The Village SF Wellness Center has had a busy week – first securing approvals from the City and County of San Francisco, then receiving national recognition as a model for environmental and social justice in the built environment!

On January 26th, the project was unanimously approved by the San Francisco Planning Commission. Local news outlet Mission Local recounts an unusually emotional meeting that included speeches about the project’s significance from public commenters and commissioners alike. The Village SF will be a new, 43,000-square-foot community services center and gathering space for urban American Indians located in the heart of San Francisco. The program includes medical and dental clinics, cultural and recreational spaces, elder and youth programming, service provider offices, and recovery and transitional housing. The unique nature of the project required the proposal of numerous exceptions to the Planning Commission, all of which were granted without hesitation.

On January 31st, government officials including San Francisco Mayor London Breed and White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council member Harold Mitchell joined Yurok Tribal Chairman Joseph L. James and others for a celebration of the project at its neighbor and client, Friendship House. As philanthropist Kat Taylor recently posted, the convening organizations recognized the wellness center as a national “demonstration model” for environmental and social justice, in its intention to reclaim and rebuild community for urban Indians. Mitchell and Mayor Breed further recognized the Center as an exemplar project for President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which launched January 27th to commit “40% of federal infrastructure spending to support disadvantaged communities overburdened by pollution and other environmental impacts.”

Congratulations to the project team, stakeholders, and supporters for your work to date on this deeply impactful project – we eagerly anticipate what’s to come.