Health Empowerment & Access Team (HEAT)
Improving health outcomes by testing, treating and educating individuals along the care continuum.
Reducing Harms and Advancing Health, With Respect for the Rights of People Who Use Drugs
The Health Empowerment & Access Team (HEAT) is dedicated to empowering individuals and improving health outcomes for people with substance use and/or mental health concerns, many of whom are homeless or marginally housed.
We provide comprehensive services, including health access, linkage to primary care, withdrawal management and treatment services, and low-threshold outpatient treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD).
We offer overdose prevention, access to syringes and Narcan, linkage to HIV/HCV treatment, health education, one-on-one and group counseling, and HIV, STI, and HCV testing with linkage to care.
We also provide access to treatment and recovery groups, including 12-step programs, and contingency management.
By integrating community outreach, case management, and partnerships with street medicine teams and in-house GLIDE programs, we ensure holistic support and linkage to essential health and social services. Our approach supports safer practices, recovery pathways, and reduced overdose risks.
As part of HEAT, we employ evidence-based public health interventions designed to improve health outcomes. Our core objectives include the containment of HIV and the cure of HCV. We recognize that the same racial disparities that impact overdose mortality in Black communities also drive HIV/HCV infection rates.
Black community members are more likely to go unidentified and untreated for both diseases. For HIV, our objective is to achieve viral suppression. For HCV, our objective is to cure.
Our approach aims to improve the health of individuals who use drugs and reduce drug overdose mortality. We work toward sustainable and impactful improvements in community health.
Hours and Location
For more information about these programs, please contact us at 415.674.5180, Monday–Friday, 9am – 5pm.
330 Ellis Street, San Francisco
Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) Program
Low threshold/low barrier outpatient treatment MOUD Access/Same day Suboxone Starts take place in the Health Hub on Mondays and Fridays from 9:00 am to 12:00pm in partnership with SFDPH street medicine team.
The goal of our “Low-Threshold” MOUD access program is to provide services such as Suboxone/Subutex, BRIXAD, and access to Methadone Clinics at as low a barrier as possible. Our on-site Suboxone tele-health services allow most people get a prescription that same day.
Another piece of this program involves providing continued support and case management services to help empower participants to meet their personal substance use & life goals.
Please reach out to Angela O’Brien (opens in a new tab) with any questions on MOUD.
Contingency Management
Contingency Management is an evidence-based behavioral intervention that uses monetary incentives to reinforce participant-identified goals, including stimulant-free urine samples, attendance, and individualized health behaviors.
What CM is about:
Support, not punishment
Your goals, at your pace
Incentives for participation and progress
Please reach out to Angela O’Brien (opens in a new tab) with any questions about contingency management.
Testing and Linkage Servcies
- HIV, Hepatitis C, and STI Testing and Risk Reduction Counseling
- Syringe Access Services (SAS) (free syringe distribution and disposal, safer-use supplies, basic needs supplies and Naloxone distribution)
- Health Systems Navigation
- Same-day Suboxone Start (via tele-health appointment) on Mondays and Fridays
- Drug Overdose Prevention & Education
- Medically Assisted Treatment Case Management
- Contingency Management Groups (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 3pm-5pm)
- Linkages to care and services based on individual needs
For more information, call 415-674-5180.
Syringe Access and Supplies (SAS)
The Syringe Access Services program, better known as SAS, is where participants can get safer drug use supplies, like sterile needles and injection equipment, naloxone and overdose reversal training, PPE, safer sex supplies, and sharps disposal containers.
At the Health Hub on Ellis Street, the SAS desk is a common initial touchpoint for participants as we can connect them to HIV, Hepatitis C, and STI testing, health systems navigation, and case management.
We also provide safer smoking supplies. Hours are 9am to 1pm Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. We also have a Friday night site from 6pm to 8pm in the old site of St James Infirmary on Eddy st.
- Syringe Access and Supplies: Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, 9am – 1pm
- 6th floor – Please contact your case manager by phone or email for assistance.
- Testing hours are from 9am to 12 pm on the 6th floor on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays and 1pm to 4pm in the health hub in partnership with the UCSF vaccination clinic team. The UCSF team also provides hep-A and hep-B vaccines.
HRx Case Management and Support/Advocacy
The goals of HRx Case Management are to connect with participants in meaningful ways, establishing trust and community, and to support them in connecting to services. Taking a ‘whole person integrated care’ approach, we support participants in many diverse areas of their lives.
From peer counseling and housing advocacy to SSI case prep and support in court, we take our cues from our clients and center them as they build towards stability and balance. GLIDE Harm reduction provides these services through our SIP program to participants who reside in Shelter In Place (SIP) Hotels, Safe Sleep Sites, and Navigation Centers.
Testing and Health Systems Navigation
GLIDE provides free, low-barrier testing services for the community. We offer Rapid HIV testing and Rapid Hepatitis C testing and provide results within 20 minutes. We also offer free oral, vaginal, and rectal swab testing for STI’s including gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis. Unfortunately, we do not offer penile swab testing or urine testing. If you are looking for penile testing, please contact or visit San Francisco City Clinic at 356 7th Street. Our hours for on-site testing are Monday-Wednesdays from 9am-1pm. Additionally, we provide incentivized testing at various community-based sites such as Navigation Centers, shelters, shelter-in-place hotels, community resource fairs, and SRO’s.
For anyone living with HIV, Hepatitis C, or an STI infection, we offer linkage and case management services to treatment. Our Health Systems Case Managers offer additional support needed in order to achieve treatment goals, including transportation to/from appointments, appointment reminders, warm hand-offs to a suitable clinic or provider, home visits, insurance assistance, medication adherence support, and referrals. In addition to these services, we also offer a monthly gift card incentive program for any client enrolled in our navigation services.