Mobile showers launch at the San Francisco Community Health Center
July 13, 2021
LavaMaeˣ re-launches its weekly mobile shower services at the historic Tenderloin health clinic, bringing hygiene and Radical Hospitality to their patients and our unhoused community.
LavaMaeˣ is happy to announce the launch of our weekly San Francisco shower service at the San Francisco Community Health Center!
“LavaMaeˣ was looking for a medical partner where we could provide showers for.” Says Kris Kepler, CEO of LavaMaeˣ, “In the past, we provided showers at the SF Community Health Center (formerly API Wellness), and knew that returning to this location would be an essential resource for our guests who continue to face barriers accessing healthcare during COVID-19.”
The San Francisco Community Health Center (SFCHC)has had a long journey since its founding in 1987. The Center grew out of the response of the 1980s AIDS crisis, specifically supporting the impact of the epidemic on the Asian and Pacific Islander community. In 1996 The Center launched as API Wellness and since then have worked hard to remain rooted in API communities while welcoming anyone who needs its services. In 2015 The Center became recognized as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) which allowed them to greatly increase their clinical capacity and serve much more of the community. API Wellness became The San Francisco Community Health Center in 2018 to fully encompass all of its programs and services they offer and reflect the entirety of who they serve.
Many of their clients and patients have sought services in other places and are unable to fit into the requirements and setting of these programs. They come to SFCHC and find the open and accepting environment they need to heal. This is doubly true for the Trans community. Too often this community does not find services and providers that relate to their unique needs. SFCHC is there for those that fall through the commercial and public health care “nets” that should in fact be caring for everyone.
In its commitment to provide culturally and linguistically competent services, in an environment created and run by the communities they serve, SFCHC embraces its role as the safety net of the safety net.
LavaMaeˣ joins the SF Community Health Center every Thursday, from 8:00am to 1:00pm at 790 Ellis Street.
