The Mission District is getting 30 new treatment beds for those fresh out of a recovery program. <\/p>\n
The project is by Friendship House<\/a>, a social services nonprofit specializing in American Indian issues, and subsidized with financing from a Behavioral Health Bridge Housing grant<\/a> that the city began receiving from the state in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n The beds will be housed at the New Path Forward Recovery Lodge at 3340 24th St. near Bartlett Street, which is owned by Friendship House.<\/p>\n Clayton Dumont, chief operating officer at Friendship House, said the funding will allow New Path Forward to offer up to two years of housing to\u00a0eligible patients, who must be a graduate of any recovery program, and at least 90 days sober.\u00a0<\/p>\n Friendship House currently runs an 80-bed substance recovery and prevention program at 56 Julian Ave. between 14th and 15th streets. Patients, who are mostly American Indian, can stay up to one year at the facility, which combines American Indian and Western practices.\u00a0<\/p>\n The nonprofit submitted an application to the Planning Department on Feb. 19 to change the use of the 24th Street building from residential \u2014 it was an apartment building \u2014 to affordable group housing. The three-story Victorian, which was built in 1908, has 17 rooms and will accommodate 30 beds of supportive housing.<\/p>\n Dumont said that between 80 and 85 percent of Friendship House\u2019s patients are American Indian and come from across California for treatment.<\/p>\n About half of them choose to stay in San Francisco once they\u2019ve completed the group\u2019s program, but they often face difficulty finding beds at a subsequent sober-living facility or finding \u201cculturally competent facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re oriented toward different spiritualities than ours. They\u2019re not targeting American Indians like we want to,\u201d said Dumont, of other sober living programs. \u201cOur founder, Helen Waukazoo<\/a>, always had the dream that we\u2019d be able to offer that next stage of care.\u201d<\/p>\n Friendship House moved closer to fulfilling Waukazoo\u2019s dream by purchasing the 24th Street property in November, which at the time was empty. The property sold for an estimated $2.1 million, according<\/a> to the real estate site Redfin.<\/p>\n When Mayor Daniel Lurie took office in January of 2025, he promised adding 1,500 treatment beds in his first six months in office to end homelessness. <\/p>\n Lurie later pushed<\/a> his deadline from June to September and later dropped<\/a> the numerical goal entirely when it became clear he was going to miss the target<\/a>, even after broadening the definitions of \u201ctreatment bed\u201d to meet his goals.<\/p>\n Facilities like New Path Forward illustrate a shift in focus citywide toward funding smaller facilities with more comprehensive programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Friendships House\u2019s chance of use permit is considered administrative and does not require a vote by planning commissioners or a public hearing. A spokesperson for the planning department said it will likely approve the permit by the end of the month.\u00a0<\/p>\n Once the permit is approved, New Path Forward Recovery Lodge would start interviewing patients, and the first residents could start moving in within a week or two, Dumont said.<\/p>\n Friendship House plans to offer counseling sessions, individual treatment planning, workforce development, resume building and outpatient groups, a necessary and important component of recovery, according to Dumont.<\/p>\n