Huckleberry House Opened Its Doors 50 Years Ago!

Huckleberry Youth Programs Celebrates 50 Years of Serving At-Risk Youth!

We are extremely pleased to announce the 50th Anniversary of our flagship program, Huckleberry House, the first shelter for runaway youth in the United States.

Located in the Haight-Ashbury, Huckleberry House opened its doors on June 18, 1967, to serve young people converging on San Francisco during the Summer of Love. With no money, friends or connections, many of the teens that came to San Francisco left a life of chaos and pain, in search of change and newfound freedom.

Huckleberry House offers 24-hour emergency shelter, crisis counseling, family mediation, and health services so that teens can avoid a life on the streets. The challenges that young people faced decades ago, continue today. Fifty years after opening Huckleberry House, the agency continues to provide hope and safety to young people and their families. In both San Francisco and Marin, Huckleberry Youth Programs provides confidential adolescent and family counseling, health services and education, substance use/abuse counseling, support for trafficked youth, juvenile justice diversion, career training, and college access programs that put kids on a brighter path.

The Bay Area Reporter recently covered our 50th Anniversary. Read the article here.

Our first 50th Anniversary celebration, a Kick Off Party on Thursday, Jan. 26 at Delancey Street Restaurant, was attended by Huckleberry staff, Board Members, and community partners. Our Executive Director, Douglas Styles, reminded guests of the continued need and importance of the programs that we offer to youth in San Francisco and Marin and announced our upcoming 50th Anniversary events. See photos from the Kick Off event here

Original Huckleberry House staff circa 1967.

We plan to commemorate our 50th Anniversary with celebratory events throughout 2017 including:

Saturday, May 20: Benefit Concert featuring many Bay Area performers at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

Sunday, June 18: Page Street Block Party from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm featuring music, food trucks, community partners, and vendors. Huckleberry House, our 24-hour crisis shelter, will be open for tours.

Thursday, November 30: Huckleberry 50th Anniversary Gala at the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco.

READ THE ENTIRE HUCKLEBERRY HOUSE HISTORY HERE

Huckleberry House opened its doors during the “Summer of Love.”

Other organizations are celebrating that special summer in San Francisco’s history throughout 2017 including:

It’s Your District: It’s Your District (IYD) is presenting the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love, a legendary phenomenon remembered throughout the world as a counterculture gathering in San Francisco, most notably the Haight-Ashbury district, in a celebration of life and love.

California Historical Society: On the Road to the Summer of Love, (May 12, 2017 – September 10, 2017) In celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Summer of Love, we look back at the cultural movements and events that led up to this transformative moment in California history.

de Young Museum: The Summer of Love Experience: Art, Fashion, and Rock & Roll will be an exhilarating exhibition of iconic rock posters, photographs, interactive music and light shows, costumes and textiles, ephemera, and avant-garde films. (April 8 – August 20, 2017).