On Saturday afternoon, Nicolas Vance had been out of Santa Rita County Jail for less than a day after serving about a month for organized retail theft.
He was stealing from stores to be able to afford drugs, but he got clean in prison.
He was standing on the sidewalk at the corner of 15th Street and Julian Avenue, with his friend, N-1, nearby. The two have known each other since Vance was 15 in his home state of Oregon. “He was actually my mentor in the whole game,” Vance said.
N-1, who is 44, said, “I do drugs, but I do drugs to feel good. I like to party. Coke, ecstasy, mushrooms. However God made me, opioids do not agree with me. … I immediately get sick.”
To cope with this, N-1 eats lots of sugar, which is easier on the stomach than a full meal. He was biting into a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream with his teeth, and holding a box of Frosted Mini Wheats in his arms.
Vance, now 30, grew up in a family of substance abusers, and has struggled with a heroin addiction for years. When he was 9, his uncle introduced him to beer and cigarettes. His brother abused painkillers that were prescribed to him for a football injury. His mom was also addicted to painkillers. At 15, he tried heroin for the first time.
“No one ever told me, ‘Don’t do that,’” said Vance.
Back in June, Vance suffered a seizure from using drugs. His voice quivered as he recounted a conversation with a young doctor at Highland Hospital in Oakland, who encouraged him to get clean.
“I could tell this dude really wanted to — ” he paused as his eyes filled with tears. “He wanted something better for me.”
Later on Saturday, he planned on stopping by Highland to visit that doctor and receive a Sublocade shot, a monthly injection that is used to treat opioid addictions. “It’s going to save my life,” said Vance.
When asked about what motivated him to get clean, Vance said, “Being out here and losing everything.”
Both he and his girlfriend, Sheena, were arrested for stealing from stores, which led to their car being impounded and a hefty fine of $4,000. Vance also helps take care of Sheena’s 12-year-old son but, between incarceration and drug addiction, has not been able to provide for him the way he once did.
“Last year for school, I bought him all brand-new shoes. Honestly, I was selling drugs, but I still took care of him.”
Vance says Sheena’s son is one of his motivating factors to stay clean, in addition to his 3-year-old niece, whom Sheena is currently taking care of in Oregon. “My main goal is to do good for about six months to a year, and then I’d like to adopt her.”
Referencing his plans for the future, Vance said, “I’m trying to finish all my court stuff, and then I’d like to move to a different state, like Colorado,” he said. “It’s still beautiful with trees everywhere, but just away from … ” His sentence trailed off as he appeared to be referring to his memories in San Francisco.
Additional reporting by Lydia Chávez.
Caledonia Street
Julian Avenue
Wiese Street
Southwest plaza
Here’s a tip. If you just got out of jail and want to stay clean, maybe 16th and Mission is the LAST place you should be hanging out
Stop celebrating criminals..you are out of touch..people in SF are tired of this B.S. Those dudes will be back again in the news for the wrong reasons. remember this dude:”Guillermo Medina Reyes, a San Jose tattoo artist and immigrants’ rights activist, received public defense from supporters and organizations earlier in 2025 during his legal battle against a possible ICE deportation.” remember the uproar, the news on TV, the people talking on his behalf, etc? turn out this dude was a violent criminal with a rap sheet long like my arm..Mentioning this, not supporting Ice myself..but please stop being naive and coming up with those feel good stories. No one cares in SF about those dudes anymore..
After all the coverage of protesters trying to stop the deportation of convicted violent felon, Guillermo Medina Reyes, guess what? He got arrested again for multiple attempted carjackings. I guess he won’t get deported now since we’ll probably be paying the tab to keep him in prison yet again.
> No one cares in SF about those dudes anymore.
I do. I hope he makes that move to Colorado. A clean slate and hard reset do wonders. Thanks for the reporting, Mariana.
” He was stealing from stores to be able to afford drugs,”
The offensive tone of this story starts early. Not “stealing to feed his habit” or “because he likes getting high.” You try to turn his criminal behavior into a story of his heroics as an underpaid member of your favorite type of person.
