Health
hands holding a vial of naloxone

Harm Reduction Critical to Addressing Overdose Crisis, Local Experts Say

04.07.2022
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The key to addressing San Francisco’s overdose crisis, say community activists and medical experts in the city, is harm reduction. That’s an approach that acknowledges not all drug users will achieve abstinence, and that focuses on keeping them safe and alive if they’re not ready or able to quit. Drug overdoses killed more people in San Francisco than did COVID-19 in the first two years of the pandemic — 711 deaths in 2020, and 645 in 2021.

Health
A photo of the building fascade and entrance to a HealthRIGHT 360 location on Mission Street. Overdoses in San Francisco spiked in 2020. HealthRIGHT 360 is one of many organizations in the city that provide substance use disorder treatment services.

Surge in Overdose Deaths Is a Puzzle Public Health Experts Are Desperate to Solve

03.30.2022
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In San Francisco, drug overdoses killed more people than did COVID-19 in the first two years of the pandemic — 711 deaths in 2020, and 645 in 2021. These figures are troubling, even without counting nonfatal overdoses and other suffering associated with this crisis. While fentanyl is often cited for the rapid increase, many factors contribute to this trend both in San Francisco and nationally.

Public Safety
A tent stands to the left of a pile of charred debris under the charred bottom of an overpass.

What Reporters Learned Mapping Encampment Fires

03.17.2022
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Fires in encampments, tents and other makeshift shelters occurred more frequently in recent years, reporting from the San Francisco Public Press and Mission Local shows. But incident counts alone do not offer a clear explanation of what is happening on the street.

Housing

Tenant Protections are Expiring as Thousands Wait on Rent Assistance

03.10.2022
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The last remaining tenant protections against eviction for pandemic-related rent debt that were granted by the state are expiring at the end of the month. A new protection covering rent due in April will go into effect for San Francisco tenants, but even these residents will be vulnerable to eviction for past rent debt at the beginning of the month. 

Homelessness

Hear Why Hundreds of Homeless San Franciscans Wait Months as Rooms for Them Sit Empty

03.03.2022
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A recent investigation from the San Francisco Public Press and ProPublica indicates Hanson is not alone in her frustration. But the problem is not that there is nowhere for people to go. Rather, hundreds of units of permanent supportive housing — rooms in hotels or full apartments intended to get people experiencing homelessness a roof over their heads and connected with services — are sitting empty. Meanwhile, more than 1,600 people have been approved to move into them, and more than 400 people on the streets have been waiting to be housed for more than a year.  

Elections

Ballotpedia Strives to Earn Voters’ Trust With Comprehensive Elections Guide

02.10.2022
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Voters who feel confused or misled by the bombardment of political advertising that comes with every election season might seek out a neutral, straightforward explanation of a ballot measure or campaign. For many voters, that search leads to Ballotpedia. Though the site is exhaustive and may seem formulaic, its content is not automatically generated. Professional writers and editors carefully curate the material that lands in this elections encyclopedia, which covers everything from ballot measures to judges to redistricting. 

Elections

With Provisional Measure Now Permanent, Noncitizen Parents Can Vote in SF’s School Board Recall Election

01.20.2022
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San Francisco residents who are not citizens but are parents may vote in school board elections, including the upcoming recall election that could remove three members of the board. The Board of Supervisors in October made this enfranchisement, originally enacted through a 2016 ballot measure and scheduled to sunset in 2022, permanent.