San Francisco to close three youth clinics

San Francisco is shutting three youth health clinics, and two of them sit inside places many teenagers already know how to reach: Huckleberry on Cole Street and Larkin Street on Golden Gate Avenue. The cuts were reported on April 9, and they land in a city system that still lists 10 youth-focused clinics for ages 12 to 24. (missionlocal.org) (sf.gov) These were not stand-alone offices hidden in a hospital maze. The Cole Street Youth Clinic operates at 555 Cole Street inside Huckleberry Youth Multi-Service Center, and the Michael Baxter Larkin Street Youth Clinic operates at 134 Golden Gate Avenue inside Larkin Street Youth Services. (sf.gov 1) (sf.gov 2) That setup is why the closures hit harder than a normal address change. Huckleberry has worked with Bay Area teens for more than 50 years, and Larkin Street says it has helped more than 80,000 young adults in San Francisco with healthcare, housing, education, and jobs. (huckleberryyouth.org) (larkinstreetyouth.org) The clinics did more than therapy appointments. Cole Street lists primary care, urgent care, birth control, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, and mental health or substance use counseling, while the Larkin Street clinic lists primary care, human immunodeficiency virus services, sexual health services, case management, mental health services, and substance use counseling. (sf.gov 1) (sf.gov 2) San Francisco’s own youth clinic network is built around being easy to enter. The Department of Public Health says its Community Health Programs for Youth serves ages 12 to 24 and includes clinics in schools, neighborhood nonprofits, and specialty sites rather than only at big medical campuses. (sf.gov 1) (sf.gov 2) The city is cutting these clinics in the middle of a budget squeeze that reaches far beyond youth care. KQED reported on April 8 that San Francisco was trying to close a two-year deficit of about $643 million, that 127 layoff notices had already gone out across 18 departments, and that Mayor Daniel Lurie also planned to freeze about 2,000 open positions. (kqed.org) The public process is moving fast. A San Francisco Health Commission hearing is scheduled for April 20, 2026, to consider Department of Public Health service reductions for fiscal years 2026-27 and 2027-28 under California’s Beilenson Act, which requires public notice before certain county medical services are reduced. (media.api.sf.gov) (sf.gov) What disappears with a clinic like this is often the front door, not just the exam room. A school counselor, shelter worker, or case manager who already knows “go to Cole Street” or “go to Larkin Street” now has fewer places to send a 16-year-old the same day. (sf.gov) (sf.gov) San Francisco still has other youth sites on paper, including the 3rd Street Youth Clinic, New Generation Health Center, school-based clinics, and Dimensions Clinic in the Castro. But those remaining options are spread across different neighborhoods and serve different populations, which means a replacement is not as simple as swapping one pin on a map for another. (sf.gov) (sf.gov) That leaves schools, nonprofits, and families with a practical problem before the doors even close: every referral list, discharge plan, and “come back next week” note now has to be checked against a moving system. When care for a 12-to-24-year-old depends on the right building, the right bus line, and a clinic that still exists, stale information can break the handoff before treatment even starts. (sf.gov) (missionlocal.org)