San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is launching a one-year plan to reform the city’s mental health, addiction and homelessness services, the San Francisco Chronicle reported March 17.
The mayor signed an executive directive to overhaul the city’s street outreach programs and revise the city’s harm reduction policies.
Here are three things to know:
- Mr. Lurie’s order directs the city to consolidate the city’s street outreach teams into a single approach, the Chronicle reported.
- The order also directs the city to “refocus” its harm reduction efforts toward evidence-based interventions, including needle sharing programs, the Chronicle reported. Some nonprofit groups had provided fentanyl smoking supplies as part of harm reduction efforts, the Chronicle reported, though these purchases were not expressly funded by the city.
- The mayor’s order directs the city to create a new contracting standard for nonprofits providing mental health and homeless outreach services.
In February, Mr. Lurie declared fentanyl use a state of emergency in San Francisco. The move was designed to cut red tape and speed up the construction of a crisis stabilization center and other resources in the city.
Read more here.
