received an $18 million city grant to expand its space and services. The funding will nearly triple its capacity from 24 to 50 beds, including six for non-LGBTQ+ residents, and add lockers with phone chargers as well as ADA-accessible showers and changing rooms, according to SF News.

Run by Mission Action, Jazzie’s Place is located at 1050 South Van Ness Avenue. The Board of Supervisors awarded the grant in April through the city’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, despite a reported $170 million budget cut for the agency this year. The expanded shelter reopened on October 1.

Mayor London Breed said the expansion is part of the city’s broader effort to address homelessness and behavioral health challenges, emphasizing that more LGBTQ+ residents will now have a safe place to stay while they find permanent housing. Jaime Torres, director of housing and shelter programs at Jazzie’s, added that residents can remain at the shelter as long as they need, whether their next home is a bed, shelter, SRO, or other housing option.

Founded in 2015, Jazzie’s Place is named for Black trans activist Jazzie Collins, who passed away in 2013. The idea grew out of a 2009 incident when activist Tommi Avicolli Mecca encountered a young gay man who had been beaten in a shelter. The experience highlighted the urgent need for a safe space for LGBTQ+ residents, prompting the creation of Jazzie’s Place.

Current District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder called the expansion “sorely needed” and praised the shelter for providing wraparound services and stability to more members of the community.