In August, Overdose Awareness Month, we commemorate the friends, family, and other loved ones we have lost to fatal overdose. And as the overdose crisis continues to worsen year after year, we use this month to raise awareness about the need for continued funding, programs, and evidence-based solutions to reduce overdose and save lives.

Fast facts about fatal overdose in San Francisco 

• More than 3,000 fatal overdose deaths have been reported by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in San Francisco since January, 2020.
• 2023 was the deadliest year on record for overdoses in San Francisco, with 810 recorded fatalities. 2024 is on track to “nearly match” this devastating record.
• In 2022, the City of San Francisco researched and crafted a set of holistic, evidence-based strategies to reduce fatal overdose in our city (the SF Overdose Prevention Plan). Many of the core recommendations outlined in the plan have not been implemented.

Overdose prevention & safety resources

Access safer supplies including the overdose reversal medication naloxone from San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Hours and locations at locations across San Francisco.

Substance use treatment services are available from San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

Community members, service providers and others are welcome to access naloxone from the CBHS Pharmacy at 1380 Howard Street, Monday – Friday. Drop-in services available 9:30 am – 4 pm (no prescription required).

In partnership with SF Department of Public Health, we offer free, anonymous point-of-care drug checking with FTIR technology.

Overdose Awareness Month events 

Thursday, August 1

•  5-7 pm: Candlelight Vigil, City Hall

Thursday, August 1

• 10 pm: “Queer Pop,” Drag Queen Nikki Jizz hosts overdose prevention at Beaux, 2344 Market St. (no cover)

Monday, August 5

• 3-4 pm: Peer Harm Reduction Group at SFCHC, open talk on overdose panel, 730 Polk St.

Friday, August 9

• 5-7 pm: Friday Night Live Talent Show at Kelly Cullen Community Auditorium, 220 Golden Gate Ave.
• 10 pm: “Reparations: An All Black Drag Show and Dance Party,” Drag Queen Nikki Jizz hosts overdose prevention at Oasis, 298 11th St. (tickets required)

Saturday, August 10

• 10 pm: “Princess: A Disco-Pop Dance Party and Drag Spectacular,” Drag Queen Kochina Rude hosts overdose prevention at Oasis, 298 11th St. (tickets required)

Thursday, August 15

• 11 am: Tay Overdose Awareness at Larkin St. Youth Services, 134 Golden Gate Ave.
• 11 am – 1 pm: Overdose Prevention training in Spanish and English at Gubbio Project, 1661 15th St.

Thursday, August 15

• 11 am: Black/African American Overdose Awareness at Code Tenderloin, 1221 Mission St.

Monday, August 26

• 3 – 4 pm: Grief Support Group at SFCHC, 730 Polk St.

Friday, August 30

• 9 pm – 2 am: “US: Celebrating BIPOC Excellence in LGBTQIA Nightlife,” Drag Queen Nikki Jizz hosts overdose prevention at Beaux, 2344 Market St. (no cover before 9 pm)

Read more

Losing more than two San Franciscans every single day to overdose–it’s time to wake up and take action, say SFAF staff on the front lines of the overdose crisis.

Two of our leaders at SFAF share their memories working in harm reduction in San Francisco since the early 1990s–distributing naloxone underground, fighting City Hall to establish needle exchanges, and more.

Media hysteria around fentanyl and other drugs continues. Here’s why that matters, and the harm it can cause.

Support facts, not fear

We’re living a reality we never could have dreamed of: a drug crisis of unimaginable proportions with hundreds of lives lost every year to overdose, combined with a rapidly deteriorating situation on our city’s streets. We can solve these issues–with comprehensive solutions and evidence-based policies and programs–but first we must end the harmful ideas and actions around criminalization and “cracking down” on drug use.