In 2024, Civic Edge and lowercase productions created and implemented the “Living Proof SF” campaign for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. The campaign highlighted real stories of individuals overcoming addiction and entering recovery to reduce stigma and promote recovery resources.
A key component of the campaign was featuring real voices of people struggling with addiction, highlighting the diverse experiences of Black, Latinx, Asian, and LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as people who were formerly unhoused, ensuring the campaign reflects the City’s many perspectives on addiction and recovery. By sharing personal narratives, the campaign humanizes drug use addiction, lowering the barrier to recovery and community. The resources we promoted increased accessibility to treatment and care.
Campaign ads were placed on BART and at Muni stations, on transit shelters, billboards, and in ride share vehicles and apps through a successful partnership with Lyft. We tailored campaign materials, including ads in English, Spanish, and Chinese, to reach multilingual communities in San Francisco. Media hits included pieces in the San Francisco Chronicle, ABC7 News, KQED, and beyond.
Over the course of our 2024 campaign implementation, we saw over 70 million impressions for campaign materials. Based on internal post-campaign polling, we estimate that one in ten San Franciscans saw our ads. Those who did reported feeling increased comfort with knowing where to find information about addiction services.