At Oasis Inn, Organizing Wins: After Months of Community Action, St. Anthony’s to Purchase Hotel for Permanent Family Shelter

SAN FRANCISCO — After more than a year of advocacy, demands, protests, City Hall legislation, letters, and finally, a nonprofit benefactor, the stars have aligned for the Oasis Inn: St. Anthony’s Foundation announced today that it will purchase the 58-unit hotel, once slated for sale on the private market, to become a permanent family shelter.

“When I took office, homeless families slept on mats on the floor of the basement of a church,” said Supervisor Dean Preston. “Early on in the pandemic, we fundraised to move families into their own private rooms at the Oasis Inn, initially on a temporary basis, and now, thanks to the work of activists and the generosity of Saint Anthony’s, the Oasis is being acquired permanently for homeless women and families. Words cannot describe the joy I feel with this announcement.”

"Saving the Oasis was rooted in the powerful work of homeless and formerly homeless mothers, parents and their children, many of whom suffered through stays in poor conditions at the predecessor shelter the Oasis replaced. They banded together, got creative, stood up and spoke out, having protests, organizing hearings, writing letters to the owners, taking out advertisements,” said Jennifer Friedenbach, Executive Director at the Coalition on Homelessness. “It was a labor of love and respect for the dignity of parenthood and a sanctuary to parents and children. The creation of and later the saving of the Oasis shelter, could not have happened without the deep commitment and support of Supervisor Preston, who banded together with unhoused families creating an unstoppable alliance.”

In March 2020, as the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic came into focus, Preston’s office was alarmed at the slow response from the city to move residents from congregate shelters, including a shelter for women and their families in the Fillmore, into more safe living situations. Rather than waiting for action, Supervisor Preston’s office, in collaboration with community partners, launched a GoFundMe campaign, raising more than $25,000 in 24 hours, and eventually bringing in more than $100,000. In partnership with the Providence Foundation, within days dozens of residents – many over 60 or with underlying health issues, or women escaping abusive relationships – filled the vacant rooms at the Oasis Inn, a nearby tourist hotel that had seen business evaporate due to COVID.

This District 5 pilot of moving people from congregate shelters to vacant tourist hotels became the model for the city’s shelter-in-place program. The city would eventually take over coordinating the Oasis Inn, along with dozens of other hotels citywide, housing thousands of homeless people during the pandemic.

”For families like mine, Oasis is the last option and for many, a safe haven making the name ‘Oasis’ very fitting,” said Yaasmeen Williams, a past resident of Oasis. “This shelter is one of many first steps toward our liberation from a life destined for many unhoused people and has provided the means to protect us from the people who shielded our abusers. Without this shelter, we’d have nowhere to go and I’m confident that there are thousands who can relate.”

For nearly two years, the Oasis stood as an example of how getting formerly unsheltered people into private rooms could turn lives around. Yet in early 2022, Oasis owners informed the city that they intended to sell the property, saying all current occupants would need to vacate by January 2023. The City did not move to acquire the property initially, prompting Supervisor Preston to convene stakeholders, and issue a letter in October 2022 formally requesting that the Administration acquire the property.

While negotiations were ongoing, 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. In response, the Coalition on Homelessness organized multiple rallies and protests, demanding that the owners sell the property to a city or a non-profit. In December 2022, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution proposed by Supervisor Preston urging the Mayor and Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) to prioritize ongoing operation and acquisition of the Oasis by the City or a nonprofit service provider.

Despite the pressure, the Oasis was temporarily shut down from January 2023. until April 2023, when the city and Oasis ownership agreed to a six-month lease that allowed families to move in while negotiations continued. Those negotiations culminated in the announcement from St. Anthony’s today.

“It took tremendous effort and vision, but we’re finally getting there,” said Nils Behnke, St. Anthony’s CEO. “A very generous gift from the Kaplan Family Trust was the cornerstone initiating this project. Matching funds from the St. Anthony’s Foundation, combined with the city support in a true private public partnership, enabled the acquisition. We are thrilled that the Oasis will now be a refuge for generations of San Franciscans to come.”

“This is what it looks like when community comes together to solve a crisis,” Supervisor Preston said. “To the hundreds of people who contributed to our GoFundMe campaign, to the dedicated staff at Providence Foundation for operating the Oasis, to the countless people who stood up and spoke out with and for the women and families who call the Oasis their home, and to the brave unhoused families who shared their stories, I can’t thank you enough. This victory, more than three years in the making, shows that with determination and compassion, we can come together to help those in need and create a better world.”