About Gubbio
Lack of sleep is one of the most critical health issues for the homeless. An average of 100 unhoused neighbors seek safety and rest on cots in the sanctuary of St. John's the Evangelist in the Mission. No questions are asked when our guests walk into the churches; in an effort to remove all barriers to entry, there are no sign-in sheets or intake forms. All are welcomed, respected and treated with res. The spaces are all ADA accessible. Click here to watch a video of your body on no sleep by Buzzfeed.
HISTORY OF THE GUBBIO PROJECT
ORIGIN.
The Gubbio Project was co-founded in 2004 by community activists Shelly Roder and Father Louis Vitale as a non-denominational project of St. Boniface Neighborhood Center located in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood in response to the increasing numbers of homeless men and women in need of refuge from the streets. In 2007, with the exception of The Gubbio Project, St. Boniface Neighborhood Center ceased its operations. As a result the organization applied for and received permission from the State of California for its name to be legally changed to The Gubbio Project, continuing to operate as a 501(c) 3 non-profit, offering respite and refuge for thousands of people in the heart of the Tenderloin, while supporting connection and understanding between the housed and un-housed.
STORY.
The Gubbio Project is named for an Italian town where, according to legend, St. Francis negotiated a peace agreement between frightened townsfolk and a hungry wolf. Francis brokered a deal between the two parties in conflict by recognizing that with communication they could find common ground. In San Francisco's Tenderloin and Mission neighborhoods, working poor people live next to desperately poor people and sometimes misunderstandings and conflicts occur. The Gubbio Project is a creative response to this situation—helping housed parishioners and visitors of the church connect with their unhoused neighbors. The Gubbio Project believes that by creating opportunities for these two groups to interact and care for each other's needs, the Tenderloin and Mission neighborhoods will be strengthened.
THE THREE GOALS OF GUBBIO
to provide a clean, beautiful, quiet, and safe space for people to rest during the day
to cultivate a sense of community among the homeless and a sense of understanding and shared responsibility in the broader community
to attend to the physical, social, psychological and spiritual well-being of homeless guests who share the Gubbio space at St. John