Where We’ve Been - Where We’re Going
25 Years of Serving Survivors
San Francisco SafeHouse was founded in 1998 by Rev. Glenda Hope, a Presbyterian minister, and Sister Rosina and the Sisters of the Presentation, known for decades of service to the poorest neighborhoods in the city, in order to provide supportive services and transitional housing to unhoused survivors of sexual exploitation and sex-trafficking. Since opening, SFSH has provided housing and services to over 1,000 women experiencing housing instability and sexual violence over 190,000 nights of safety. In 2019, SafeHouse expanded with a drop-in space, the Hope Center, located in the Tenderloin that provides rental subsidies, support, and outreach to survivors of sexual exploitation. The organization has focused the last decade on ways to better support and recognize the diverse needs of women and other marginalized genders.
Our Story
Why We Exist
It is SafeHouse’s vision to provide a safe space for every woman experiencing housing instability in San Francisco. We understand that women experience homelessness and the street economy much differently than their male counterparts. In the most recent count, there are more than 3,000 unhoused women in San Francisco and in the last 10 years, seven gender specific organizations and programs have either shut down or switched to coed housing and services, and not because the demand for women’s housing was not there, but because the investment in women’s services was not there.
San Francisco SafeHouse is the only long term transitional housing program focused on supporting adult survivors of sexual exploitation and trafficking in San Francisco. Our approach is grounded in the Housing First model, combined with best practices for serving survivors of gender-based violence. San Francisco SafeHouse provides opportunities for safe housing environments along with a comprehensive array of supportive services aimed at helping women thrive, breaking the cycle of intergenerational homelessness and incarceration, enabling them to rebuild their lives, and create economic opportunity.