San Francisco reverend plans to turn former Tenderloin motel into transitional housing
SAN FRANCISCO — A former motel in the Tenderloin has become an eyesore for the neighborhood, but its neighbor has grand plans to transform the building into a space for transitional housing.
Reverend Paul Trudeau with City Hope says he has a program that works and knows a way to revitalize the entire block.
"Our goal is to always say our guests name 5 times by the time they come in and out," Reverend Trudeau said.
"That is hospitality. It's also accountability. So we're not just giving out a free meal. We ask our guests for two things when they come into our space. That's their name and their time."
Since moving to San Francisco in 2005, Reverend Paul Trudeau has worked with those in need with the hopes of getting people clean and off the streets.
"This is ground zero for the fentanyl and opioid crisis, but even at ground zero, we can make a difference," he said.
So in 2015, he opened City Hope, a community center with a transitional housing program. Now, he wants to reopen the Civic Center Inn, which officially closed in 2023, and provide homes for roughly 80 more residents.
"There is a motel that is abandoned, which is really a horrible thing of blight and just a magnet for crime in the Tenderloin," he said. "We can't have it."
Trudeau says he's talked to the owner, but they are millions of dollars apart on the purchase price. He adds that the building also needs to be surveyed since squatters have taken over the property. But if all the pieces can come together, Trudeau says the project will transform the whole area.
"We thoroughly believe we have to get behind people that want to get clean and sober," he said. "Want to go back to work. We have a track record of doing that at the City Hope house and would love to do that at the City Hope center and cafe."
Trudeau believes in creating relationships with its members. Those who have gone through the program end up giving back to City Hope. The City Hope House would be for those who complete an inpatient recovery program. The goal is that offering transitional housing will lead to a life of stability with a job and permanent housing.
"We're holding people to a standard of behavior as I would hold myself to a standard of behavior," he added. "And we need to get back to that. We need to get back to knowing our neighbor's name and having each neighbor hold each other accountable to the purposes and values of San Francisco."
