An Urban Alchemy worker patrols a permitted tent site operated by Urban Alchemy in South LA in 2023.
Photographer: Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles TimesGovernment
The Nonprofit Group Disrupting the Homeless Services Sector
San Francisco-based Urban Alchemy runs shelters and patrols streets in several cities, armed with a salty slogan, a controversial model and a reputation for moving fast.
In May 2025, pressure at Pete’s Place hit a boiling point.
For more than 15 years, the homeless shelter in Santa Fe, New Mexico, had been operated by a nonprofit group called Interfaith Community Services. But calls for police and medical service to the area around the 75-bed shelter had skyrocketed.