S3E8: Redefining Recovery in California: San Francisco’s Public Health Approach to SUD

Stories around substance use disorder (SUD) have too often been framed around crisis and moral failing. But SUD is a health condition—no different from heart disease or cancer—and it deserves public response rooted in care, not stigma. San Francisco is working to change that narrative. Through evidence-based treatment, innovative telehealth programs, and groundbreaking stigma-reduction campaigns like Living Proof, the city is reimagining recovery and how public health can meet people where they are. 

Dr. Jeffrey Hom, Medical Officer for Science and Policy in San Francisco’s Department of Public Health Substance Use Services joins us to discuss how storytelling can shift public perception, and accessible services can guide people onto paths of recovery. The conversation is a reminder that recovery becomes possible when health systems lead with both science and empathy. 

Dr. Jeffrey Hom is the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Substance Use Services Medical Officer for Science and Policy. He previously served as medical director for the City of Philadelphia’s Division of Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction and has lectured for Jefferson Health and the University of Pennsylvania. 

More Links and Information  

Check out more Fors Marsh Media  

Connect or partner with Fors Marsh

Learn more about San Francisco’s Night Navigator and street care programs 

Hear from people recovering from SUD in San Francisco through Living Proof