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 six-story Native-led Wellness, Economic and Cultural Center that urban Indians can call home. Rooted in Indigenous healing practices, the hub co-locates recovery housing, a behavioral health clinic, a cultural & wellness center, and economic opportunities. Set to break ground in 2026, it will be a cornerstone of the newly-designated American Indian Cultural District.
Women’s Lodge Addiction Recovery Residence For Native women - enabling mothers to regains and maintain custody of their children while seeking sobriety
144 participants year | 36 beds | 1 floor
Step-Down Transitional Housing Extended recovery residences - supporting participants to stabilize sobriety and access job & housing resources
216 women & families year | 72 Beds | 2 floors
Native American Health Center Culturally rooted behavioral health cervices
2,200 Clients year
Rooftop Garden & Farm Regenerative gardening and play area for children
3,500 lbs Traditional Foods & Herbal Medicines yearly
Workforce & Business Development, Economic opportunities in growth sectors including tech, green jobs and culinary arts
100 trainees/employees + 200 Construction Jobs
Cultural Wellness Program Traditional healing practices and cultural events (e.g. Sweat Lodge, Powwows) for clients and community
2,100 Community Members year
Indigenous Futures Tech Hub Service and Cultural Hub Bold, Indigenous-led initiative to reclaim technology as a tool for economic sovereignty, cultural resurgence and generational healing. Entrepreneurship incubation, digital skills training and ethical AI
Native Cafe & Teaching Kitchen 3,000 SF Native cafe and workforce site led by award-winning Chef Crystal Wahpepah. Clients in recovery will learn to prepare ancestral foods while learning to build mission-driven businesses
50 trainees in culinary arts & entrepreneurship yearly
Beyond the Building
Golden Gate 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.
Transitional Housing & Sober Living
Friendship House’s upcoming Behavioral Health Bridge Housing (BHBH) program will create a 30-bed transitional housing community in San Francisco designed for graduates of our residential treatment program.
Rooted in Indigenous healing traditions and trauma-informed care, the program will provide clean and sober housing, recovery support services, workforce development, and life skills training to help participants successfully transition from treatment to independent living. Residents will also benefit from case management, culturally grounded practices, employment assistance, and coordinated access to affordable housing, ensuring long-term sobriety, stability, and wellness
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@FriendshipHouseHealing.org