San Francisco Mayor London Breed declares state of emergency over overdoses
By Jonna Lorenz


Dec. 17 (UPI) -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Friday declared a state of emergency over drug overdoses in the Tenderloin neighborhood.

The declaration applies to areas within the Tenderloin Police District and will allow the city to expedite programs, including waving contract procurement and zoning rules for a temporary linkage center to help people affected by the opioid crisis access behavior health services and other resources.

"The situation in Tenderloin is an emergency and it calls for an emergency response," Breed said in a statement. "We showed during COVID that when we're able to use an Emergency Declaration to cut through the bureaucracy and barriers that get in the way of decisive action, we can get things done and make real, tangible progress."

Matt Haney, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said drug overdoses kill more than two people a day in San Francisco, mostly in the Tenderloin and SoMa neighborhoods.

"We need an emergency response for drug overdoses, with immediate rapid crisis intervention, outreach and coordination on our streets, with expanded treatment and detox," Haney said. "We have to act now with everything we have to save lives. This official declaration of an emergency will give us the tools we need to respond with the speed and scale required."

Friday's emergency declaration is part of Breed's three-phase Tenderloin Emergency Intervention plan to improve the health and safety of the neighborhood. The first phase included defining critical problems, assessing the neighborhood, and engaging community stakeholders, along with infrastructure improvements and targeted enforcement interventions.

The second phase started this week and will focus on connections to social and health services, a coordinated law enforcement response and streamlined infrastructure improvements.

The third phase will focus on transitioning from emergency measures to sustained operations.

Mary Ellen Carroll, executive director of the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, pointed to the city's efforts to address the pandemic -- including quickly leasing hotels, hiring staff and establishing testing and vaccine sites -- as an example of how emergency declarations can be used to address crisis conditions.

"In an emergency, people need resources immediately not months from now," Carroll said.