Richard Beal

@Twolfrecovery @ONDCP @HUDgov @SaraCarterDC Keep carrying the message Tom! We Do Recover!

I'm at the White House today helping @ONDCP and @HUDgov develop our new drug and homeless policies for the nation. We've been going in the wrong direction for years. No more. We do recover. @SaraCarterDC

S.F. probation rolls out van for unhoused in ‘high-poverty,’ ‘high-crime’ areas  missionlocal.org/2026/02/sf-pro… via @MLNow

@Twolfrecovery @ONDCP @KeithNHumphreys @madras_bertha @KevinSabet @SaraCarterDC @endthewhisper The solution to addiction is Recovery!!!

Fentanyl and Meth are doing more than just killing people. They're damaging heart valves and doing permanent damage to survivors. @ONDCP @KeithNHumphreys @madras_bertha @KevinSabet @SaraCarterDC @endthewhisper

Dear @GavinNewsom @GovPressOffice @CAgovernor @JenSiebelNewsom @iGardon February 18, 2026 Re: fentanyl massacre I am writing to you, again, today to address the catastrophic failure of public safety and public health in the heart of San Francisco. While your administration has deployed the California Highway Patrol and National Guard to assist our city, the reality on the ground in the Tenderloin and SoMa neighborhoods remains a moral stain on our state. Since 2020, we have lost nearly 4,000 San Franciscans to accidental overdoses, with a disproportionate number of these deaths occurring within just a few square blocks of your own San Francisco residence and office. A Half-Decade of Record Mortality Since the beginning of the decade, San Francisco has endured a sustained mass-casualty event that the current "harm reduction" framework has failed to stop: • The Record Highs: Following the 726 deaths in 2020, we hit a grim all-time record of over 800 deaths in 2023. • The 2024-2025 Plateau: While 2024 showed a slight dip, 2025 preliminary data suggests the death toll is surging again as synthetic supply chains adapt. • Concentrated Trauma: Over 40% of these deaths are concentrated in the Tenderloin and SoMa. These neighborhoods are being used as "containment zones" where open-air drug markets are tolerated in a way that would be unthinkable in any other California zip code. The Failure of the "Housing First" and Harm Reduction Status Quo Governor, for years California has mandated a "Housing First" and low-barrier harm reduction approach. In the Tenderloin and SoMa, we have seen the tragic limitations of these theories: 1. Isolation in SROs: Our city-funded SROs and permanent supportive housing units have become sites of frequent fatal overdoses. By providing housing without requiring sobriety or mandatory services, we have moved the "dying" from the sidewalk to behind closed doors, often in isolation. 2. Enablement vs. Recovery: Your recent veto of AB 255, which would have allowed for sober-living environments in state-funded housing, was a deep disappointment to those of us who believe that recovery should be an option for those trying to escape the drug-saturated streets of the Tenderloin. 3. The Limits of Naloxone: While CalRx naloxone is a vital tool, it is a band-aid on a gushing wound. Flooding the streets with Narcan while allowing the cartels to occupy our street corners is not a strategy—it is a surrender. What is the State’s Commitment for 2026? The voters of California and San Francisco have signaled a clear desire for a shift toward accountability and mandatory treatment. With the passage of Proposition 36 and the expansion of the CARE Act, the tools for a new direction exist. However, we need your executive leadership to ensure these tools are actually used to clear the streets of the Tenderloin and SoMa. I am asking for your administration’s specific plan in 2026 to: • End the Sacrifice Zones: Will you direct the CHP and state law enforcement to move beyond "seizures" and focus on the total disruption and closure of open-air markets in residential neighborhoods like the TL? • Support Sober Housing: Will you reconsider your stance on sober-contingent housing to provide a safe haven for those who want to escape the environment of active use? • Mandated Treatment: How will the state ensure that the new "grave disability" definitions under SB 43 are being aggressively utilized in San Francisco to get the most vulnerable off the streets and into locked psychiatric and drug-treatment facilities? The families and small businesses of the Tenderloin and SoMa can no longer wait for "incremental progress." We need a state-led intervention that treats this as the 911 emergency it is. Sincerely, @bettersoma

@Twolfrecovery 12 Step recovery has kept me mentally, physically, and spiritually fit for the last 30 years! I’m 12 step born and bred and will be 12 step till I’m dead. My goal is to die clean and helping others one day at a time!

