Following Powerful Community Outcry, Oasis Inn, City’s Inspiration for SIP-Hotel Program, Will Reopen Doors Tomorrow As Emergency Drop-In Family Shelter

SAN FRANCISCO — The Oasis Inn, San Francisco’s only emergency drop-in family shelter, will once again house San Francisco’s most vulnerable families starting tomorrow, following a several month long campaign to get the shelter to reopen its doors.

“I am relieved that San Francisco’s most vulnerable families and young children will once again be able to access this crucial, low-barrier shelter,” said Supervisor Dean Preston. “I appreciate the tremendous advocacy of former Oasis residents and homeless advocates to reopen the Oasis for families in need while we continue to work on a long term plan to keep this shelter open for the long term.”

In early 2022, the owners of the Oasis Inn decided to sell the property, and informed the City and Providence Foundation, the nonprofit service provider that operated the hotel, that all current occupants would need to vacate by January 2023. While negotiations were explored, the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing started moving families, including those with young children, to other temporary shelters just a few weeks before the holidays. The site remained closed until the owners recently agreed to a six month lease to allow for families to move in while the owners and the City continued negotiations to create a more permanent shelter.

“This has been a long and painful journey for the many unhoused families who had lost their safety net, but through their and many others' hard work and perseverance, the Oasis is opening back up as a refuge,” said Jennifer Friedenbach, Executive Director, Coalition on Homelessness. “The dignity and peace of mind that this will bring to struggling parents and children cannot be quantified.”

The Oasis Inn is a 58-room, former tourist hotel that is now used as an emergency drop-in family shelter located at 900 Franklin Street. At the start of the pandemic, Supervisor Preston’s office worked with Providence Foundation and the operator of the Oasis to move families experiencing homelessness from a congregate shelter with sleeping mats on a floor to private hotel rooms with support services. Through generous community support, dozens of rooms at the Oasis Inn were rented so unhoused families could safety shelter in place. This model was an inspiration for the city’s Shelter in Place program, a critical piece of the City’s successful early response to Covid.

“The Oasis is a crucial safe place for homeless families,” said Supervisor Preston. “I look forward to working with the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing and all stakeholders to keep this shelter open permanently.”

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