I'm kind of emotional as I write this review as I've lived in the city 20 years and we are all familiar with the tenderloin and it's activities. I just wanna give a huge shout out to the urban alchemy. I'm really thankful that the team took time to make sure my son's 3rd grade field trip made it safely through the neighborhood. And also thank you to the wonderful gentlemen who made sure we got to our bus safely! You are truly angels and we're all so grateful for your kindness!!! Please know what you're doing is very important! And the community appreciate you! San Francisco thanks you!!! Women thank you! Children thank you! Families thank you! Your community thanks you! read more

Want to take your kid to play at the playground in front of city hall? Well access is only possible if you go through a single gate where apparently a UA employee "opens it for you". They yelled at my kid and made her cry for going under a fence to purposely avoid them. She looked like a fentanyl addict in a drugged out fog. We're a broken city where we've normalized this as the "solution" paid for by taxpayers. Two playgrounds right next to each other were complete ghost towns with zero kids playing at them on a Saturday morning.. I wonder how much time will go by before UA or the city awareness kicks in. We're all being fleeced by this company. read more

Juju and chris have done an outstanding job! It's a tough job to tell the homeless that they have to leave. Their compassion but firmness is 100%. Thank you guys, you are appreciated! Well done! read more

I recently stopped and chatted with Chris S of Urban Alchemy on Market Street and asked him some questions which he gladly answered for me. He was engaging, friendly and charming. These folks do great work keeping the streets safe for us residents and visitors to this great city. Thank you Chris S for your help. read more

Shot out to Tre in Civic Center for helping track down my phone that I fumbled. Thanks brother. Be Safe. Thanks to the rest of the org for the work that all y'all do. read more

I thought I heard it all from the several years I have been in the work force. This has got to be the cheapest company I have ever worked for. The city gave all the outreach workers money for a cost of living raise. From all the companies that I was able to contact everyone of them gave there front line workers a 2 to 5 dollar an hour raise including a huge retroactive check from July 1 2022. Urban alchemy told there workers that they will not get the money but here's these new uniform jacket, which are garbage, no Thankyou I'd rather have the raise and retro check, I'm paying retail rent and inflation is though the roof. I'm ashamed of being with such a money hungry company but I'm stuck right now. Who ever was appointed to make these decisions need to have a conversation with the labor board.-and see how they interpret this! read more

The application said they start at $25/hr. That was a lie. I signed the onboarding papers and they told me the position starts at $22/hr. That was a lie. Got my check and the rate was $19/hr. They start you at part time, then to make things worse, they give you two four-hour shifts per week. I told them it didn't make sense for me to travel from Oakland to San Francisco (an hour one way) just to work four hours and travel an hour in the opposite direction, at a rate that ended up netting me $40 for the day and costing me $20 to travel. They said, "Just hold on; we'll work with you." I asked them for ***months***. Not days. Not weeks. Eventually I felt stupid to keep asking, so I stopped asking. I told them it doesn't make sense for me to travel two hours and pay $20 just to work 4 hours and make $40. They said, "Oh, just sign up for the commuter benefits program." I signed up for commuter benefits and they took $275 out of my check. Mind you, I was only taking home like $700 after taxes and benefits. Might as well have been half my check. I said, "Hey, what's going on?" They said, "Oh, you'll get that money back on a card that they'll send in the mail." Now I'm making $700 every two weeks and I'm waiting for the card with my alleged benefits funds. I told them, "Hey, I can't afford to work here anymore. It already cost me a significant portion of my check just to work here and now you are taking even more of my money to load on a card that I still don't have." I could either go to work and not have any money, or not go to work and not get paid next pay period. All of a sudden, they have a new position that just so happened to have opened up, with a 3 dollar raise, and more hours. How convenient! I had already found another job at this point, and a director by the name of Deon reached out to ask if I would return to work or if I was self-terminating. I explained the situation to him and asked what *he* would do in such a predicament, and he played the victim like *I* was the problem and he was "just trying to help". Meanwhile, the company still owes me almost $1,000.00 and I'm struggling to survive with what meager wages were left after my deductions. It took them a month to send me the card. By then, they had taken $825.00 from me ($275 for 3 pay periods). The card had a measly $100 loaded on it. Where is my $825? I called and asked Deon for Human Resources' contact information and he was still crying about how I talked to him the last time we spoke, which was weeks ago. Grow up. The entire company is full of low-life, shoddy, and undesirable individuals. I've done *A LOT* of stupid things in my young adult life, but the dumbest thing I've ever done career-wise was work for Urban Alchemy. I almost threw up in my mouth just reading their name. "Unprofessional" doesn't even begin to describe the despicable way in which these numbskulls choose to carry themselves. And if I haven't made myself clear... TL;DR: DON'T F*****G WORK HERE. They stole $1,000.00 from me and I still haven't been compensated for it. I wish I could give zero stars. I wish I could give negative stars. P**s-poor management and s***head managers. The End. read more

