Our History
In 2002, over 50 stakeholders throughout San
Francisco, including the Department of Public Health, Department of
Emergency Management, local community organizations, the Hospital
Council of Northern and Central California, and law enforcement
agencies, were brought together to evaluate the decade-long upward
trend in emergency department (ED) overcrowding and ambulance
diversion rates. Through this investigative collaboration, it was
found that homeless alcohol-dependent people accounted for a
significant portion of this escalating response within San
Francisco.
With this information, the San Francisco
Department of Public Health worked with nonprofit Community
Awareness and Treatment Services (CATS) to design a pilot program
addressing the needs of people found intoxicated in public. The
McMillan Stabilization Program, now known as the San Francisco
Sobering Center, opened in late 2003 and has provided over 10 years
of care to a most vulnerable population.
