In San Francisco, more than 100 people showed up in the South of Market neighborhood Wednesday at a rally calling for drug-free sidewalks.
Many of the people at the rally who spoke with NBC Bay Area said they have personally dealt with addiction or have loved ones who struggled with addiction.
Sixteen-year-old Ziggy Brown spoke to the attendees at the rally, with tears in his eyes, explaining that he grew up in SoMa.
“I grew up right up there,” Brown said, pointing up the street. “I grew up with people on the streets all day 24/7 –all day all night, aint nothing changed, ain’t nothing changed. The drugs, the drugs is what is ruining us.”
The rally was organized by the groups Drug-Free Sidewalks and City Team San Francisco. Community leaders were in attendance, including San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey, whose district includes SoMa.
“Public drug use is something that we have to say, ‘We can’t allow in San Francisco,’” Dorsey said.
“We really need to start working toward a zero-tolerance policy,” he continued. “I want to do that in a way that’s compassionate, that gives people a place to go to get clean and sober.”
“But the party is over in San Francisco, and we have to make sure people have the services they need to get off of drugs,” Dorsey said.
The rally happened in the same neighborhood where the city cleared out encampments on Tuesday.
The rally was held directly in front of the Eleanora Fagan Rehabilitation Center, which opened earlier this month. Organizers of the rally said they see sober rehabilitation centers as part of the solution to getting drug use off the street.
The Eleanora Fagan Center is an interim supportive housing program that can support up to 72 people and provides services such as case management, health care, and mental healthcare. Attendees are required to stay sober while they stay there. Staff at the center said that if a client relapses, they won’t be kicked out onto the street, but rather moved to a facility with a different level of care. People experiencing homelessness or people dealing with substance use disorder can stay at the center.
Jeremia Davis, who works as the Lead Monitor at the center, explained that the goal there is to “get ’em off drugs, get them a stable place to stay, get food in their belly, and kind of get them rolling on the road.”
Davis shared that he has also dealt with addiction, and in his view, the sobriety requirement works because that means residents “don’t have a lot of triggers, you don’t have a lot of people using around you, that make you want to go use.”
Bennett Taylor, a client at the center, told NBC Bay Area he came to the Eleanora Fagan Center after staying at the Billie Holiday Center for the past six months. Prior to that, Taylor said he had been struggling with addiction and experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.
He said he knew many of the people affiliated with the Eleanora Fagan Center through various local recovery communities.
“I feel confident in coming here and letting ’em help me,” he said.
So far, Taylor said that the sobriety model at the center has worked for him, and he sees how it could be helpful.
“Having an environment where it’s not a blatant- every time you look out, it’s got to be an easier walk, down the street,” he said. Now, his days are filled with check-in meetings and appointments at the center.
However, Taylor said he also feels that there should be some interim housing options in San Francisco for people who can’t or won’t seek sobriety.
“I believe if more people have places to go, they wouldn’t be out on the streets,” he said.
Expect the call for drug-free sidewalks to continue. Drug-Free Streets is exploring putting the issue on the 2026 ballot.
Source: NBC Bay Area