San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey, along with local Democratic Party officers and over 100 residents and activists, held a rally on the corner of Sixth Street and Natoma Street last Wednesday, calling for an end to public drug use on San Francisco streets. The rally was organized by the activist group Drug-Free Sidewalks in cooperation with City Team San Francisco, United Playaz, and other groups.
Drug-Free Sidewalks is organizing to end public drug use in the city, get people with a substance use disorder into recovery, and advocate for better laws and policies that include recovery and abstinence-based programs.
“The purpose of the rally was to raise awareness for our movement and also to come in and support the people in the neighborhoods, who have been most impacted by public drug use,” Lanier Coles, a founding board member of the organization and external operations director of the San Francisco Democratic Party, told The Voice in an interview. “We were really excited to have a cross section of the community, everyone from the seniors to kids, to people actively in recovery, come out and be part of the rally.”
Among those who spoke at the rally was 16-year-old Ziggy Brown, a junior at George Washington High School, who grew up in the neighborhood.
“Do you want to know what makes me so mad? Because this is our community, right? We allow this to happen,” Brown told the crowd in an emotional speech. “We let this happen every single time. We preach, we beg, and nothing changes. This has been going on since I was a little kid. This ain’t right.… You know what hurts me? Being in the city and wanting clean streets, because you know how much it could enhance your environment, so that the kids could do better, but they only want to clean up when the man in the nice suit shows up. I want a world where kids in SF don’t have to worry about what’s on the ground…. so clean the ground so they can reach the stars.”
Dorsey responded to Brown’s speech, promising more than just appearances.
“I want to say to Ziggy that I really appreciate his heartfelt words; I feel that because I’m a neighbor, too. I live just a couple of blocks away,” Dorsey said. “It breaks my heart as an elected leader, someone who has been on the Board of Supervisors for three years, looking people in the eye who think we’re not doing enough to change.”
“I want a world where kids in SF don’t have to worry about what’s on the ground…. so clean the ground so they can reach the stars.”
— Ziggy Brown
“But let me tell you why I have optimism,” he added. “It’s because of you, because on a Wednesday afternoon, we have a rally for drug-free sidewalks, and I haven’t seen that in my years in the city before. I believe in what representative democracy can accomplish in government. But I also know … it’s gonna take all of us working together … mark my words, we are going to the ballot with a ballot measure because it’s time for San Franciscans to weigh in on an ordinance that puts an end to drug use on our streets and that affirms the promise of drug-free sidewalks.”
The rally concluded with a march to the recently opened Eleanor Fagan Rehabilitation Center, formerly the site of the Kean Hotel. According to a statement released by Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office Aug. 21, the 70-bed Fagan center is the first of three recovery-centered interim housing programs to open in recent weeks.
It is an example of the type of programs Drug-Free Sidewalks is organizing to expand.
“We’re advocating not just for recovery-based but for recovery-first policies at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and we continue to be very focused on that. We want to see those implemented,” Coles added.
The organization is also celebrating progress in Sacramento, with the revival of AB 255, a bill authored by San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney, along with fellow Assemblymember Catherine Stefani and state Senator Benjamin Allen (D, El Segundo), which aims to allow state programs to fund supportive-recovery housing that emphasizes abstinence. Currently, sober recovery housing cannot be supported at the state level; if AB 255 is passed, up to 10% of available state funds can be put towards abstinence-based housing. An earlier version of the bill, which had stalled, would have allowed for 25%.
During the march, Dorsey spoke with reporters about plans for reform of San Francisco’s drug policies.
“The legislature and the governor did give some funding, but I’ll be candid, it’s not enough. I believe that there are steps we can take in the next election to increase funding for drug recovery. I believe this is the challenge of the 21st century for cities. We need to do a better job of supporting and incentivizing people to enter recovery. So I’m going to be an advocate for that. I think Mayor Lurie is an advocate for that. And I think there are some things we can do on the ballot next year that will help us better fund these services.”