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San Francisco Kroc Center meets a community need, providing space for youth to connect and build strengths.
The 50-block Tenderloin neighborhood in the heart of San Francisco is known for crime and squalor. It’s also home to the city’s highest concentration of kids—an estimated 3,000, according to U.S. News & World Report. As these kids navigate the streets, they daily witness homelessness, drug use and drug dealing.
The Tenderloin is also home to The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in San Francisco, which aims to give kids a safe place to go. In September 2024, it opened its Teen Drop-In Center, aiming to expand its reach.
The new center is one of 21 projects funded by the Tenderloin Community Action Plan (TCAP) and voted on by the Tenderloin community. In its 2024 Impact Report, TCAP identified needs for more youth services, including safe spaces for disconnected youth. Aware of the Kroc Center’s amenities, community leaders approached The Salvation Army about meeting that need.
“Kroc is honored to be identified by the Tenderloin neighborhood to help meet the need for teens to have intentional space,” said Kroc Center Corps Officer Captain Arwyn Rodriguera. “We are so excited to welcome the teens of our community.”
Recently, about 40 youth attended a Teen Night, where they could check out what the center offers and participate in a mini dodgeball tournament. Kroc Center Program Director Katharine Au said the event went well, especially for a Thursday night—normally Teen Nights happen on Fridays.
During its regular hours of 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, youth can come to the Teen Center for homework help, life skills classes and other workshops, or just some fun—games and sports. Membership is free.
Au said the Kroc team didn’t want to plan activities until they knew what the teens liked.
“It’s very much driven by what the community needs,” she said. “That’s the only reason the teens will come—if we provide them with something that meets their needs in a fun way.”
In March, activities began with Disconnect Day, when youth put away their phones for a “digital detox,” which a National Institutes of Health study found helps individuals recharge from the pressures of social media and daily life.
“My goal is to create a safe space for teens, ultimately a beacon of security for teens in this crazy neighborhood.”
Jeffrey Jimenez-Perez, Kroc Center Administrative Assistant
“Our team recognizes that kids are all about video games, social media and being on their phones,” Au said. “Wouldn’t it just be nice to disconnect and be relational with your peers? Play board games, Legos, do something that is non-digital.”
March workshops included a paint night encouraging creativity, along with coding classes and movie days. Upcoming cooking classes cover preparing omelettes, french toast, burgers, deli sandwiches and pasta salad—skills youth can begin using immediately.
Au said she hopes the program will grow to include college tours and financial literacy classes.
“Basically, the disconnected youth in our area don’t have opportunities to learn these skills because their parents may not be in the picture. Or sometimes their parents are busy working,” she said. “We want to teach some useful skills. That is the hope.”
The Teen Center offers continuity for kids after they age out of the Kroc Center’s after-school program for students in grades TK–5. Before the pandemic, the Kroc Center offered youth memberships, where teens could go to the game room or the gym and fitness center. The Teen Drop-In Center, which replaces the previous program, offers all that plus more focused engagement.
“[The engagement]—that’s definitely the secret sauce to this,” Au said. “The Kroc Center is about relationship building, so we do that with activities.”
Kroc Center Administrative Assistant Jeffrey Jimenez-Perez spent his teen years at the Kroc Center, where he said he felt supported by the staff.
“I also found opportunities here that I wouldn’t have found anywhere else. I want to give the teens in the community the same opportunities and tools to grow,” he said. “My goal is to create a safe space for teens, ultimately a beacon of security for teens in this crazy neighborhood.”
Although the TCAP grant is scheduled to end in June, Au said the Tenderloin Planning Commission and United Way Bay Area have asked if the Kroc Center wants to extend the contract. Looking ahead, the center aims to fund the Teen Center through additional grants or private donors.
“If none of those pan out, it’s still a Kroc program that remains,” she said. “We’ve seen the community studies that show how much these services are needed. When the community is telling you what they need, you need to listen, right?”
She said the Teen Drop-In Center is meeting its goal of reaching Tenderloin youth who may feel unseen.
“At The Salvation Army, that’s where you’re seen,” Au said. “You’re seen for who you are as a person, your interests, your goals in life. And I think The Salvation Army has always been good about getting people to their goals. It’s not just a handout. It’s a hand up to where the families and their teens want to be.”
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