Larkin Street Youth - Haight St.

HAIGHT STREET REFERRAL CENTER

When kids on the street are ready to rebuild their lives, Larkin Street Youth Services is there to help them. With the Haight Street Referral Center, Larkin Street provides a critical point of entry for homeless youth in the very San Francisco neighborhood, the Haight, that has been known as a destination for transient, homeless and at-risk youth for generations.

The Haight Street Referral Center is a hub for Larkin Street’s outreach activities in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood near Golden Gate National Park, an area where homeless youth still gather, years after the initial influx of youth to this neighborhood in the 1960s. The Haight Street Referral Center is an important resource for at-risk kids who need basic assistance — including food, hygiene supplies, and referrals to Larkin Street’s housing, education and job assistance programs and other community resources. The Haight Street Center is a safe place to hang out with peers, attend groups focused on substance abuse and HIV prevention, and begin to develop relationships with caring adults.

The Haight Street Referral Center serves as a gateway to the programs and services homeless youth need to rebuild their lives. Young people who frequent the Haight Street Referral Center are encouraged to work with staff members to identify their individual needs and determine short- and longer-term goals towards exiting street life. A case manager and counselors are available to help the youth begin their journey off the streets by referring them to shelter, employment and educational services, and medical care through other Larkin Street Youth Services programs.

The Haight Street Referral Center is Larkin Street’s most highly utilized program, with more than 1,500 youth accessing services there each year.