For the record, 12 step recovery is the most successful recovery program in all of human history. Period. End of story.

She's not only wrong, she's lying and does a disservice to everyone who is in abstinence based recovery. People who say shit like this is why I fight so hard for recovery. This is harm production and I'm going to stop it. #recovery

@Twolfrecovery @DrugFreeAmerica Keep pushing my friend! Recovery First!

Good morning from day two at the @DrugFreeAmerica prevention summit in Florida. Tampa/St. Pete is taking some big steps to provide more drug and MH treatment and support people in recovery!

@kobyjconrad @Twolfrecovery @sunflowersober Great to be working with you as well. This app really helps those struggling with addiction! I love to connect newcomers to resources that really work and Sunflower Sober works!

@Ambassador4Rec @Twolfrecovery @sunflowersober so lucky we get to work with you Richard what you are doing is incredible man

Addiction is a disease. Sometimes it makes you do terrible things you wouldn't otherwise do. But, you can own it and ask for help. I know it's scary, but it's worth it. Try @sunflowersober as a companion in your sobriety. #RecoveryPosse

Isn't it well past time for SF to have stopped open air drug activities in Little Saigon? beyondchron.org/will-drug-mark… @DrugFreeSidewlk @garrytan @mattdorsey @bilalmahmood

Today we honor the life and legacy of Jesse Jackson BADD, strives to carry that same spirit forward standing in the gap to save lives. Deepest condolences to his family. Rest in power, Rev. Jackson. #JesseJackson
#CivilRights
#BADDsf
#CommunityLeadership
#CarryTheLegacy

@Twolfrecovery Paying people to pick up trash? Doesn’t seem like a solution to homelessness.

There are entire blocks of Oakland strewn with entrenched tent encampments surrounded by garbage. While smaller than Skid Row in LA, it's arguably filthier. All driven by failed policy and politics.

@Twolfrecovery @DrugFreeAmerica Recovery First! Drug Free Housing!

Heading to Tampa/St. Pete. I'm going to speak at the @DrugFreeAmerica prevention summit tomorrow. I will tell the truth about the policy of "harm reduction" on the West Coast and how it has done tremendous harm and why we need to lead with prevention and recovery!

@bettersoma It’s really hard to be in the TL and see those struggling with addiction and mental health. We need to provide more recovery resources and mandate treatment. Recovery First! Drug Free Housing! Atmosphere of Recovery is needed in SF! @Twolfrecovery

Its a fentanyl genocide really not just a massacre

In 2024 at Tenderloin Housing Clinic we changed the name of my department from Transitional Housing to Recovery Services Department to help bring recovery services in PSH. The solution to addiction is recovery! We need drug free housing options! @Twolfrecovery @bilalmahmood @DrugFreeSidewlk @Gina_McDee @kunalmodi

@Gina_McDee @ConnectedSF @GavinNewsom I was really disappointed when he vetoed AB255. He had an opportunity to fund drug free housing and failed miserably.

@ConnectedSF @GavinNewsom x.com/Gina_McDee/sta…

"Housing First" has made a lot of people rich and lot of people dead by turning human misfortune into a profitable industry...and it all started in San Francisco with @GavinNewsom

@Twolfrecovery Thank you for posting this Tom. We need to work together as a community to address this crisis. We need Public Enforcement And Community Engagement PEACE movement to shut down these open air drug markets. Recovery First!

San Francisco had 53 overdose deaths in January. This is a list of the primary drugs found in the deceased. Fentanyl, Cocaine and Meth lead the way with some having Methadone in their system which means they're "double dipping."

@Twolfrecovery I agree Housing First needs to be amended to hold people accountable and require people to participate in support services. We need PEACE movement going forward Public Enforcement And Community Engagement to bring recovery to SF!

Housing First is failing. Even with the right local leadership in San Francisco, our California state government prevents us from making changes and doing things like recovery or drug free housing or holding people accountable for open air drug use. I've had enough. 🧵