San Francisco to set up triage center to address SoMa's 6th St. issues
SF to stand up triage center South of Market
SF to set up a triage center on Stevenson Street near 6th street to help address street conditions in the area
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco is preparing a new one-stop location on Stevenson Street aimed at cracking down on street conditions South of Market.
Overdoses are an all too common sight on Sixth Street in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood.
On Wednesday, KTVU cameras were there as crews rushed to treat an apparent overdose, seemingly able to reverse the overdose this time.
Now, just a half block away, city crews have already started bringing together a new outdoor triage center.
Not open yet, the center will serve as a one-stop location with police, public health and other onsite services to speed up the city's responses to street issues in the area.
Neighbor Carlos Law said so far he's not seeing any changes on Sixth St.
"That's a proven fact right there that it's not going to be successful," said Law.
"They got all them tents over there, but you still got people using drugs. They been sitting there using drugs for about an hour," said Law.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has made addressing conditions in the South of Market and other troubled locations in the city a top priority.
His office says the new site will allow foot patrol officers to more efficiently process those involved in the drug trade, while making sure those who need access to services can get the care they need.
The mayor hopes the site will allow teams to adapt and quickly respond to evolving conditions on the streets.
"What we know is this: what we have been doing is not working and so this is going to be a triage center," said Lurie. "We are going to streamline all of our departments in one place so we can get people the help they need, that law enforcement get people to the help they need."
The mayor's office says the site would allow teams to enforce the law, offer drug and counseling services, access to health care, and even speed up the journey home program, providing transportation for non-San Francisco residents to get back home.
"We are absolutely going to ask if people have loved ones they can get home to," said Lurie. "So, we are going to do everything at our disposal to get people off the streets and into the help that they need."
Residents say conditions here have been deteriorating for so long they don't know if the triage center will make a difference.
"It looks good on paper," said Law. "Just look at what you can see. What we see? We see a person OD on drugs."
At this time, there is no set start date for the triage center to officially open, but the mayor's office says it hopes to get it open in the next few days. Once it does open, it will operate as part of a 30-day pilot program.