The Tenderloin Senior Outreach Project (TSOP) in San Francisco facilitated the development of intentional networks among elderly residents of eight single room occupancy (SRO) hotels in an attempt to improve residents' health and well being, and to focus on social and environmental change. The 45 block Tenderloin area is one of the largest "gray ghettos" in the United States with 8,000 elderly men and women living in the deteriorating hotels. The typical resident is a white, unmarried male with few social contacts and a multiplicity of health problems. Social contact grew systematically from initial blood pressure screenings in the hotel lobbies to weekly support and discussion groups in six of the hotels. The group facilitators used Paulo Freire's problem posing educational method to help residents identify common problems, examine their root causes, and develop action plans. Crime was chosen as the key focus of group organization. Empowerment of the elderly was evidenced by the development of a Safehouse Project. Malnutrition was subsequently tackled by the seniors resulting in the establishment of a minimarket and nutrition project. The TSOP is currently a nonprofit organization with half of its board comprised of elderly Tenderloin residents. The TSOP is credited with improving community safety and individual health, and providing the residents with a sense of community, power, and control. (BL)