This is a junkie from out of town who came here to deal deadly drugs and steal from merchants. Mission Local treats him like a hero in so many ways: he gave a few nickels from his drug-dealing and theft proceeds to his girlfriend’s son. Wow, canonize him!
Whoever wrote and edited this story has a really wrong-headed view of society. You hate working people and celebrate criminals like this.
Why you so mad, bro? Go outside.
Maybe he doesn’t feel safe outside with people like this guy and his friend hanging around.
Tweakers eat a lot of sugary foods, that’s one reason why so many tweakers’ teeth are all decrepit and housed tweakers can get quite bulbous in spite of the diet pill aspect of it all.
I fear for young Nico’s continued sobriety if he continues to hang around with this “n-1” character (and I mean that literally – he is playing a character, and it’s one you don’t need in your script, my friend – edit him out. Just because he’s older than you doesn’t mean he’s wiser than you) – Nicolas, if u read this, I want u to know that you need to cut people like him out of your life. I want you to succeed , for the beauty of your own life going forward post-addiction, *and* to be there for the little ones in your life ❤️ please look out for yourself Nicolas ❤️
Heroin is not ‘tweek’ neophyte mouth man. Stop opining about things you don’t know.
It helps nobody.
Thanks for reporting
Glad he is doing better
Zero drug tolerance
It is illegal to sell or use drugs
All should be arrested not just citated.
Removed from public . Detox in jail .
This game we see on the streets everyday of pushing people around is never going to work.
These people are addicts .
Increase the penalty
Quit playing with peoples lives
Harm reduction is a joke .
Or be like the current response, except,
Round them up in a field and let them take drugs there No medical intervention is another option
Just let them destroy themselves like the city is doing now .
Too much money and resources being spent enabling these people
They have behavioral and pysch issues
They will never be able to function
It is a lifestyle choice they made
People are stupid to believe an addict will just stop
SF doesnt really care to address it or it would be cleaned up over night .
One whole month in prison and now on day 1 he’s back with his old crew. I’m sure this will end well.
Where is he staying? How is he paying rent?
To Alex, who seems to like those feel good stories : you really don’t get it, do you? that “caring” is why we are experiencing 1936 Germany, a wanna be dictator who never went to the army in charge and seing waffen SS roaming some streets masked like thugs. But keep caring, you are missing the big picture.Why don’t you offer a room for those 2 dudes in your house? that would be a start.
Please do a follow up story about Nicolas.
The Mission will continue its downward spiral until community leaders make it clear that people like this are no longer welcome in the neighborhood.
The brother of JD?
All Hallows Community, 1711 Oakdale Ave., San Francisco, Ca.94124 is a senior apartment building run by Mercy Housing. Mercy Housing Management and staff are killing us senior/tenants here. There’s absolutely no air to breath inside the hallways. It’s extremely hot inside the hallways and twice as hot inside the elevator. I’ve complained about this unhealthy living condition for four years and nothing has been done. I’m a tenant and my health has been deteriorating every day because of the heat inside this sweat box that Mercy Housing Management calls an apartment building. Mercy Housing Management and staff are the lowest form of humans there is. God help us senior/tenants here at All Hallows Community Cemetery/Prison
Kind of appalled by the comments on this story. I don’t think many people here have actually experienced first hand or through a close friend what addiction is like and especially how it can spiral. Unfortunately sometimes the only place you can go back to is to the same people who would solicit to you, because they’re the only connections you maintain and we don’t have enough shelter available in the city to go to even if you are trying to be clean. It is unfortunate that addiction and homelessness is often a cycle, but it’s a cycle because people do not have the means to get the material items they need even when trying to stay clean and it’s easy to get back into an addicted loop.
Giving this man time to hear his story is not aiding and abetting a criminal, it’s just recognizing him and his struggles as a human being. Recognizing he’s back on 16th Street, and with N-1, while listening to his reasoning and his ambitions to get far away to a place more affordable and with less triggers is valid reporting. You can’t just endlessly dehumanize these people and round them up. He served his time for the crimes he committed, and is trying to stay clean, he should feel supported in doing that.
Anyways thanks for reporting on this individual. The reports on the streets in general are always nice but getting more personal stories are nice to hear to recognize all the humans behind the other reports