The Problem
By 2022, San Francisco’s overdose crisis had become impossible to ignore. Nearly two people were dying every day from fentanyl, and the city had grown numb to the scale of loss. Despite public concern, political momentum for change remained limited.
What We Did About It
TogetherSF Action launched That’s Fentalife!, a public awareness campaign designed to confront the crisis head-on. Through bold visuals, clear messaging, and easy ways to take action, the campaign helped thousands of residents make their voices heard—sending 58,000 letters to City Hall and state leaders.
What Happened
The campaign helped drive significant investment and attention:
- $67.5 million for public safety and enforcement efforts.
- $53 million for addiction treatment and mental health programs.
- Expanded access to step-down beds, therapeutic housing, and sober living.
- Federal and state partnerships targeting fentanyl distribution networks.
- More than 563 million media impressions that kept the issue in the public eye.
The result wasn’t just new funding—it was a clearer sense of shared urgency. San Franciscans began to see the fentanyl epidemic not as an inevitability, but as a solvable problem.
