Casa Colibri Reopens, Giving Young San Franciscans a Launchpad Out of Homelessness

San Francisco celebrated the grand reopening of Casa Colibri on Wednesday, a renovated supportive housing site in the Outer Mission that pairs stable housing with mental health care, job training, and case management for young people ages 18 to 27 experiencing homelessness. The event doubled as a progress report: city officials said youth homelessness has dropped 54% over the past two years, with projects like this one driving the numbers.

• Youth homelessness down 54% in two years, city officials say, crediting housing-first projects like Casa Colibri
• Renovated Outer Mission site pairs housing with wraparound services — case management, mental health support, job readiness, and document assistance — under Mayor Lurie's Breaking the Cycle initiative
• Residents share stories of survival and ambition, from fleeing domestic violence to enrolling at City College
• Neighbors who once resisted the project now embrace it, donating blankets, books, and a piano through a Community Advisory Committee

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Stability as a Starting Line

Casa Colibri, located in San Francisco's Outer Mission neighborhood in District 11, serves transitional-age youth — young people ages 18 to 27 — who are experiencing homelessness. The facility is jointly operated by Mission Action, which handles property management, and Larkin Street Youth Services, which provides case management and support services, all under the oversight of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.

Why it matters: The project is a flagship example of the Lurie administration's Breaking the Cycle initiative, which measures success not just by whether someone has a roof but by whether their life is actually improving. The model bundles housing with mental health support, job readiness training, wellness checkups, and help obtaining personal documents — the everyday paperwork that can keep a young person locked out of employment, education, and stability.

Where things stand: HSH Deputy Director Emily Cohen opened the event by framing the results in hard numbers. "Projects like this would help drive a 22% reduction in unsheltered homelessness over the last two years and a 54% reduction in youth homelessness over the last two years," she said.

Mayor Daniel Lurie picked up that thread, casting the site as proof that the city's approach is working. "What makes Casa Colibri different is that it combines housing with case management and mental health support and job readiness. It treats stability as a starting line, not a finish line," Mayor Lurie said. He added: "We measure success not just by whether someone has a roof, but by whether their life is actually getting better."

Executive Director Sherilyn Adams of Larkin Street Youth Services was blunt about what sustains the progress: building more housing. "Homelessness goes down when we create housing," Adams said. "All of the HSH team and Mission Action and Larkin Street and the city and the mayor and the supervisors have done a ton to create housing for young people. And that's why we see a reduction."

Executive Director Laura Valdez of Mission Action explained the facility's name — "colibri" is Spanish for hummingbird — and urged the audience to see residents for their potential, not their hardships. "The young people who live here are not their experiences or their hardships that they faced. They are young people who are on their journey," Valdez said. She added that she hopes residents will eventually move on and "always look back and see this just as a stepping stone in their life, a stepping stone in their career, and that they leave here stronger than when they came."

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The Forgotten Neighborhood Gets Noticed

Supervisor Cheyenne Chen, who represents District 11, used the event to highlight how often the Outer Mission is overlooked in citywide conversations about services and investment. "Oftentimes this Outer Mission neighborhood is the forgotten district in the forgotten neighborhood of our city," Supervisor Chen said.

She framed Casa Colibri as an answer to that neglect: "We are ensuring inclusiveness. We are providing reliable, supportive resources that helped all our young people that needed to continue to be able to stay in our community, stay in San Francisco and have a fighting opportunity to fly."

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From Resistance to Piano Donations

One of the most striking elements of the reopening was the testimony of Stephen DiPont Kalani, chair of the Community Advisory Group and former president of the Outer Mission Emergency Residents Association. He described how the neighborhood's relationship with Casa Colibri has evolved dramatically.

Initial community resistance gave way to active support. The advisory committee now holds monthly meetings, organizes holiday parties, and has donated blankets, bedding, books, and a piano to the site.

"We want to provide housing and a stepping stone to be our leader. Our future leaders are members of our community. They're not clients, they're not off the street people. They're our neighbors," DiPont Kalani said.

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Residents Speak for Themselves

Two Casa Colibri residents offered personal testimony that put faces to the statistics.

Diani Lyons described surviving domestic violence and the long road to stability. "Before coming to Casa Colibri, I faced serious challenges, including living in a domestic violence environment. I also struggled with finding stability and getting my personal documents in order. It wasn't easy, but today I'm proud to say I'm a survivor and I'm continuing to move forward more than before," Lyons said.

She is now studying administration of justice at City College with plans to transfer after two years, and expects to graduate from Larkin Street Academy in June 2026. For Lyons, the site is more than a building: "It's a community of help, support and a sense of belonging."

Resident Adrian Garcia Diaz, speaking in Spanish with translation by Program Manager Alejandro Estrada, returned to the hummingbird metaphor that gives the project its name. "The hummingbird is small but strong. It keeps flying, keeps moving and keeps seeking out life. In the same way, many of us keep going. Even the road hasn't always been easy," Estrada translated on behalf of Garcia Diaz.

He closed with a message that captured the mood of the room: "Today, we celebrate more than the grand opening. We celebrate hope, community, dignity, and new opportunities."

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What's next: Deputy Director Cohen encouraged residents to share feedback so the program can continue to improve. "This opportunity is about you. This is about the future. We want this to be the best possible launching pad for you," Cohen said. The city's Breaking the Cycle initiative will continue to use outcome-based metrics — not just shelter counts — to evaluate whether supportive housing sites like Casa Colibri are delivering lasting results.