HISTORY

Incorporated in 1978, (CATS) is a private, tax-exempt, nonprofit organization dedicated to serving homeless men and women in San Francisco, 18 years and over, with substance abuse problems, mental illness, those living with chronic health conditions such as HIV+/AIDS, and individuals who are, or have been, involved in the criminal justice system. CATS’ niche is serving those most in need and the “hardest to serve” individuals that other agencies frequently turn away. We provide a state-of-the-art continuum of care to San Francisco’s most vulnerable populations. When we say that CATS offers a “continuum of care,” we mean that we provide programs with few demands initially to engage clients and then we provide programs with increasing demands when clients are ready. We have a practical commitment to a straightforward philosophy—“start where people are.” Our continuum of care effectively moves San Francisco’s chronic homeless population off the street and eventually into permanent housing.

CATS was initially a part of a consortium of alcohol treatment providers founded in 1974 to address the needs of high-risk adults abusing drugs and alcohol. When the new era of homelessness became a problem of record proportions in San Francisco with many people abusing drugs and alcohol winding up on the streets, CATS made homelessness more of an integrated and targeting focus of our services.

At the front end of our continuum of care, we offer outreach to chronically homeless people on the streets through the San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team (SFHOT), a collaboration between CATS, the Department of Public Health and the Human Services Agency. We also operate the Mobile Assistance Patrol (MAP) vans which provide outreach and transportation services to high-risk intoxicated individuals on the streets taking them to community services. We also operate A Woman’s Place, which offers a service, whereby women can simply drop-in for temporary respite, take a shower, use the telephone, eat a meal, or sit in a chair and simply rest.

Further along CATS’ continuum of care, we can engage vulnerable people, if and when they are ready, in increasingly more intensive services. For example in addition to drop-in services, A Woman’s Place also offers residential substance abuse care and transitional housing up to 18 months for women with low or no income, who are chronically homeless, abusing substances, and/or are diagnosed with mental health conditions. The Medical Respite and Sobering Center Program, a partnership between the Department of Public Health and CATS, provides medical care and psychosocial services to homeless individuals leaving the hospital but requiring additional support. And yet further along the service continuum, Golden Gate for Seniors provides comprehensive and well-structured programs of treatment services for seniors in a residential setting. The ultimate goal is placing homeless people in permanent supportive housing of which CATS has two: the Coronado Hotel and Eddy Street Apartments.

Highlights of a Few of Our Accomplishments

CATS is on the cutting edge of implementing former Mayor Gavin Newsom’s initiatives for ending homelessness by collaborating with the City of San Francisco. For example, the very first priority in San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors’ approved Plan to End Homelessness is: “Increase the supply of permanent housing that is subsidized to be affordable to people who are experiencing homelessness, that is accessible and that offers services to achieve housing stability.” In this spirit, the Coronado Hotel, a project of CATS, delivered in collaboration with the San Francisco Human Services Agency, provides 65 permanent units to formerly homeless men and women. Further, Eddy Street Apartments serves formerly homeless substance abusers in 25 partially furnished studio apartments.

In addition, SFHOT was formed at the direction of former Mayor Gavin Newsom to provide more effective outreach to chronically homeless men and women who were resistant to services. Employing a “housing first” model this team moves homeless people from the streets directly into permanent housing such as the Coronado Hotel. This strategy recognized that individuals can be placed directly from the street into housing, completely bypassing the City’s emergency shelter system.