To build community strength by advocating for policies and rendering services which foster self-sufficiency and cultural enrichment. Hospitality House encourages self-help, mutual respect, and increased self-esteem. The goal of these efforts is to rebuild lives, celebrate creativity, and strengthen community. To make the heart of San Francisco a better place for us all.
OUR MISSION
Hospitality House was founded in 1967, during a time when the Tenderloin had become a refuge for thousands of LGBTQ youth drawn to San Francisco—one of the nation’s earliest centers of queer liberation. While the movement sparked a powerful legacy of pride and activism, it also left many behind; more than 3,000 young people found themselves unhoused and vulnerable. In response, Tenderloin residents joined forces with these youth to create Hospitality House—a modest drop-in center offering meals, activities, and a safe place to rest from life on the streets.
By 1985, Hospitality House had evolved into a multi-program agency, expanding its services and deepening its commitment to the community. As the neighborhood’s needs shifted, so did the organization’s focus—from serving primarily LGBTQ youth to supporting low-income and unhoused adults across the Tenderloin, Sixth Street Corridor, and Mid-Market neighborhoods. Today, Hospitality House continues to address the urgent challenges of poverty, homelessness, and social injustice with compassion, creativity, and a deep connection to the community it calls home.
OUR HISTORY
Hospitality House is a progressive, community-based organization located in San Francisco’s Tenderloin Neighborhood, Sixth Street Corridor, and Mid-Market Area that provides opportunities and resources for personal growth and self-determination to unhoused people and neighborhood residents. Our mission is to build community strength by rendering services and advocating policies that foster self-sufficiency and cultural enrichment.
Hospitality House’s six distinct community programs featured on the home page of this website are rooted in our peer-based hiring model and grounded in harm reduction philosophy. Our priority is reducing harmful behaviors - without judgment or barriers - by offering options that encourage more healthful choices and strengthen community connection.
