Welcome to Our Movement in Motion, a new national newsletter from your friends at Harm Reduction Coalition, sent on the 1st and 15th of each month. With an ever-changing landscape of perceptions, policies, and possibilities in the Harm Reduction movement, this space is for celebrating our wins and building out our community towards collective action to promote the health and dignity of people who use drugs.

Podcast:  Check out Episode 5 of The Gold Standard with Dr. Kim Sue. Join our host, Nathalia Gibbs (Lighthouse Learning Collective) and our guests Lisa Sangoi of Movement for Family Power and harm reductionist parent advocates Dinah Ortiz-Adames and Elizabeth Brico, discussing the unique demands placed on pregnant people, and how the child welfare system has targeted Black and brown families and caused irreparable harm. 

Training:  Hepatitis C Prevention with Young People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) 

• Part I: July 23 at 3 PM ET
• Part II: July 28 at 3 PM ET

Webinar:  Register here to join faith leaders for a conversation on Overdose, Race, & Justice at 3 pm EST on Thursday July 30. 

Report: “Whatever they do, I’m her comfort, I’m her protector: How the foster system has become ground zero for the US drug war.” — Movement for Family Power, NYU Family Defense Clinic, and Drug Policy Alliance are releasing a new report on the child welfare and foster system and the drug warn in the hopes that it will contribute to the ongoing dialogue about racist systems, anti-blackness, and the need to divest from policing agencies (such as Child Protective Services) and reinvest in Black and Brown communities.

This report contributes to the evidence base for divestment from policing agencies and provides clear recommendations for a new way forward.

Alyshia T. Gonzalez (she/her) joins the Harm Reduction Team as their Mobilization Manager where she will be responsible for implementing and advancing HRC policy priorities at the state and federal levels by leading HRC grassroots advocacy and community mobilization efforts. As a  first-generation college graduate with her B.A. in Ethnicity, Race, and First Nations, and her M.A. in Sociology, she has a deeply personal and civic commitment to justice and equity for every community. Alyshia's experience as a community organizer and in non-profit leadership has put her at the center of the policy process where she has worked effectively with government officials and community-based organizations to enact positive social change and promote visibility for marginalized communities.

Most recently, she served as the School Transformation Specialist for Centinela Youth Services where she focused on diversion advocacy by reducing the suspension, expulsion, and arrest of Black and Brown students across South Central Los Angeles. Alyshia believes in the power of a people-first approach and ensures all of her work is informed by a racial and restorative justice framework, helping her create an environment where communities impacted by global white supremacy and colonialism are empowered to enact positive social change and shape their collective futures.
 

Michelle Wright (she/her) joins the Harm Reduction Coalition as the Associate Director of Policy, based in Oakland, CA. In this role, she is responsible for ensuring the advancement of effective harm reduction policies at the local, state, and federal level by supporting state and local advocates working in their communities as well as HRC staff engaged in direct advocacy.

Prior to joining the Harm Reduction Coalition staff, Michelle worked at the intersections of anti-Black, social justice and LGBTQ advocacy, as a trainer, organizer and strategist. Most recently she was the Northern California Deputy Organizing Director for the Warren for President campaign. She has previously worked side-by-side with municipal stakeholders and legislators to transform the unjust drug policies that have criminalized many in our communities, specifically in the Deep-South.

Rose MacKenzie (she/her) joined Harm Reduction Coalition in late 2019 as the Senior Director of Policy and Mobilization. She leads Harm Reduction Coalition’s policy advocacy and organizing efforts including national and state-level strategic campaigns, legislative advocacy, and coalition building. Previously, Rose worked for nearly a decade advocating for reproductive health and rights, most recently as the Senior Policy Counsel at the National Institute for Reproductive Health, which builds power for reproductive freedom at the state and local level. Rose believes strongly in building power within communities to engage in advocacy around their own needs, and in the transformative power of working at the intersections of social justice movements. Rose has an AA from Simon's Rock College of Bard; a BA in political science from the University of Massachusetts, Boston; an MPH from Boston University School of Public Health; and a JD from Northeastern University School of Law.
 

Lill Prosperino (they/them) joined Harm Reduction Coalition in 2020 as the Southern States Regional Organizer. They work with the policy team to develop and set policy priorities; build and mobilize a base of harm reduction activists in the South; and help folks take on leadership roles to advocate for harm reduction policies in their own communities. They also work closely with the HepConnect team and help support the grantees in meeting their policy-related goals in Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

Lill is a former substance use counselor who left the profession to pursue a more radical approach to supporting people who use drugs. They have been deeply rooted in community organizing and activism in central Appalachia for many years, including abolitionist, antifascist, environmental justice work, and political education. In their spare time, Lill coordinates Southern West Virginia Harm Reduction, a distro and mutual aid network for people who use drugs and people who trade sex in southern West Virginia. Lill has a dual Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Kentucky, and a Master’s of Education in Counseling and Human Services from Lindsey Wilson College.

• NVHR 2020 Viral Hepatitis Policy Fellowship
• People's Action Campaign Director: Drug Policy, Harm Reduction & Criminal Justice