National Harm Reduction Coalition creates spaces for dialogue and action that help heal the harms caused by racialized drug policies. |
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+ NHRC WELCOMES NEW BOARD MEMBER: We are overjoyed to introduce our newest and amazing addition to our NHRC Board of Directors, Margaret Bordeaux (she/her)! Margaret is a North Carolina native and resides near the coast with her small family. A drug war survivor, Margaret's lived experiences, personal and professional, embolden her to advocate for communities that are underserved and under-resourced by the systems and institutions designed to serve them. Formally, she has studied sociology, psychology, and public health. Her career in harm reduction has been heavily focused on promoting and advancing overdose prevention and drug user health strategies that seek to address the challenges people who are justice-involved face. Margaret is excited for this opportunity to serve. Learn more about Margaret, the rest of our board members, and the staff that make up the NHRC team here.
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+ REMEMBERING DR. CARMEN LANDAU: October has been a difficult month, marking the first anniversary of the death of Dr. Carmen Landau, our colleague, who passed away last year. Many of us who had the unequivocal pleasure and honor of being in community with Carmen are still trying to make sense of her absence in this earthly plane. She was one of the good ones, a strong and steady force reminding us that we should look fear in the eye and commit ourselves to doing what is right, even in moments where we are scared. We want to remember Carmen with joy and we are grateful for the wisdom she shared with us in the time we were able to work with her. We would like to humbly share some lessons we learned from her, because we believe those lessons are a gift to us and our community:
1.) Love hard. Love unapologetically. Love like there is no tomorrow, because tomorrow is not guaranteed.
2.) Honor your word. Seek to build relationships rooted in trust, community care, and empathy. 3.) Be human — strive for connection and not perfection. We will make mistakes and must work toward repair if harm is done.
4.) Our liberation is connected and solidarity is what will help set us free. 5.) What is good for people who use drugs is good for all.
Carmen, we miss you and hope that through our actions rooted in love, care, and respect, we can continue to build upon your legacy. ¡Hasta la victoria, siempre, compañera! |
+ NHRC URGES ACTION AMID NYC OVERDOSE SPIKE: The harrowing number of overdose deaths in NYC is especially devastating among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. Speaking of community leaders and officials, NHRC's Community and Capacity Building Manager, Hiawatha Collins, said, "While they drag their feet, people are dying." Read our full statement, including the NYC data report, here.
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+ CELEBRATING LATINE/LATINX HERITAGE MONTH: The spirit of harm reduction lives on through the movement's "rebelde" (rebel) roots and grassroots advocacy, led by Latine/Latinx folks for decades. This Latine/Latinx Heritage Month, we uplifted the beloved community, care, and radical love Latine/x folks have cultivated and continue to build all year long for people who use drugs and all people.
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+ CONFERENCES AND EVENTS: -
Decriminalize Vermont is hosting “Vermont Reimagining Drug Policy Conference 2023,” a free virtual event happening Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST, in collaboration with the Drug Policy Alliance. For more information and to register, click here.
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The American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) is hosting its Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) in Washington, D.C. from Wednesday, April 10, 2024 through Sunday, April 14, 2024. Requests for abstracts are due Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023. To learn more and register, visit this page. To submit an abstract, click here.
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NHRC is hosting our monthly national Peer Gathering Cohort after hearing the need for peers nationally to have a space to connect, talk, and network. The sessions— which take place the first Monday of each month — are open to peers with lived/living experience only at no cost, and folks from around the U.S. are welcome to join. Together, we'll work to build a support system through the states. Come as you are, this will be a non-judgmental space! To join, visit this link.
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+ NEWS: How some families are banned from food stamps for life due to past drug convictions — Everyone should have access to food. Despite food being a human right, many people — and entire families — suffer because they are shut out from these basic needs based on inhumane policies that bar people with drug convictions from SNAP benefits. It doesn't have to be this way, nor should it be. Read more via PBS News Hour here.
+ NEWS: Incoherent Policy Threatens Overdose Prevention Sites — "'Overdose prevention centers not only prevent fatal overdoses but also support the very people that don’t get any other kinds of support," Laura Guzman, executive director of the National Harm Reduction Coalition, told The Nonprofit Quarterly. 'This is a basic public health intervention.'"
"Guzman points out that beyond simply allowing drug users to consume in a medically supervised environment, such centers serve as entry points to all kinds of services, including addiction treatment options. And they represent an effective tool to combat an epidemic that disproportionately affects Black, Hispanic, and Native American populations, Guzman says."
+ NEWS: Withholding welfare to force drug users into treatment won’t work, experts say — People deserve food and access to other basic human needs, which welfare makes more possible. To force people into drug testing and/or treatment to receive these living essentials is inhumane. Speaking of forcing people into treatment, Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, a professor on family addiction medicine at the University of California San Diego, told Mission Local, "This is another piece of proof that the war on drugs is a war on people."
+ NEWS: Steep rise in criminalizing pregnant people during Roe era, new data shows — Attacks on people's right to bodily autonomy and health care are interconnected with the criminalization of people who use drugs and pregnant people. When we care for and support people who use drugs, we're also supporting the health and well-being of their families and children. "Pregnancy criminalization arrests are a function of harmful racial stereotypes and broader cultural trends in drug prosecution and the 'war on drugs.' Every major medical organization opposes using criminalization to address the issue of pregnancy and drug use, according to the report. Pregnant people are also likely to avoid seeking help for an addiction if they are afraid they will wind up in jail." Read the full story in The Guardian here.
