Inside a Navigation Center: San Francisco's New Homeless Shelters

Navigation centers, which San Francisco began opening in 2015, are designed to address shortcomings of the old homeless shelter system. They don’t accept walk-ins, don’t have curfews, and don’t send guests back out on the street in the mornings, so neighbors are less likely to see crowds gathered outside them. Homeless outreach workers invite people into navigation centers for 30 to 90 days, with a goal of finding them permanent housing before that time is up.