It's possible that you may never have noticed Diamond Youth Shelter, which is tucked away on a residential block of Central Street. A part of Larkin Street Youth Services, Diamond has served as an overnight refuge for homeless youth since 1993. After a thorough rebuild in 2009, the shelter offers 20 beds and state-of-the-art emergency services for homeless youth under the age of 18.
Recently, a conspicuous Planning Department sign appeared on the shelter's exterior, as the shelter sought to alter its current 12-hour format to full 24/7 service.
In a hearing last week, the Planning Commission approved the change, meaning that the shelter can now transition to a 24-hour format.
We spoke with Larkin Street Youth Services director Sherilyn Adams to learn a little bit more about what services the shelter provides, and how this Planning Department change will affect the youth it serves.
Aside from a place to sleep, Diamond Youth Shelter offers showers, food, counseling, tutoring and a very supportive staff. The shelter is viewed as a temporary refuge, with the goal of reuniting homeless youth with their families or re-enrolling them in the foster care system.
Because Diamond is only open from 8am to 8pm, it must be vacated during the day. In the morning, residents are transported by van or bus to school—or if they're not enrolled—to Larkin Street's main drop-in center near the Tenderloin.
The shuffling around the city requires a lot of planning and can be disruptive to residents. As Sherilyn tells us, "The new rules allows us to provide more holistic continuous support to young people in an easier way. " By changing Diamond Youth Shelter's services to full-time, the staff will be able to work with youth on-site to offer day time counseling, tutoring and other services without shifting locations.
Diamond's decision to turn into a 24/7 youth shelter was also motivated by recent changes at the Federal and state level. A new rule states that those shelters requesting government funding must "have an intake procedure that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to all youth seeking services."
Although Larkin Street does operate 24 hours a day and Diamond is a part of that, the law states that each individual branch of a shelter must be open full-time.
So what's next for Diamond Youth Shelter?
"We anticipate continuing to provide services, housing education and employment for 12- to 18-year-olds," Sherilyn told us. "I'm looking forward to operating 24/7. We're grateful to a good responsive community and neighbors, and are grateful to the Planning Commission."
A big congrats to the shelter on its new change and more than 20 years of serving homeless youth in the neighborhood.
