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Mayor signs fentanyl state of emergency; city will open 24/7 police‑friendly stabilization center at 822 Gary Street
Summary
Mayor Daniel Lurie signed a fentanyl state‑of‑emergency ordinance Feb. 18 and announced the city will open a 24/7 police‑friendly stabilization center at 822 Gary Street to accept people brought by police, paramedics and street crisis response teams.
Mayor Daniel Lurie used a public appearance during the Feb. 18 SFMTA board session to sign a fentanyl state‑of‑emergency ordinance and announce a first step in using that authority: the city will open a 24‑hour, seven‑day police‑friendly stabilization center at 822 Gary Street this spring.
At the signing, the mayor said the new ordinance gives city leaders more flexibility to surge resources and speed leasing and operational steps. Lurie said the center will be staffed by medical professionals, accept patients brought by police, paramedics and street crisis response teams, and help divert people from emergency departments at hospitals such as Zuckerberg San Francisco General.
The mayor framed the effort as both a public‑health and public‑safety initiative: the facility will treat people on the street struggling with substance use disorders while helping first responders return more quickly to patrol duties. City officials said the center will use new leasing authority in the ordinance to open rapidly.
Cedric Akbar, among community partners introduced at the ceremony, said a multiagency approach and more treatment beds are needed to improve street safety and offer people care. Mayor Lurie and other speakers said the center is an initial step and that more beds and services would be needed from additional funding sources, including anticipated Prop 1 funds later in 2025.
Why it matters: San Francisco is pursuing a coordinated approach to the overdose and fentanyl crisis by combining emergency legal authorities, new treatment capacity and enhanced enforcement against dealers. Opening a police‑friendly stabilization center where first responders can bring people for urgent medical and social needs is a policy shift intended to reduce emergency‑department usage and free up first‑responder time in high‑volume neighborhoods such as the Tenderloin.
What’s next: City officials said the center will open this spring and that the mayor’s office will provide further operational details, transparency on donations or private support, and progress metrics after the facility begins operating.
