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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Mayor London N. Breed and The San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) announced this week the opening of Victoria’s House, a 12-month rehabilitation center for individuals with serious behavioral health conditions and substance disorder.
The facility, located in the Mission neighborhood, is a residential bed facility that offers timely, accessible, coordinated, high quality and recovery-oriented care delivered in the least restrictive setting.
Victoria’s House is part of an unprecedented effort to bring 400 new residential and treatment bed for people experiencing mental health and substance use issues, said the mayor.
With the opening of this center, the City is expected to meet nearly two-thirds of its goal, which also includes the openings of two other projects this year – SoMa RISE Drug Sobering Center and The Minna Project, the mayor added.
“This facility is part of our strategy to expand the types of beds we provide, from crisis support to long-term care, based on data,” said Mayor Breed. “If we are going to address the challenges we see every day on our streets, we need facilities like Victoria’s House, so we have safe and stable places for people to go.”
The 12-month rehabilitative program is designed to support and prepare clients to learn how to live independently and step-down to the lowest level of care as part of Victoria’s House’s transitional care model, Breed explained.
This will in turn, the city added, improve the client’s opportunity to find stable housing after the program, which will ultimately contribute to the city’s homelessness and shelter efforts, supporting the more vulnerable clients of the facility who are living with severe disorders and substance use dependencies.</p>
Clients may undergo cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and other techniques to achieve independence living skills allowing them to successfully transition into their communities.
“To effectively address mental health and substance abuse, our city must have programs that not only support individuals in their treatment but help them reach the goal of ultimately living independently. The addition of the Victoria’s House in the Mission District is a meaningful step in expanding the behavioral health continuum of care under Mental Health SF,” said SF Supervisor Hillary Ronen.
The center offers an additional 46 beds for adults with mental illness and/or substance use who experience homelessness. The clients who will be placed at Victoria’s House are referred from acute inpatient hospitals, locked facilities and jails.
“One the very first pieces of legislation I introduced as a supervisor was a measure to protect existing Board and Care facilities and make it easier to build new ones,” said SF Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. “
“I am especially proud to see the opening of a new and much-needed facility like Victoria’s House, which will both add to our housing opportunities for vulnerable residents and provide a rehabilitative setting for people struggling with addiction and mental health issues,” the supervisor added.
The expansion of the treatment facilities network also reduces the use of expensive acute inpatient placements, said officials, adding clients will be re-assessed after 12 months of treatment, and the SFDPH Residential System for Care will assist with housing placement once the clients are deemed ready to live independently.
A&A Health Services was introduced as the community partner who will be running operations at the facility with oversight by SFDPH. It is a non-profit provider who supports adults who suffer from mental disorders while addressing the gaps in independent living skills. The staff onsite will monitor and engage with the clients.
“Victoria’s House, as well as our San Pablo site, are designed to serve clients with severe mental health and substance use needs,” said Betty Dominici, CEO and co-founder of A&A Health Services, adding, “Our staff works diligently to support the needs of this community, and through our carefully designed process many leave living happier and healthier lives.”
Victoria’s House will open and begin receiving clients Aug. 8.
Tommy is a sophomore majoring in Economics and minoring in Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. He is an international student from Vietnam and fueled with the frustration agaisnt flawed justice system that lets down the minority. He is aspired to become a criminal justice attorney and will hopefully attend law school in 2025.
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