San Franciscans arm themselves with BASEBALL BATS after drug sobriety clinic opens

San Francisco commuters are arming themselves with baseball bats and stun guns after a newly opened drug ‘sobering’ facility has drawn droves of violent druggies to a previously peaceful neighborhood.

Residents of the SoMa neighborhood in northeast San Francisco are voicing outrage, saying that ever since the SoMa RISE drug sobering center opened in June, ‘troublemakers’ have plagued the neighborhood.

Residents told Fox News that rather than tempering drug usage, the center has done little more than draw heavy users to the neighborhood.

With those users comes crime, residents said, which casts a pall of danger over the neighborhood.  

The center was opened with the help of Democratic San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who characterized it as a safe haven for addicts looking to get back on their feet.

The SoMa RISE center was opened in the SoMa neighborhood in northeast San Francisco in June

San Franciscans in the SoMa neighborhood have taken to carrying around defensive weapons after a drug ‘sobering’ clinic moved into the neighborhood

The SoMa RISE clinic was opened in June, with San Francisco Mayor London Breed characterizing it as a place to let addicts get on their feet

Mayor Breed’s office characterized SoMa as a ‘safe indoor space’ for addicts to ‘get off the streets’ and regather themselves and ‘stabilize.’

But SoMa resident and business owner Mark Sackett said things were not playing out nearly as the city intended.

‘They’re letting their clients come out here and get high, go inside and get sober and then get high again,’ Sackett told ABC7.

Another resident, only identified as Ghis, gave a similar account to ABC7. 

‘More troublemakers settling in, feeling comfortable doing their drugs, pissing and s****ting in the street blocking the sidewalks,’ Ghis said, adding the neighborhood was going through ‘a period of insanity.

Another local named Bill said the trouble started when the center opened, and that ever since he has wondered whether he was in danger every time he left home to go to work.   

‘Every morning it’s a roulette. When you show up at your office, are there going to be 10 people passed out in front of your building?’ he said. ‘Are they going to be violent? This was never a problem before HealthRight 360 moved in.’

‘If you ask me, it should be closed down and there should be other approaches to the homeless and drug problem we’re all facing,’ Bill added.

Mayor Breed’s office characterized SoMa as a ‘safe indoor space’ for addicts to ‘get off the streets’ and regather themselves and ‘stabilize’

Locals say the clinic has only brought droves of dangerous drug addled addicts to the neighborhood

Homeless drug addicts on the streets of San Francisco. Residents of the SoMa neighborhood say a new sobriety clinic has worsened the problem

When the center opened in June, Mayor Breed said the center would bring about a change in the lives of ‘all San Franciscans.’

‘Our city is experiencing a substance use and mental health crisis that is sadly affecting far too many residents,’ she said. ‘As we continue to address the challenges on our streets, we need to do all that we can to focus our resources and our efforts on those who need it most. 

‘The opening of the SoMa RISE Center will not only provide a safe space for individuals in need, but it brings us one step closer to making a difference in these people’s lives and the lives of all San Franciscans.’

The center has been allocated at least $4.2million from taxpayers for 2022 and 2023, according to ABC7.

 Vitka Eisen, the CEO of HealthRight 360 – the entity which operates the center – asked locals to ‘be patient with us.’

‘We can’t fix everything, but we’re a piece of that,’ Eisen said. ‘A piece of the city trying novel things to respond to people experiencing homeless and street drug use and mental illness.’