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+ LIBERATING METHADONE: NHRC's Community and Capacity Building Manager, Hiawatha Collins, was one of the presenters at "Liberating Methadone: Building a Roadmap and a Community for Change," a hybrid conference held in NYC. The conference, hosted collectively through partnerships between organizations including the National Coalition to Liberate Methadone, Urban Survivors Union, New York University Langone Health, the National Institutes of Health, and Vital Strategies, covered how to improve access to — and use of — methadone to reduce the harms of opioid use.
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+ COMING UP — CALL-TO-ACTION: Save the date, and join us in making a difference! GivingTuesday is just around the corner, and NHRC is counting on you to help us make a real impact. On this special day of giving back and every day, we're focused on ending overdose deaths, supporting Syringe Services Programs (SSPs) across the country, and working to reduce the harms caused by racialized drug policies. Your support means everything to us. Together, we can save lives and create a safer, more equitable future for all. Join us on GivingTuesday, November 28, and make a difference that matters. Stay tuned for more details on how you can get involved and support our mission. Together, we can achieve great things! Visit this link to contribute today.
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+ FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES: -
In partnership with Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) announced a new funding opportunity to support local communication needs assessments, tailored communication capacity building, and technical assistance through June 2024 for up to eight local harm reduction programs and syringe services programs (LHRPs/SSPs). ORAU will provide selected programs with a stipend of $10,000 to use in developing and executing a tailored communication plan. Participation in the program will also help inform a toolkit that can be used nationally to improve harm reduction communication for a range of audiences. Click here to review the full announcement and application. All applications must be submitted no later than Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions.
- The New York State Grants Gateway is offering various opportunities, including for technical assistance and training to address HIV/Hepatitis C and STIs among various groups. Learn more about the grants here.
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+ RESOURCES: -
AIDS Care Group is offering a one-year full-time position as part of its residency program, which runs July 1 to June 30 each year with some start date flexibility. The deadline to apply is Feb. 12, 2024. Click here to apply, and contact Residency Director, Dana Lehman, Psy.D., with any questions at [email protected].
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The Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health launched a new website aiming to guide tribes in spending funds from the tribal litigation settlements. Collaborating with an Indigenous Advisory Council made up of Indigenous and allied researchers, tribal leaders, service providers, and tribal community members, the center drafted principles for tribes spending opioid settlement funds. To see the website and principles, visit this link.
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NHRC requests organizations add or update their information on the Naloxone Finder map in an effort to ensure the resource is up-to-date. To add a new program, click here. To update existing program information on the map, please fill out this form. We appreciate your support in spreading the word about these life-saving materials!
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+ TRAININGS AND WEBINARS:
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NHRC’s Lighthouse Learning Collective's queer harm reduction training series, Lighthouse Learning Series, is back! Running from October 2023 to February 2024, there will be one session each month. Sessions include: Chemsex 101, Non-Carceral Peer Support, Sex Work 101, Queer History of Harm Reduction part 2, and Abolition & Harm Reduction. Register here for the first session, Chemsex 101 tomorrow, Friday, October 27, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST. For information about other sessions, click here. Sessions will be recorded and will have live ASL interpretation. Priority will be given to those living and working in NYC due to program scope, but those who would like to build on their harm reduction knowledge to provide better service to LGB/TGNCNB (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual/Trangender, Gender Non-Conforming, Non-Binary) folks are welcome to register.
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As part of its “Confronting the Drug War" session, Yale University is hosting "Drug User-Oriented Harm Reduction and Drug Policy” on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EST. This free webinar will continue the series with a roundtable on “Drug Induced Homicide and Global Penalties for Selling.” Register for the upcoming session here. A recording of our most recent session on “Drug Decriminalization Amidst Backlash” is now available here. For any questions or concerns, please contact [email protected].
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NHRC is thrilled to offer monthly Foundational Fridays training sessions, which focus on building basic knowledge about various intersectional public health issues. The free sessions, running from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST the last Friday of each month, are for providers, peers, and anyone in the harm reduction community as well as anyone looking to learn more about the field. To sign up for the next session happening tomorrow, Oct. 27, Safer Injecting 101, visit this link. Please note we have changed November’s training, “Sex Work 101,” from Nov. 24 to Nov. 17. Stay tuned for more details about the trainings, happening through June of next year! For more information, contact Capacity Building and Hepatitis C Coordinator, Jose Martinez, at [email protected]. The rest of the training schedule dates are as follows, with registration links included in hyperlinks below:
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Housing First University, in collaboration with the Shared Housing Institute and MDRC, is offering a free webinar titled, “HomePath: Recovering Together” on Tuesday, Nov. 14, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST, highlighting the Shared Medical Appointments (SMA) intervention for people who use drugs and people experiencing housing instability. To register and for more information and resources, visit this link. The target audience for this webinar is physicians, healthcare providers, C-suite executives, and social service providers working in integrated care settings, and/or serving people who use drugs who are experiencing housing instability. Please direct any questions about the webinar to: [email protected].
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NHRC is excited to launch our new free online training modules for NYC residents, covering safer use, stimulants, and wound care for non-clinicians! For more information and to sign up for each of the modules, visit this link.
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Hiring? Send us a note about open positions in harm reduction to [email protected] to have a job post shared here. |
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