San Francisco Reopening Abigail Hotel As Homeless Housing

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced Monday that the city will reopen the Abigail Hotel to serve as transitional housing to help the houseless get off the streets.

City officials, in collaboration with the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, plan to use the almost century-old hotel as part of its Step Up Housing program, which assists homeless adults move into independent living spaces.

"Throughout the pandemic, San Francisco has provided emergency housing and shelter for thousands of unhoused people, and as we continue to move forward with our City's recovery, we need to do all that we can to ensure that those same people have access to permanent housing," said Breed. "We know that housing is the solution to homelessness, and the Abigail Hotel will provide people with histories of homelessness with a permanent place to live and will allow people newly transitioning off the streets access to supportive housing."

Built in 1926, the Abigail Hotel in downtown San Francisco was one of the first shelter-in-place sites opened during the COVID-19 Pandemic, sheltering transitional-aged youth. Officials shut it down back in June to begin transitioning it to Step Up Housing, which will be managed by the Tenderloin Housing Clinic.

As Step Up Housing, the Abigail will provide 59 living units, and housing managers will offer case management services five days a week for its residents.

"We are excited to transition The Abigail Hotel to step up housing," said San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing executive director, Shireen McSpadden. "As people progress into step up housing they free up much needed spots in permanent supportive housing for vulnerable people in need of their first home or first home in a long time."

The reopening of Abigail is part of Breed's strategy to tackle San Francisco's issues with its houseless population. Her strategy includes her Homelessness Recovery Plan, which intends to expand the City's Homelessness Response System and seek to acquire or lease 1,500 new units of PSH in the next two years, the largest one-time expansion in the City in 20 years.

"It's exciting to see another of the SIP Hotels continue to be a part of the city's long-term strategy to help keep all of our residents housed," said District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney. "The Abigail Hotel will provide step up housing for those who have graduated from permanent supportive housing and can live more independently. By providing more of these housing opportunities for our city's most vulnerable residents, we are establishing an essential piece of the framework that will help us finally get a handle on our homelessness crisis."

For more information about the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, visit their website. For more information on San Francisco's Homeless Response System and the Housing Ladder Program, visit the housing program website.