San Francisco officials review DPH plan for rapid trauma outreach after shootings

The Government Audit and Oversight Committee on Dec. 1 heard a Department of Public Health presentation on a proposed citywide trauma response to gun violence that would activate outreach within days of an incident.

DPH director of Comprehensive Crisis Services Stephanie Felder told the committee the protocol stems from a May 24, 2022, board resolution requiring DPH to produce an implementation plan and to respond proactively to gun‑related community trauma. Felder said the plan calls for the San Francisco Police Department to notify DPH, after which Comprehensive Crisis Services would contact a “gun violence healing response outreach coordinator” within 24 hours and coordinate outreach within 72 hours to at least a one‑block radius around the incident.

"Within 24 hours, Comprehensive Crisis Services will contact a gun violence healing response outreach coordinator," Felder said, describing outreach activities that could include in‑person presence, flyers, phone calls, community events, warm handoffs and pop‑up drop‑in behavioral‑health hours.

Chair Supervisor Dean Preston described the impetus for the resolution: he recounted meeting a mother and her son after an earlier Fillmore shooting whose apartment walls still contained lodged bullets days after the incident. "They wanted to get connected to counseling and mental health support," Preston said, noting the proposed protocol aims to reach neighbors and witnesses who do not already have service connections.

DPH identified four intervention buckets in the protocol: clinical social and health services for directly affected people; direct community outreach and on‑site response; public awareness and a centralized directory of victim services; and coordination among service providers (including weekly Street Violence Response Team convenings). Felder said DPH’s analysis found gun violence impacts are concentrated in particular neighborhoods and disproportionately affect Black residents.

Committee members probed operational details. Preston and Vice Chair Connie Chan asked which neighborhoods would be prioritized for an initial pilot; Felder listed Bayview, Visitacion Valley, Potrero Hill and the Western Addition/Fillmore, and confirmed the Tenderloin could be added after public comment urged it be prioritized. Felder said some aspects of the response—such as hospital‑based mental‑health outreach and occasional pop‑up services—can be delivered immediately by existing teams, but broad, proactive outreach to make the majority of residents aware of resources will require additional staffing and funding.

Max Roca (systems‑of‑care) and other DPH staff said implementation will likely require either augmenting existing contracts or running a procurement process to fund community‑based organizations. DPH staff said they are exploring funding opportunities with the Human Rights Commission and other city offices and suggested phased implementation starting with a pilot in high‑impact areas once funding is secured.

Multiple public commenters, including representatives from Tenderloin Community Benefit District and violence‑prevention groups, urged that the Tenderloin be included in early pilots and asked that outreach materials be available on paper as well as online. Several callers described the need for more culturally competent, resident‑based staff and for services targeted to children and youth.

After the presentation and public comment, Chair Preston moved to file the hearing request on the protocol; the motion passed with Vice Chair Chan, Supervisor Matt Dorsey and Preston voting in favor.

Next steps: DPH asked for public comment within roughly two weeks to finalize details and for the department to work with the Human Rights Commission and other partners to identify potential funding sources and to design a pilot. DPH also provided the crisis line (415‑970‑4000) and the DPH website (sfdph.org) as immediate resources for those seeking mental‑health referrals.