Highlights for the Week Ending February 20, 2022
New Metrics: According to last week's operational report, the City is revising the data structure of the reports. The City will launch the new reporting within the next two weeks. Until then, the reports will continue to follow the same format as in previous weeks.
Overdose Crisis: With respect to the health emergency, the number of 911 medical calls declined to 279 after increasing for the past two weeks. During the week of January 9, at the start of the Tenderloin initiative, the City received 356 911 medical calls. The City distributed 127 doses of Naloxone, down from 190 doses, last week.
Drug Sales: Since the start of the Tenderloin initiative, total calls for police service have declined from 1,336 for the week ending January 23 to 1,160 for the week ending February 20, representing a drop of more than 24%. Felony arrests declined from 43, last week, to 32, this week. The police made only 10 arrests for drug sales or possession with intent to sell, a steep drop from last week’s high of 23. The amount of total narcotics seized increased, but the amount of fentanyl seized declined slightly from the previous week.
Exits from Street Sleeping: Last week saw significant growth in the number of people exiting from street sleeping because of the addition of a non-congregate shelter. This week, the City placed 58 people into shelter, down from 108, last week. No one was placed into the Homeward Bound program. Since the start of the Tenderloin Emergency Initiative, the City has helped 348 people exit street sleeping -- 341 into shelter and 7 through Homeward Bound.
Outreach: Data on the City’s outreach efforts showed declines compared to previous weeks. A footnote in the weekly report stated that “[d]ata gathered for Tier 2 Service Connections in previously OPs is being reviewed for accuracy in accordance with a digital data gathering methodology implemented in OP 10.” This new methodology has produced significantly lower numbers of "meaningful engagements" -- conversations about services that did not lead to a referral -- and "referrals" -- conversations in which the client expressed an intention to connect to a service. Meaningful engagements fell from 1,757, last week, to 1,019, this week, and referrals dropped from 828, last week, to 458, this week.
Street Maintenance: This week, the City repaired two sidewalks and seven streetlights. The City removed 205 tons of waste, down slightly from last week, and conducted 110 power washings, up slightly from last week.