Urban Alchemy is always there to help. This morning these guys sprang into action to help a cyclist who wiped out in busy traffic on Market Street. Urban Alchemy makes our community stronger, safer, kinder, and more compassionate. Look for the helpers and you'll find Urban Alchemy! read more

Urban Alchemy - Two Urban Alchemy helpers - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me - San Francisco, California

I have a lot of respect for the work that Urban Alchemy does but unfortunately today was completely off the mark. I went to the Farmer's Market near Civic Center Plaza with my spouse, we grabbed food and were looking for a place to sit and have lunch. I have mobility issues which make standing for long periods of time or sitting on the ground painful or sometimes dangerous due to a risk of falling. We saw many empty benches in the playground area so we used one of the gates to enter and sat at an empty bench far from where all the families were so we wouldn't disturb them. A man from Urban Alchemy approached us as we were finishing our food, maybe 10 minutes after we arrived, and immediate became aggressive accusing us of jumping over the fence to get into the playground, which made no sense and I told him so including that I have mobility issues, he then accused us of being 'creeps' and kept questioning what we were doing while I tried to explain that we were just trying to eat lunch. This delayed us leaving since we were already packing up when he approached us and began harassing us about using a public space. No matter what I said he had a counter and seemed to be looking to argue and harass us. If families were uncomfortable, he could have politely asked how we were doing and suggested alternate seating or showed us where else we could sit. We could have thanked him and told him we were done eating and were leaving. This is what the other experiences with Urban Alchemy would have led me to expect. Unfortunately that was not the case. Instead what should have been a nice lunch on a sunny, warm day in the city ended with me and my spouse feeling incredibly unsafe after basically being yelled at and accused of wanting to hurt kids by a man policing the usage of public space. It is such a shame that with all the good work they could have been doing they chose this. read more

Wow - the neighborhood is totally transformed! I saw friendly Urban Alchemy guides everywhere today and no drugs or unsanitary behavior. The 7th street area around the Civic Center Bart station felt safe and clean. Amazing! It gives me hope for other parts of the city. read more

Urban Alchemy - I never thought I'd see this corridor clean! - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me - San Francisco, California

What I see most of the time is these guys hanging out talking to each other, blocking the sidewalk. Not engaging the public or cleaning the area. It also seems like they will only be nice to you if they think you're a tourist or "regular person"; for people who came from prison, they're very discriminatory. I would love to see people come from prison and get trained well, but this is not that. On top of all that, I can't see why a organization full of poorly trained men is being given millions in city money without any oversight. No RFPs, alternate bidders etc. I have never once seen an impressive deescalation in progress. One star is okay because one or two them actually bothered to say hello in a polite manner. read more

With alchemy employees around the city, it is a safer place. I've seen them on multiple occasions, saving people's lives who were overdosing, and the hard work they do in the community is noteworthy. Specifically, when the employee Jimmy is patrolling the streets, I feel safer, protected, and shielded from potential confrontations. Jimmy goes above and beyond to fulfill his job at urban alchemy. He has even offered to walk me late in the evening after hours so that I feel safer with him escorting me. Jimmy freely offers his compassion, empathy, understanding, and joy to all those in the community and each individual he encounters. He treats everyone with respect, dignity, and kindness. He takes the time to remember everyone's name and says hello with his infectious smile. If you have not had the pleasure of meeting Jimmy, I hope you do. Urban Alchemy is fortunate to have him as a part of the team. Jimmy's service to the community is impactful and necessary. read more

