Dorsey’s “Recovery First” Policy Amended Significantly Thanks to Treatment on Demand Coalition’s Advocacy

by Contributing Author

by Lupe Velez

The Board of Supervisors Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee sent Supervisor Matt Dorsey’s proposed “Recovery First” ordinance to the full board at its April 24 meeting. But not before the measure went through redefining the term “recovery” from substance use disorder and dozens of members from the Treatment on Demand (TOD) coalition sounded off during public comment.

For several months, several public health organizations and advocacy groups comprising Treatment on Demand fought the policy over its definition of recovery—an abstinence-only model—and its potentially dangerous impacts on drug users. 

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Despite Legislative Stalls, the “Right to Rest” Movement Shows No Signs of Resting

by Contributing Author

By Cathleen Williams, Sacramento Homeward Street Journal

Supporters of Senate Bill 634, which if passed would pre-empt ordinances in cities throughout California that criminalize survival activities related to homelessness. Courtesy of Cathleen Williams.

A state bill that would effectively prohibit punishment of homelessness, overriding California municipalities’ ordinances outlawing camping and other survival activities, was introduced in the state Senate on April 23. But most of the provisions protecting the rights of unhoused Californians did not survive its first committee hearing.

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Three Ways the U.S. Government Can Prevent Homelessness

by Contributing Author

by Jordan Wasilewski

Ever since Donald Trump was re-elected, I have been thinking about what led to this morass. As somebody who grew up in a working class Democratic household with one parent as a member of a union, I recently changed my voter registration to “no party preference” because the Democrats have been defecating the bed  on economic justice issues. After the federal government drastically reduced social safety-net programs in the 1980s,

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The Underbelly Project

by Contributing Author

A group of San Francisco based public health practitioners and community members began organizing in January in response to the City’s attack on drug users and harm reduction services in San Francisco. The Underbelly Project, which symbolizes the under-represented communities of San Francisco, began collecting interviews from unhoused people who use drugs and access harm reduction services. On March 15, the group projected powerful quotes gathered from the transcripts of those interviews on walls at the 24th Street/Mission BART Station—as a way to engage and educate the public.

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An Alternative Pilot Proposal: Evidence-based, Effective SF Street Response

by Contributing Author

“Their tactics, what they’re trying to do, they’re just using force. I think they can turn it down a notch, not be so forceful. 

They come up and tell us we’re detained right off the bat. 

Then they dig into our pockets and put everything on the ground. Then if they find drugs or anything, they take us to jail. We’ll get out in a couple days. 

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