Mission Housing Receives Breaking the Cycle Fund Award for Critical Improvements at the Altamont Hotel

Major investment restores vacant units, improves building performance, and makes public housing safer and more stable

SAN FRANCISCO– Today, the Breaking the Cycle Fund–a groundbreaking public-private partnership that Mayor Lurie launched last year to bring philanthropic resources alongside public investments to strengthen San Francisco's homelessness and behavioral health response systems–announced a $7 million investment to address deferred maintenance and other building needs in thousands of permanent supportive housing units. While the vast majority of permanent supportive housing provides stable homes for formerly homeless residents, many buildings are aging and require significant investments to address deferred maintenance, improve building performance, and restore vacant units to service. These repairs will enable the city to lower vacancy rates among PSH units and get more people housed in safe conditions more quickly.

"When we launched the Breaking the Cycle Fund, we set out to fundamentally transform how this city responds to homelessness and addiction—and that means making sure the resources we have are actually working for the people they serve," said Mayor Daniel Lurie. "When a unit sits empty waiting on repairs, that's a person still on the street, and that's unacceptable. With this $7 million investment, we are making sure San Franciscans are housed with the safety and dignity they deserve."

This investment is part of a broader effort to strengthen San Francisco’s supportive housing system and ensure it remains a stable pathway out of homelessness for thousands of residents. As the City advances initiatives to improve provider sustainability, building operations, and resident outcomes, the Breaking the Cycle Fund is providing flexible capital to address urgent building needs and test innovative solutions that can improve performance across the system. By combining public investment with philanthropic resources, San Francisco is taking a comprehensive approach to preserving and strengthening one of its most important homelessness interventions.

"San Francisco’s permanent supportive housing system is one of the city’s most valuable tools for helping people move from homelessness to stability," said Rebecca Foster, CEO of the Housing Accelerator Fund, which is administering the program. "The nonprofit providers that operate these buildings do remarkable work every day to support thousands of residents. Breaking the Cycle was created to complement those efforts by providing flexible capital that can move quickly, address emerging challenges, and strengthen the long-term success of supportive housing across the city.”

The Housing Accelerator Fund, the program administrator for the Breaking the Cycle Fund, made the award to address capital needs that carry costs in excess of available public funds but have an outsized impact on housing operations, resident experience, and long-term financial sustainability. The program prioritizes projects that restore vacant units, address building conditions that drive operating costs, and create lasting operational improvements that allow providers to focus more resources on residents and services.

“The Breaking the Cycle Fund’s impactful $7 million investment marks a significant step forward in improving the living conditions for thousands of supportive housing residents,” said San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing executive director, Shireen McSpadden. “By restoring and enhancing building capacity, we are reaffirming our commitment to uplifting our community and helping people move from surviving to thriving.”

“On behalf of the Altamont Hotel community, we are deeply grateful to the Housing Accelerator Fund for its commitment to preserving affordable housing in San Francisco,” said Mission Housing Executive Team members Sam Moss and Marcia Contreras. “This investment is both a vote of confidence and a responsibility we take seriously. At a time when too many of our most vulnerable neighbors face instability, resources like these allow us to safeguard homes, strengthen communities, and ensure residents can continue to live with dignity, security, and hope. We are honored by HAF’s trust and committed to stewarding this funding toward its highest and best purpose: protecting the people and community that make the Altamont Hotel so essential.”

The awards will support improvements across 63 permanent supportive housing buildings operated by nine nonprofit providers serving more than 5,100 residents citywide. Funded projects include plumbing and water intrusion repairs, accessibility improvements, fire prevention upgrades, unit rehabilitation, and other investments designed to help providers operate housing more effectively and return vacant units to service more quickly. The funding also supports a pilot of innovative water-monitoring technologies designed to identify leaks and overflows before they become major building issues. Work is underway, and all projects are expected to be completed by June 2027. Award recipients include Mission Housing Development Corporation, Tenderloin Housing Clinic, HomeRise, Mercy Housing California, Mission Action, DISH, Episcopal Community Services, Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, and Conard House.

Together, these projects represent proactive building management helping providers reduce emergency maintenance costs, prevent avoidable unit downtime, protect housing quality, and preserve scarce operating dollars for resident services. By investing in long-term building performance rather than short-term fixes, the program aims to strengthen the sustainability of supportive housing across San Francisco.

As part of the award, the Tenderloin Housing Clinic is accelerating unit rehabilitation across 14 supportive housing buildings.

"The Supportive Housing Provider Network (SHPN) is an organization of over 15 nonprofits that provide housing and supportive services to over 10,000 residents in San Francisco. SHPN has advocated for many years for sufficient funding to operate buildings that are clean, well-maintained, and conducive to stability and healing," said Tabitha Allen, Co-Chair of the Supportive Housing Provider Network. "This Breaking the Cycle funding will allow SHPN members to complete some deferred projects, add preventative features to mitigate damage caused by water intrusion, and quickly turnover units so that we can get more people placed into housing. This funding is a recognition that investing in PSH can bring a strong return on investment. SHPN appreciates the collaboration with the Housing Accelerator Fund and the Mayor's Office, and looks forward to future opportunities to partner on innovative strategies to address homelessness. "

The fund is housed at the San Francisco Foundation and implemented in coordination with the Mayor’s Office to advance the Breaking the Cycle plan and address the behavioral health and homelessness crisis, drawing on the expertise and investments of key trusted partners that collectively bring decades of experience doing this work in San Francisco, including the Housing Accelerator Fund and Tipping Point Community.

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About Breaking the Cycle – The Breaking the Cycle Fund leverages philanthropic resources alongside public investments to accelerate innovative solutions, strengthen homelessness response systems, and improve outcomes for San Franciscans experiencing homelessness and behavioral health challenges.

The Housing Accelerator Fund is committed to the preservation and expansion of quality affordable housing for economically disadvantaged individuals and families throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area. An innovative nonprofit public-private partnership and certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), HAF works with community-based organizations, local governments, and private and philanthropic institutions to provide powerful new financing tools that accelerate housing solutions for the Bay Area’s most vulnerable residents. This includes the newly launched Industrialized Construction Catalyst Fund as well as the Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund and other tailored financing products. Visit us at www.sfhaf.org.