HamiltonFamilyCenter

1985

• Hamilton Family Center is established by Hamilton United Methodist Church as the first family homeless shelter in San Francisco. Located on Waller Street in the Haight-Ashbury District, the shelter operates nightly from 8:00 pm to 8:00 am and is staffed entirely by church volunteers.

1987

• Hamilton Family Center is incorporated as a nonprofit separate from Hamilton United Methodist Church, and the first paid staff are hired.

1989

• The shelter begins operating a day program, allowing parents with small children to remain in the shelter.
• The Loma Prieta earthquake strikes in October, increasing the number of homeless families in San Francisco.

1990

• Community Health Outreach Workers provide health care and follow-up services on- site This program eventually becomes a separate agency: Homeless Prenatal Program.
• Pre-school program opens.

1992

• Jesse Jackson spends a night in the shelter, bringing national attention to Hamilton Family Center.

1993

• Mental health clinicians are hired to provide therapy to children in San Francisco’s homeless family shelters. By 1997, this program becomes a separate agency: Homeless Children’s Network.
• The Learning Center opens thanks to a literacy grant from the San Francisco Giants.
• Steve Young plays Santa for children at the Hamilton Family Center holiday party.

1994

• Hamilton Family Center is a founding member agency of the Family Shelter Alliance.
• Partnering with the National Parks Service, Hamilton Family Center opens a cottage in the Marin Headlands for homeless children to be able to experience nature and the outdoors. This program eventually becomes a separate agency: Home Away from Homelessness.
• Housing Initiative is formed, with Hamilton Family Center as its sponsor to advocate for more transitional and permanent housing for homeless and poor families.

1995

• Hamilton Family Center purchases land to build transitional housing for homeless families.
• The first Annual Mother’s Day Event is held at Harry Denton’s Starlight Room in the Sir Francis Drake Hotel for mothers in our shelter.

1997

• Salvador Menjivar named Executive Director in September.
• A Capital Campaign is launched to raise $1.8 million to build a transitional housing facility in the Panhandle.

1998

• A groundbreaking ceremony for the transitional housing facility is held in September.
• Hamilton Family Center opens a Housing Program, funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, to provide housing assistance to homeless families.

2000

• With the building complete, the Hamilton Family Transitional Housing Program opens at 1631 Hayes Street.
• Hamilton Family Center begins developing a third facility at 260 Golden Gate Avenue with 120 shelter beds.
• Hamilton Family Center receives a “Best Practices” Award from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

2001

• Hamilton Family Residences opens at 260 Golden Gate Avenue with a capacity to provide shelter to 150 people each night for up to 3 months.
• The original Waller Street Shelter becomes Hamilton Family Emergency Center and continues to provide emergency overnight and 60-day shelter for up to 70 people nightly.

2002

• Planning begins to provide permanent supportive housing services to formerly homeless families in collaboration with Mercy Housing California and the Department of Human Services at the former Dudley Hotel.
• The first Halloween Evening annual fundraising event is held.

2003

• Hamilton Family Center begins providing permanent supportive housing services to formerly homeless families, extremely low-income seniors, and single adults with disabilities in the new 74-unit Dudley Apartments at 172 6th Street in partnership with Mercy Housing.

2005

• Hamilton Family Center celebrates 20 years of work to end family homelessness in San Francisco.
• The Schwab Foundation grants the Housing and Aftercare Program two $75,000 grants for a pilot project to move towards a Housing First approach to serving homeless families.
• San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors names May 8, 2005 “The Day to Honor and Recognize the Work of Homeless Mothers Raising Children in San Francisco” in honor of mothers at Hamilton Family Center.

2006

• First Avenues: Housing Solutions for Families, our innovative Housing First initiative is launched to focus on homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing.
• Hamilton Family Emergency Center moves to 260 Golden Gate, bringing the emergency overnight shelter and the 60-day shelter under the same roof as the Hamilton Family Residences’ 3-month shelter.
• Hamilton Family Center creates www.myhousing.org – a pioneering website for formerly homeless and low-income families in the Bay Area to provide families with easy access to community resources.

2007

• Beth Stokes is named Executive Director in November.
• Hamilton Family Center joins with Catholic Charities CYO, Homeless Prenatal Program, and Compass Community Services in the Family Eviction Prevention Collaborative (FEPCO).  FEPCO works to prevent homelessness by providing rental assistance to families in order to avoid eviction and helps those in shelters or marginal housing find permanent homes.
• Pathways to Technology is launched in partnership with Salesforce to provide a computer, training, and one year of free internet to recently housed families.
• The National Alliance to End Homelessness honors Hamilton Family Center with a national award recognizing “…strides in utilizing the Housing First strategy to end homelessness for countless families in the Bay Area.”

2008

• The Hamilton Family Transitional Housing Program enters into partnership with San Francisco’s Office of Collaborative Justice to prioritize transitional housing for families participating in San Francisco County’s Dependency Drug Court or Behavioral Health Court.
• Programming for children and youth across all our programs is consolidated and expanded into Project Potential: Making Dreams a Reality.
• Mutual of America awards its highest national honor to the Family Eviction Prevention Collaborative (FEPCO) – a partnership between Hamilton Family Center, Catholic Charities CYO, Homeless Prenatal Program, and Compass Community Services, for its work to prevent homelessness.
• San Francisco First Lady and Actress/Producer Jennifer Seibel Newsom records a Public Service announcement for Hamilton Family Center airing on local television stations.