Sponsored by the Glide Urban Center and the San Francisco Foundation in 1967, Huckleberry’s for Runaways was likely the first organization in the country to provide housing and support for runaway youth in San Francisco, many of whom were queer.235

San Francisco was facing a crisis with youth runaways in the late 1960s, especially in the lead-up to the Summer of Love. There was no institutional precedent for dealing with homeless kids under the age of 18. Lewis Durham recalls a meeting with staff from Traveler’s Aide, the Rosenberg Foundation, and the YM/YWCA. “[T]hey were all scared to death to deal with the teenagers…. [T]hey wanted Glide to go first.”236

Huckleberry’s for Runaways operated the Huckleberry House, a shelter at 1 Broderick Street, and Cole Street Youth Clinic at the corner of Cole and Haight Street. The organization, now the Huckleberry Youth Programs, still exists in 2018.