SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The fentanyl crisis has redefined drug overdoses in a way never before seen with other opioids. And, San Francisco has thrown money, resources, time and energy to --not so much solve the problem--but get a handle on the number of deaths caused by fentanyl. San Francisco's health department, at times criticized for not doing enough to encourage people to go into drug treatment programs, is focusing on a different kind of recovery campaign.
On Wednesday, those who have been through treatment were featured on billboards to encourage others to seek help. The campaign features nine people in recovery who have found success in treatment. The "Living Proof" campaign coincides with the expansion of the city's treatment-on-demand program.
Last May, we followed the Health Department's Night Navigation Team as they offered people on the street a consultation with an on-call doctor who could prescribe medication and offer treatment to try to get them off fentanyl and other opioids. "In one month, we had over 200 prescriptions that we were able to prescribe and nine people to rehab," said Douglas Liu, a night navigator last May. MORE: Bay Area researchers develop powerful fentanyl blocker 'Subetadex' A month later, in June, the number of accidental overdoses dropped and continued to remain lower.
So far this year, from January to September 2024, the number of deaths related to an accidental overdose was 504, whereas last year during the same period the number reache.