The Power of Radical Inclusion in Addressing Substance Use

GLIDE staff regularly reverse overdoses and GLIDE has also tragically lost clients and community members to overdose. Our President & CEO, Dr. Gina Fromer, grew up in the Bayview neighborhood and personally knows and cares for many people touched by the substance use epidemic. She is hosting this panel because she truly feels the weight of the lives at stake. And GLIDE has the solution: a radically inclusive approach to health access pioneered by the Reverend Cecil Williams and influenced by the historic work of the AIDS activists in the 80’s.

The key to this approach is honoring and including all community members: people who use drugs, advocates, care workers, and concerned citizens. These different groups have different needs, and everyone’s needs matter. Whether someone is passionate about harm reduction or passionate about abstinence, GLIDE behaves inclusively towards them because we understand that perspective comes from their unique journey. At the same time, we stand for scientific truth over political expediency: truth-telling is one of our core values.

On this panel, Dr. Gina Fromer will welcome and honor the perspectives of two community leaders, Richard Beal and Lydia Bransten, who have advocated for differing strategies towards substance use. The panelists will discuss how their approaches are all part of a continuum of care. With enough creativity, compassion, and love we can serve the needs of people at all levels of readiness to embrace recovery. GLIDE’s Health Empowerment and Access Team is proud to be a part of providing this care. At GLIDE we have found thoughtful ways to care for the whole community – including families, seniors, people who use drugs, and people who have been in recovery for years.

Come prepared to be educated about one of the most important issues facing our city. Gain new insight into what city policies can save lives– or leave our most vulnerable people behind.

About the Panelists

Richard Beal is the Director of Recovery Services at the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, and has been working in the San Francisco community since 1996, beginning at St. Anthony’s Foundation and the Ozanam Detox Center. He has worked as a Substance Abuse Counselor and other roles for Haight Ashbury Free Clinics (HAFCI), managed recovery programs at SF County Jails, and has over 25 years of community experience with populations in recovery.

Lydia Bransten is the Executive Director of the Gubbio Project, which provides unhoused people with sanctuary services at St. John's the Evangelist Church in the Mission, and helps them connect with housed parishioners and church visitors. Sanctuary services include safe sleeping space, blankets, hygiene kits, referrals to outside services, foot care, and massages. Lydia is a highly experienced community organizer, committed to harm reduction and developing trauma informed systems of care.

Dr. Gina Fromer Dr. Gina Fromer joined the Glide Foundation as President and CEO in late 2023. Dr. Fromer has devoted her career, energy and talent to serving the needs of those most disadvantaged in San Francisco. As a sixth generation San Franciscan who was raised in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, she has ascended from having been a GLIDE client to becoming its CEO and President. Prior to joining GLIDE, Dr. Fromer was CEO of the Children's Council, CEO of the San Francisco Education Fund, and the California State Director at The Trust for Public Land. Gina Fromer, Ph.D., holds a doctoral degree in Organizational Development and Leadership conferred by the University of Arizona Global Campus.

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