These guys do a great job! Just had dinner at 6th and Stevenson, where there's outdoor street music every Thursday night. I'll confess that i wasn't sure that neighborhood would be a cool place to eat, have a drink, and hang out. Greg Brinkley and his crew made sure it was. They were mellow, professional, and totally on the job. San Francisco can be pleased and proud to have Urban Alchemy as our ambassadors. read more

Urban Alchemy - Music, dancing and fun on Thursday nights at 6th and Stevenson. - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me - San Francisco, California

My companion and I traveled from Oakland to see the play A'int too proud at the Golden Gate Theater. The show was spectacular! We really enjoyed our self. I writing this to appreciate all the help we received along the way to the theater, we met many people along the way so helpful. Especially Mr. Robert Miller. He was very attentive and helpful to me and my companion, considering we are both elders and my companion has a bad hip and needs assistance getting around. Mr. Miller was patient and ready to help anyway he could and I really appreciate that and I want to formally thank him and Urban Alchemy great job guys keep it up! read more

After watching many times these amazing people help out tourists, locals, business owners, and property owners I can see that they are an interictal part of the city. I just wish there was more of them. They keep the streets clean and safe to walk down again. It got so bad during the pandemic that a person could not travel safely anymore. The rampant drug use and solicitation of various crimes was out of hand. Now my family feels safe again. Thank you Urban Alchemy! read more

Why is the city paying these people? I never see them engaging the addicts. The sanitation efforts are a joke... I often see them rolling their carts and passing by piles of trash. They huddle together talking and block the sidewalks. You can take a dump on the sidewalk next to them and they will do nothing. Wasted money. read more

I experienced their services when staying at a shelter in place Motel during the beginning of Covid19 pandemic. At first they were contracted to care for us who were placed in motels from homeless shelters. They were very helpful and told us to reach out to them for encouragement or if we needed someone to talk to. They delivered our food to our rooms 3xs a day. They provided security. However throughout the 18 months I resided at the motel they quickly turned out to forget what services they initially provided us. They became lazy. An example is we were to get our supplies F.E.M.A. provided us from the front office. If they didn't have a supply of say toilet paper they would hand you a roll and complain that we were using too much and make rude remarks like "make sure that roll lasts a week". Eventually I started buying my own toilet paper paper towels cleaning supplies etc just to avoid me saying something back to defend myself so I wouldn't get written up. Come to find out the staff was taking supplies home! Any donations sent to hand out to us clients the staff would take what they wanted home! I'm talking about food or clothing towels pillows bottle water etc. I witnessed it myself numerous times! Also they went from being attentive to talking rude to us threatening retaliation and possible being kicked out of the program. They washed their cars on the job daily. At one point California was on the brink of a drug h t situation. When I mentioned the restrictions to the supervisor because a practitioner was watering (wasting water) the sidewalks everyday I was told to mind my business! They had grievance forms to report our complaints. I worked administration my entire career. I know what a grievance is and the steps taken to resolve an issue. They never contacted us after we issued a grievance much less addressed or resolve a dispute! They do not hire managers who know how to manage. They hired managers at my locaction site based on who kissed up to the main boss. There was an incident w h ere someone walked off the street up to the room next to mine broke t h e window and took a shower and slept the nite. In the morning they noticed the window was broken and chased t h e person off the property. The entire graveyard staff never noticed him entering the property! I issued a grievance because I felt unsafe and none of the staff was reprimanded! Lastly woman were being hassled by staff to have sex with them. And These are former convicts who are hired when released from prison! 5 people overdosed during my stay at this motel. 3 were discovered at least 24 hrs after they were last seen or heard from. Horrible company. And we were not allowed to get headquarters contact info when we asked so we coul d complain directly to the main boss. It was like a big secret. They should be fired! read more

I wanted to walk from Bernal Heights to the Ferry Building which requires walking right through the Tenderloin. There were super nice people wearing Urban Alchemy tops that made me feel safe in an area of SF that in the past has not been. Very grateful for their presence. Thank you Urban Alchemy! read more