Role: Head of Program, managing team of service designers, stakeholder group and project partners from project conception to implementation
Project Partners: Glide Foundation, City of San Francisco Mayors Office and Department of Public Health, Drug Policy Alliance, Saint Anthony’s Foundation, Saint Francis Foundation, Tenderloin Health Improvement Partnership
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The opioid crisis has claimed over 72,000 lives from overdoses nationally (CDC) with nearly 30,000 deaths related to fentanyl (NIDA). San Francisco has an estimated 22,500 users, with 40% injecting in public spaces. SIS also known as safe consumption/injection sites, have long demonstrated their effectiveness in Europe and Canada in saving lives and reducing costs. For San Francisco, one site could save taxpayers $3.5 million per year. Even with a preponderance of evidence in their favor, however, many residents, community organizations, and city leaders were concerned OPS would cause more harm than good. Therefore, an inclusive design approach, which fully understood the perspectives of drug users, health practitioners, and city residents, was a driving principle in developing a successful outcome
The Safer Inside Demonstration was a full-scale, operational demonstration model of a safe injection site opened to the community for education and outreach from August 28 – 31, 2018 in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. Presented by the Safer Inside Community, Tenderloin Health Improvement Partnership (TLHIP), Capital One Design Pro Bono and hosted by GLIDE, this collaborative project demonstrated the integration of safe injection services (SIS) into an existing multi- service organization. The week-long exhibition provided experiential learning opportunities through interactive displays and guided tours, and allowed for community engagement through multiple events, including speaker panels and forums.
Project Website
Project Videos
Press & Awards
Fast Company Innovation Award for Social Good
CityLab Article
KTVU News San Francisco
San Francisco Chronicle, 8.29. 2018
The press tour, which featured San Francisco’s Mayor London Breed, was covered by 30 media outlets: 10 Local TV Stations, and 11 local/national news, 3 radio news stations, and translated into Chinese and Spanish languages.
1. Create a full-scale, operational prototype that moves beyond single injection booth models to support ongoing advocacy for overdose prevention sites;
2. Demonstrate how SIS would integrate into existing CBO’s, emphasizing operating principles and demonstrating the path from engagement into treatment and other harm reduction services;
3. Create opportunities for experiential learning through different mediums (e.g., speaker panels, interactive digital displays, guided walk-throughs for individuals and/or groups);
4. Test operational procedures and consider best practices using community participation; and
5. Learn from the community, especially from people who inject drugs living in the Tenderloin.
The project started with a two-day maker conference focused on tackling social challenges, sponsored by Capital One. This weekend of design support created an initial package that was presented to the community and used by the Glide foundation to secure future funding and support going forward. The few months that followed included presentations by Capital One Design Probono to stakeholders leading to a comprehensive project scope and timeframe with strong community buy in. After the core design team was formed, the project scope included:
VANCOUVER SITE VISIT & RESEARCH
We visited and reviewed various operating models, existing best practices and experiences from around the world as well as conducted interviews with staff, healthcare workers, and people who inject drugs (PWID) locally
COMMUNITY PARTNER WORKSHOPS
Conducted experience mapping exercises with multiple stakeholder groups, physical design workshops with the Safer Inside Taskforce and feedback sessions with PWIDs
STORY GATHERING WITH PEOPLE WHO INJECT DRUGS (PWID)
Interviewed and created audio visual recordings to represent personal local stories from PWIDs in the tenderloin neighborhood
MAYORS OFFICE MEETINGS
Newly elected Mayor London Breed supported and championed this project leading to collaboration with her office and multiple with policy change makers
COMMUNICATION WORKSHOPS
Working with Glide’s communication team, we provided content to socialize the project as well as created a scripted experience for all tours during the prototype week
QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
The team provided research protocols, guides, and frameworks to capture feedback data from participants during the demonstration
PROTOTYPE INSTALL AND WEEK EVENTS
A full week of on-the-hour tours, a press day with the SF mayor’s office, expert panels and speakers, feedback cards and intercept interviews
The safer Inside prototype concluded with a wealth of new learnings, national press exposure which has led to new mindsets in the community, and stakeholder next steps that range from new policy initiatives at the state level to on-the-ground service improvements throughout the local healthcare network. In total, the week’s impact included:
- 558 individuals attended tours
- 122 “companies”: 59 community organizations, 20 government departments, and 43 business and educational institutions
- 67 tours in four days with an average of 8.32 persons/tour and 139.5 persons/day
- Over 30 media outlets
- 106 Feedback cards written and 24 intercept interviews
Photos by Iran Narges, Dorothy Levin & Katherine O’Toole