Drug education and prevention to reverse San Francisco’s overdose crisis
Recent reports show San Francisco’s fatal drug overdose rate surpasses that of other California districts and is worse than the nation’s average. Last year was the city’s most devastating year on record for drug overdose deaths, and 2024 is threatening to surpass even that. With drug overdose, including fentanyl, a leading cause of death in America among those age 18 to 45, many community organizations and churches are looking for answers—seeking to learn what they can do. The Church of Scientology of San Francisco and its local chapter of Foundation for a Drug-Free World are promoting a program anyone can take part in to save lives and help bring this crisis under control.
The answer is prevention. In his message on this year’s UN Day Against Drug Abuse, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized that “breaking the cycle of suffering means starting at the beginning, before drugs take hold, by investing in prevention. Evidence-based drug prevention programmes can protect people and communities alike, while taking a bite out of illicit economies that profit from human misery.”
In addition to handing out drug education booklets in high-traffic areas around the city, the Church of Scientology San Francisco sponsors a chapter of the nonprofit Foundation for a Drug-Free World. The Foundation not only provides a full array of fact-based videos and booklets, but also offers a drug education curriculum anyone may use to provide drug education to community groups, churches, after-school programs, and to parents to help them reach their children before they begin to experiment with drugs.
The Church of Scientology San Francisco is an Ideal Scientology Organization, configured to serve as a home for the entire community—a meeting ground of cooperative effort to uplift people of all denominations. It was dedicated by Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige in 2003.
The Church of Scientology of San Francisco is featured in an episode of Destination Scientology on the Scientology Network, available on DIRECTV channel 320 and streaming at Scientology.tv, through mobile apps, and via the Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV platforms.
