San Francisco’s Turnaround and the Case for Treatment First

Hello everybody, and welcome back to Notes from the Front —

In this episode, we speak with Tom Wolf, a nationally recognized recovery and drug-policy advocate who was also the very first guest on this podcast. After becoming addicted to prescription opioids following surgery, Tom lost his job, his home, and nearly his life. He spent six months homeless in San Francisco’s Tenderloin before an arrest ultimately led him to recovery. He has now been sober for more than eight years.

Since our first conversation, Tom has worked with leaders at the local, state, and federal levels to develop a new approach to homelessness and addiction. In this conversation, we discuss San Francisco’s remarkable turnaround, the failures of Housing First, the limits of harm reduction, the role of accountability and law enforcement, and the federal government’s new Treatment First framework. We also explore the costs of addiction, the possibility of self-sufficiency, and the role faith can play in recovery.

I hope you find this conversation as meaningful and fascinating as I did!

~ Michelle

🔗 Listen: [Spotify] | [Apple Podcasts]

📺 Watch: [YouTube]

📍 Chapters:

03:25 — Why San Francisco is turning around

09:43 — Drug use inside supportive housing

13:15 — San Francisco’s first sober homeless shelter

19:46 — The political divide over drug use

26:29 — Inside San Francisco’s SROs

37:44 — Is any American city getting this right?

43:05 — Where harm reduction helps—and where it fails

52:36 — What “Treatment First” actually means

58:44 — What mayors should do next

1:05:26 — The true cost of addiction and homelessness

1:15:33 — Recovery, self-sufficiency, and nihilism

1:19:56 — Faith and redemption in recovery

1:26:19 — Funding, philanthropy, and organizations to support

1:31:03 — What faith-based treatment looks like

📚 Tom’s Work & Resources:

* Tom Wolf — Recovery Advocate

* The Federal Best Practices Toolkit for Addressing Homelessness and Addiction

* Tom Wolf at Sunflower Sober

* Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions

* Tom Wolf Joins the Discovery Institute’s Fix Homelessness Initiative

🤝 Organizations Mentioned:

* Restorative Pathways

* Positive Directions Equals Changes

* The Salvation Army’s Recovery Programs

📧 Contact Michelle: michelle@notesfromthefront.com

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