What: This full day symposium will examine needs, feasibility, support, and various options for a legal Safe Injection Facility for homeless and marginally housed injection drug users, and for the community impacted by them. Speakers include members of law enforcement, public health officials, service providers, legal experts, injection drug users, community groups, leaders in the faith community, and evaluators from InSite, a safe injection facility in Vancouver, Canada.  

Why: San Francisco has several large concentrations of injection drug users (IDUs), and while HIV prevalence remains relatively low among IDUs, rates of hepatitis C have reached epidemic levels and fatal opiate overdose remains one of the leading causes of death in San Francisco. Community concerns regarding public drug use and improperly discarded syringes have been raised repeatedly over the last few decades. Twenty-seven other cities in eight countries around the world facing similar issues have opened Safe Injection Facilities, and this symposium will open a broad discussion about this option.  

Who: Sponsored by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and the Alliance for Saving Lives (ASL), a community consortium working to promote community and individual health through legal safer substance use sites. ASL members include the Harm Reduction Coalition, Tenderloin Health, Mission Neighborhood Resource Center, Homeless Youth Alliance, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Drug Policy Alliance, and individual researchers and service providers throughout San Francisco.  

When: Thursday, October 18, 9:30 am to 4:00 pm  

Where: Women's Building auditorium, 3543 18th st & Valencia, San Francisco, CA 94110  

Cost: FREE, and Continuing Education Units are available for a small fee for RN's, Certified Addiction Treatment Specialists, LCSW's and MFT's. As seating is limited, please RSVP to hrcwest@harmreduction.org to reserve a space.

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