New overdose response teams hit San Francisco's streets Monday, as the city aims to greatly reduce its high annual number of drug overdose-related deaths.
Over 700 people died of overdoses in the city last year, Paramedic Fire Captain Michael Mason told reporters on Monday. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner released a report in May indicating the city was on pace to exceed that total in 2021.
That's why the city launched its Street Overdose Response Teams, or, "SORT," for short. The two-person response teams first patrolled the city on Monday in San Francisco Fire Department vehicles, seeking to identify people experiencing homelessness who have substance use disorders.
Each team carries Narcan, other anti-overdose drugs, harm reduction kits and information about shelters and social services.
"Our goal is the day after your overdose does not look the same as the day before your overdose," Dr. Barry Zevin, San Francisco's medical director of Street Medicine and Shelter Health, said on Monday.
San Francisco has committed $11 million to the program over the next two years. City officials hope to ramp up the program to provide 24/7 response by the spring.
The goal is to save lives stopping one overdose at a time, all by meeting vulnerable people where they are.
"You'e at very high risk of dying of an overdose if you've already had an overdose," Dr. Zevin said. “Let's work together to see what we can do to reduce that risk, and really do what it takes, which is in many ways our definition of harm reduction."
Officials told KCBS Radio members of the public can not specifically request the SORT team, but people are encouraged to call 911 and dispatchers will send the appropriate unit to that call.
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