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Supervisors hear progress report on navigation centers; health officials say supervised consumption possible with legal and budget support
Summary
City officials reported results from existing navigation centers, outlined plans for additional sites, and discussed harm‑reduction measures including supervised consumption and expanded sobering/medical respite; department leaders said more funding and state legal protections would be needed for supervised injection sites.
San Francisco city officials told the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee on Dec. 1 that navigation centers — low‑barrier temporary alternatives to shelters — have shown promising outcomes but that additional funding, housing and legal changes are needed to scale the model.
Jeff Kositzky, director at the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH), described two currently operational sites: a Mission Street navigation center at 1950 Mission (operational since March 2015, about 75 beds) and a Civic Center site (about 93 rooms). He said the Mission site has served roughly 865 people and reported that about 79 percent of exits from that site went to stable housing; Civic Center exits to permanent housing were reported at about 60 percent. Average length of stay across sites was described as roughly 120 days.
"Navigation centers are temporary low‑barrier alternatives to shelters," Kositzky said, describing partner organizations that operate the sites and noting the department has secured operating funding…
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