By Sister ’Nita House
I have buried 17 friends in two years. Fentanyl stole their breath. If punishment or shame could end addiction, they would still be here. But San Francisco’s new “drug-free sidewalks” plan does only that: punishes the poor, shames people in crisis, and hides suffering instead of healing it.
Mayor Daniel Lurie’s “Recovery First” law makes abstinence the City’s guiding star. Nonprofits that once handed out clean syringes or pipes are now forced to attach treatment counseling or else lose funding. It sounds neat on a press release. In reality it drives people into the shadows. When folks use behind dumpsters instead of in public view, overdoses turn fatal because no one is there to call for help. That isn’t recovery. That’s a death sentence.
Then there are the RV bans and endless sweeps, which create similar risks. Towing someone’s only shelter and issuing them tickets doesn’t create sobriety—it creates trauma. It tears apart what little stability people have and dumps them back on the sidewalk, bruised, exhausted, and further from help than before. That’s not “breaking the cycle.” That’s perpetuating a vicious cycle.
Here’s what we know actually works: Housing First. Give people a home without strings attached and they stabilize. They use less. They live longer. The evidence is overwhelming. “Sober-only” shelters that expel you for relapsing aren’t housing at all. They are revolving doors back to the street.
Carlos, a man I know who has been unhoused for years, wants recovery but can’t meet the rigid rules of a sober shelter. Under Housing First, he’d have his own place and support at his pace. Under the mayor’s plan, he stays outside, battling trauma with no chance to rest or heal. Tell me which option sounds like recovery.
Harm reduction doesn’t cause drug use—it keeps people alive long enough to choose recovery. Supervised consumption sites save lives. Syringe access prevents HIV. Narcan brings people back from the brink. Abstinence can be beautiful, but only when it’s freely chosen.
Try choosing recovery when your tent is trashed, your body is cold and your pockets hold nothing but citations.
If the mayor truly wanted fewer funerals, he would invest in permanent supportive housing, voluntary treatment, supervised consumption and peer outreach. Instead, he’s funding sweeps, slogans and further criminalization of poverty.
As a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence, I believe in radical hospitality. San Francisco is measured not by how it looks in a press release, but by how it treats people at their worst hour. Right now, we are failing. “Drug-free sidewalks” won’t save lives. Housing, dignity and compassion will.
I’m tired of funerals. I don’t want to bury another friend. Join me in demanding that this city chooses evidence over cruelty, and compassion over soundbytes. Demand Housing First. Demand harm reduction. Demand life.
Sister ‘Nita House is a volunteer at the Coalition on Homelessness and a member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. This editorial reflects their own viewpoint and not necessarily any organizations they’re affiliated with.
