San Francisco SoMa residents rally for action on city's fentanyl crisis

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The community rallied Thursday on the streets of San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood, calling for action in the fight against the city's ongoing fentanyl crisis.

"We want our community to be clean, and we want our community to be safe and be free of drugs," said Omar Walker, with United Playaz, a nonprofit helping out kids in the area.

"My grandchildren are part of United Playaz. And just to watch them have to walk through this every day is heart-wrenching," said Lisa Wood. "You know, they don't understand. So, it really is hard."

"This is a passionate group. They have a lot of lived experience," said San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who took part in the march. "My job is to continue to make it harder for people to access drugs. So, by really getting at holding drug dealers accountable, but also to try to use the criminal justice system to shepherd people who are dealing with substance abuse to make a different choice for their lives."

RELATED: San Francisco considers 'recovery first' drug policy as overdose deaths rise

"This is an organic event that's organized by the community," said District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey.

He is proposing a shift to the city's drug policy that puts the focus on recovery first.

"We had a good day with the Recovery First ordinance at the Public Safety Committee, and I'm optimistic for getting it passed at the full board," said the supervisor. "And today we have the March Against Fentanyl."