Researchers are testing therapy program that combines using a mental health app with peer support for Spanish-speakers in San Francisco’s Latinx community to help with depression and anxiety. UCSF, Somos Esenciales and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital are collaborating on the project.
Category: Health
Posted inCity Hall, Government & Politics, Health
As Anti-Abortion Protests Ramp Up, SF Lawmaker Moves to Protect Clinics
Demonstrations against Planned Parenthood’s San Franciso facility have escalated and at times been threatening, sources say.
Supervisor Catherine Stefani said she would propose new regulations Tuesday to increase safety at reproductive care clinics, including by extending the buffer zone between the properties and protesters’ amplified sound.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Health, Overdose Crisis, Social Services
Overdose Prevention Centers — Nonstarter in SF, Despite Success in NYC
San Francisco officials appear to have abandoned efforts to open facilities where people can consume drugs under supervision — even as more cities adopt the model to prevent deadly overdoses.
Recent studies show that overdose prevention centers save lives, keep people from consuming drugs in public and do not lead to increased crime.
Posted inCity Hall, Elections, Health, San Francisco November 2024 Voter Guide
Proposition O — Protect Access to Reproductive Care
See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition O would strengthen access to abortion and reproductive care in San Francisco and protect the privacy of patients and health care providers. Listen to a […]
Posted inCity Hall, Elections, Health, Homelessness, San Francisco November 2024 Voter Guide
Proposition B — Bonds to Enhance Health Care Facilities and Public Spaces
See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition B would let San Francisco borrow up to $390 million to carry out infrastructure and other projects, like upgrading health care facilities, creating homeless shelter, […]
Posted inCommunity, Environment, Health, Housing
Local Groups Cut Red Tape to Give Low-Income Tenants Clean Air
John Britt and dozens of other tenants are breathing easier, now that they have government-funded air purifiers. Community groups cut through bureaucracy to put the devices in their hands, in a pilot project that might continue next year if it proves successful enough.
Posted inCommunity, Coronavirus, Health
Budget Cuts Threaten SF Food Programs for Seniors and Adults With Disabilities
Funding is drying up for food programs that serve some of San Francisco’s most vulnerable, potentially endangering the health of thousands.
The cuts have come from all levels of government, including from City Hall as it has grappled with the fallout of the pandemic.
Posted inCommunity, Coronavirus, Health
After Months-Long Coma, This Latino Immigrant Worker Is Still Fighting Mysterious Symptoms
Osbaldo Varilla-Aguilar and his housemates are members of a community that may have been hardest hit by COVID-19 in San Francisco: immigrants, especially those working unprotected essential jobs. While the devastating impacts on Latinx residents in the Mission District and Bayview are increasingly documented, the lingering, and sometimes extreme, symptoms of infection are much less understood.
Posted inHealth, Homelessness
After the Crisis: Unique Program Helps Older Adults Grappling With Both Addiction and Mental Illness
More than 1 million California adults — and 19.4 million Americans — live with both a serious mental illness and substance use disorder. In fact, roughly half of all people with severe mental illness are thought to also have a co-occurring substance use disorder. Traditionally, treatment programs target one of these populations or the other. Progress Foundation is one of the few across the country serving people who have both — so-called dual diagnosis patients.
Posted inHealth, Homelessness, Social Services
You Report an Unhoused Person in a Mental Health Crisis. This Is What Happens Next
In San Francisco, it is not uncommon to cross paths with a person experiencing homelessness in the throes of a mental health crisis. The scene can be tragic, confusing and sometimes might feel dangerous.
Bystanders might wonder how to summon help from the city — and what will happen if they do.
We created a flow chart to answer those questions. We show how cases traverse a tangle of pathways, through handoffs between dispatchers and myriad public workers. The person in crisis might spend days or weeks tumbling through the criminal justice system or health care facilities. Often, they return to where they started: the streets.