The Village SF: Building a Healthy Native Community
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The Village SF Connects You to Culture and Community
The Village SF is the heart of our holistic approach to healing. Our approach centers Indigenous values, offering services and programs that meet our peoples unique needs.
The Village SF is part of our commitment to reclaiming community for San Francisco’s 18,000 Native peoples, reaching beyond the city’s borders.
Beyond the Building
It starts with the Wellness Center building: a social service, cultural and spiritual hub. But The Village SF is a vision for community wellness reaching far beyond the building. Our vision is a comprehensive set of initiatives and programs nurturing a thriving and connected Native community.
Embodying the Vision of Our Founder, Helen Waukazoo
In 1958, Helen was one of thousands of American Indians to be relocated to San Francisco under the Federal Termination Act, where she was promised housing and services she never received. Inspired by their experiences, Helen and four other Native women founded the Friendship House. Helen’s dream was to build a village to replace what they had all lost—a place for Native people in San Francisco to find the support and community they needed to call the city home.
Opening in 2026
The Village SF Wellness Center: A Holistic Vision of Environmental Justice
The Village SF is a holistic approach to Native health and well-being. This six-story building in the heart of the Mission District will house social services, treatment and recovery programs, supportive housing, a health clinic, cultural and ceremony space, and a rooftop garden. It’s our way of meeting the diverse needs of San Francisco’s urban Indian community. Once completed in 2026, it will be a cornerstone of the newly-designated American Indian Cultural District.
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A Youth Center featuring a state-of-the-art technology and digital lab and safe recreation space for American Indian Youth.
A Cultural and Ceremonial Space which will include a space for elders to socialize and access vital social services.
A Medical, Behavioral Health and Dental Clinic operated by the Native American Health Center.
Clean & Sober Living for resident-advisor interns who are Friendship House alumni.
The Women’s Lodge, a family-reservation-focused program and residential substance abuse treatment program for American Indian mothers and their young children.
A Rooftop Farm where community members will cultivate traditional foods and herbal plants, restoring their deep relationships to land and the Indigenous concept of “land as medicine.”
The San Francisco American Indian Cultural District Office, a city office dedicated to recognizing, honoring and celebrating the American Indian legacy, culture, people and contributions.
A Social Service and Cultural Hub for the 18,000 American Indians living in San Francisco.
Beyond the Building
Indigenous Garden and Ceremonial Space
3.5-Acre Urban Indigenous Farm providing an intergenerational educational and healing space to learn, explore, and connect together.
The SF Village Garden will use Indigenous ecological knowledge to cultivate ancestral lands for gardening, ceremonial, and workforce development space.
The garden is projected to produce 8,000 pounds of traditional foods and herbal plants that will be distributed to families experiencing food insecurity.
Affordable Housing, Sober Living & First Time Homeownership Opportunities
Providing over 160 families and individuals a continuum of housing options, all located on or near transportation hubs
This initiative will provide low-income and marginalized communities, particularly Native peoples, with access to affordable housing and financial education, with the goal of building intergenerational wealth and improving long-term financial stability.
Home ownership, below-market-rate rental housing and homes for the unhoused are all part of this comprehensive program.
Yurok Partnership
The Village SF initiative includes a partnership with the Yurok Tribe as they build a rural residential treatment center that will follow Friendship House’s treatment model. The Yurok-Friendship House partnership will create a network of treatment support from the city to rural Native communities. The Yurok-Friendship House partnership will create more access to tribal housing for federally enrolled tribal members in both San Francisco and on the Yurok Reservation.
A Shared Vision: Our Partners
The Village SF and Yurok Wellness Centers are being developed by a coalition of government and non-government partners who believe that supporting the well-being of Native peoples is a shared responsibility. Working together, we can create a whole-systems approach to better serve our people.
We Are a Native-Led Team
Support This Work
Help us create a strong community for San Francisco’s 18,000 Native peoples. Together, we are reclaiming a community and creating enduring, spiritual connections for urban Indians.
Questions or Comments?
Contact Peter Bratt, The Village SF Project Lead, PeterB@FriendshipHouseSF.org