Through the use of a mobile outreach van, SOS provides high quality, non-judgmental health services directly to homeless people in places where they live and congregate. We travel to parks, soup kitchens, drop-in centers and other gathering points. The SOS team consists of several community health outreach workers. Medical and social service providers from the Department of Public Health, Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic, and South of Market Health Center take turns staffing the various SOS sites. Local volunteers, including medical providers, outreach workers, and AmeriCorps members, also play a key role in the delivery of services.
SOS provides services to low-income people who are experiencing extreme poverty and homelessness.
Past clients have included veterans, immigrants, sex workers, and vehicularly housed individuals, as well as people suffering from mental illness and drug addiction disorders. SOS provides a variety of medical and social services free of charge. Many acute health problems are treated on site, while those patients requiring more extensive care are given appointments in community clinics or are referred to S. F. General Hospital. SOS also provides vitamins, condoms, clothes, hygiene supplies, as well as information regarding various resources, including drug detoxification and rehabilitation programs, housing, and medical and social services.