Jordan Jones is a fourth generation San Francisco native. He grew up in the projects near Pier 39 in North Beach. His dad was incarcerated multiple times and came in and out of Jordan’s life.
Without parental guidance or the support he needed, Jordan struggled to find direction and stability. By the time he was in high school, he skipped school regularly, had struggled with housing insecurity, and came into contact with the juvenile justice system.
Jordan was nearly 21 and aging out of foster care when he heard about Larkin Street Youth Services, a Tipping Point grantee. Growing up, he had always heard about them. “They can help you get in school.” “They can help you get housing.”
Larkin Street is San Francisco’s largest nonprofit provider of housing for young people experiencing homelessness, helping more than 2,000 young adults every year with housing, healthcare, employment, and education services. Their staff ask questions that cut straight to what matters. “Are you hungry? How was school? Where are you staying tonight?”
For Jordan, it started with a phone call and the keys to an apartment on 7th Street in SoMa.
“It felt like a blessing.”
With a stable place to live, Jordan enrolled at City College, made a goal chart for his grades, and applied for the Larkin Street Fellowship.. Out of 60 applicants, he was one of two selected. He and his fellow intern set out to build a tool to help case managers track client progress across the organization.
Then, about a month in, Jordan was injured in a car accident. After two surgeries, an infection, and weeks in the hospital, Jordan told his supervisor he didn’t think he could continue the internship.
“I went from my happiest time, in school, doing good, accepted to a good paying internship, to my lowest. It felt like a test. Like, do you really want this life? You really gonna work for it?”
With support from his supervisor and mentor, Jordan kept going. He kept attending meetings, doing his research, and going to physical therapy. By the end of the internship, he and his partner had finished their tool and implemented it across Larkin Street’s entire 200-person team.
Last year, Jordan graduated from City College of San Francisco, becoming the first in his family to earn a degree. He has since moved into his own apartment in the East Bay and is now studying at San Francisco State. He wants to work in youth advocacy or as a park ranger, doing anything he can to make an impact in underserved communities.
“I’m showing you can come from where I come from, be raised the way I was raised, and still get a different outcome. You can make a change and further yourself. You can elevate.”
Jordan Jones spoke at Tipping Point’s annual Breakfast on December 5, 2025. We are proud to share his story and highlight Larkin Street’s success ending homelessness for young people across San Francisco. Learn more about Tipping Point’s work in housing, and view additional stories highlighted at the 2025 Breakfast, including Angela Ramirez and Jordan Calley.
