A new facility presented as an alternative to jail for those arrested for public intoxication or drug use is getting ready to start operations Monday in San Francisco.
The RESET Center, or Rapid Enforcement, Support, Evaluation, and Triage Center, is a small building next to San Francisco County Jail established as part of a new approach Mayor Daniel Lurie is trying to take to address the overdose crisis and open-air drug use on San Francisco streets.
“San Franciscans are tired. They are fed up,” Lurie said after touring the facility Wednesdday before its opening. “We are going to try everything at our disposal to help people get off the street and stop people from dying on our streets.”
It will be run by the Sheriff’s Office and Connections Health Solutions, an organization that operates similar walk-in facilities for mental health treatment across the country. The Department of Public Health will provide oversight with a nurse onsite.
Law enforcement will able to drop off individuals at the center who are arrested for public drug use and public intoxication. Those with warrants or who exhibit aggressive behavior will not be allowed in the facility, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The intent is to provide a place more comfortable than jail for people to sober up that will also be staffed by clinicians who can refer people to more treatment options for addiction recovery.
“It’s not a punishment,” said Sheriff Paul Miyamoto. “It’s to get them into the right space where they can think about and have access to individuals who are there to help them.”
The center includes an intake room where individuals first arrive to be evaluated on their medical needs. There are two rooms with 25 recliner chairs, showers, and food offerings. Sheriff’s deputies will be stationed in a small office with large windows located in the center of the building that allows a clear view of the facility for monitoring.
While described by Miyamoto as “not a detention facility,” going to the center is not voluntary and individuals will be detained until they sober up.
“It’s not jail, and it’s not the hospital,” Lurie said. “It’s a third way. “It’s another option for people. It’s another option for our law enforcement.”
The nature of the facility has drawn skepticism from some city leaders, including Supervisor Connie Chan after a memo from the City Attorney’s Office was leaked outlining potential legal risks since it is not licensed as a detention facility.
But Rani Singh, chief legal counsel for the Sheriff’s Office, said she is “not concerned” about any legal issues arising from the center despite saying that law enforcement will be able to detain people in the facility.
“I think the fact that they have probable cause to arrest and they can be legally detained is not an issue,” she said in an interview. “This is not a detention center.”
A team from California’s Board of State and Community Corrections, an independent body that inspects corrections facilities, visited the site a few months before the opening and determined that the RESET Center does not fall under its authority, said spokesperson Jana Sanford-Miller in a statement.
The facility is intended to serve as a temporary, safe place for stabilization. The Sheriff’s Office estimates that people will stay at the center for around four to eight hours as they sober up but can stay up to 23 hours.
People will have access to social workers and peer support specialists who can provide additional treatment options beyond the RESET Center if individuals choose to continue receiving addiction or mental health services.
The pilot program will last about two years and focus mainly on arresting individuals in District 6, which includes the South of Market area.
District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who is in recovery for drug addiction, is optimistic that the RESET Center will give the city a new tool to try and combat the overdose and drug addiction crisis.
“As a recovering addict myself, nothing the city is doing to tolerate or enable public drug use is helping anybody,” he said. “I think this is something that is going to be potentially a game changer.”
