National Harm Reduction Coalition creates spaces for dialogue and action that help heal the harms caused by racialized drug policies. |
+ REST IN POWER, LOUISE: It is with very heavy hearts and saddened spirits NHRC mourns the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Louise Beale Vincent, executive director of the Urban Survivors Union. Louise's passion and advocacy started in North Carolina, though it has rippled outward across the country and internationally in our harm reduction world — and beyond.
Louise was a force of nature. She will be remembered for her relentless advocacy and community organizing, and most of all, standing up fiercely for people who use drugs and human rights. Louise lifted up her voice for so many who could not speak out, and always made sure people who use drugs were at the table and empowered to use their voices and stand up for themselves. She worked tirelessly on the ground handing out sterile syringes and life-saving naloxone one moment, and powerfully reminded lawmakers and researchers how much the lives of people who use drugs matter the next.
As a member of the National Survivors Union leadership team, Louise helped lead campaigns on methadone access, end so-called "death by dealer" laws, and so much more. Louise led with immense compassion and her heart of gold, nurturing and caregiving, especially for our communities most impacted by the so-called "War on Drugs" — more accurately described as a war on people.
NHRC was honored to recognize Louise's inspirational work at our 2018 national conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, when we presented her with the inaugural "Dan Bigg Award for Ground Breaking Activism." At another point during the conference, exemplifying her spirit and drive, Louise led a protest down the streets of New Orleans while in a cage — representing how the disregard of human lives keeps people trapped — demanding rights and dignity for people who use drugs.
Louise's advocacy and harm reduction work touched our lives in ways both grand and small. Because of Louise, we are forever changed for the better. She will not be forgotten, and her lessons and legacy live on in each of us! To support the life-saving work Louise led to impact generations to come, we encourage you to donate to the North Carolina Survivors Union here. Rest in power, Louise. We are grateful to have known, learned from, and loved you.
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+ AGING WITH HIV/AIDS AND INHERENT DIGNITY: People living with HIV/AIDS sparked and created the harm reduction movement decades ago, when the government left them behind — allowing our loved ones to die from preventable health complications. NHRC remains steadfast in our work to save lives, improve public health conditions, and elevate the voices and expertise of people with lived/living experience with HIV/AIDS and/or drug use. People with HIV/AIDS who use drugs are not disposable. On National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day and always, we honor our loved ones who’ve passed away while advocating with and for people currently living with HIV/AIDS.
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+ HONORING OUR LOVED ONES LOST TO OVERDOSE: We have lost so many beautiful souls to fatal overdoses. They were so loved, and still are. This past International Overdose Awareness Day, we mourned. And then we got to work. We'll continue providing life-saving support across our communities, advocating for evidence-backed harm reduction (aka health care) services and programs including Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs), and uplifting the expertise, human rights, and dignity of people who use drugs to save lives. IOAD can be a painful reminder of the hole in our hearts left in the wake of our loved ones' passing, and we want to remind you you are not alone in this grief. While grief shows up differently for each of us, we hope you will find some comfort in part through our Grieving Overdose Zine here.
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+ CENTERING CARE: NHRC’s Lighthouse Learning Collective is hosting "Centering Care: A Gender-Affirming Harm Reduction Workshop for Social Service Providers," an in-person event at the NHRC office in New York City on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Check out the application and registration form here for more information! The form is in English and Spanish, and there will be live Spanish interpretation for those who need it.
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+ IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, NHRC IS ON BLUESKY: NHRC has joined the Bluesky party! We're thrilled to share yet another way folks can follow us for more news, announcements, resources, and more from the harm reduction movement and interconnected public health and social justice work. Follow along here.
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+ CALLING CALIFORNIANS: The California Department of Health (CDPH) has posted a survey for folks who’ve used the California Overdose Surveillance Dashboard this past year. CDPH aims to improve the dashboard based on feedback, and responses will be confidential and anonymized. The survey is open through October 15, 2025.
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+ ACTION ALERT REMINDER: Tell Congress to protect PrEP and preventive care! Sign to support life-saving health care and our communities here. |
+ PREP EXPERIENCES SURVEY: The University of Nebraska Medical Center HIV Program is evaluating PrEP delivery and formulation preferences among people currently taking PrEP or those in need of the medication. Individuals who fill out the survey with their contact information will be entered into a raffle of two $250 Visa cash cards. Learn more here.
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+ CONFERENCES AND EVENTS: -
Today, September 25, is Save a Life Day, where all 50 U.S. states are participating in a national day of free naloxone for the first time. Learn more about events in your area here.
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Today, September 25, Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is facilitating the roundtable, "Overdose Prevention Centers and Neighborhood Conditions: Lessons From NYC" from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET with Drs. Magdalena Cerdá and Bennett Allen. The pair will share data highlighting the impact two overdose prevention centers (OPCs) in New York City (NYC) have on neighborhood public order and economic well-being. Sign up to tune in here.
- Calling all HepFree NYC folks! October’s community gathering will be held at the NHRC NYC office October 7, 2025, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. RSVP is required. For more information, click here.
The International Network on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users (INHSU) is hosting a Hepatitis C Intervention Symposia Series, where attendees will learn strategies to enhance HCV service delivery including point-of-care testing, telehealth, integrated HCV care in SSPs, peer support and navigation, dried blood spot testing, and more. Register through the links below, and reach out to [email protected] with any inquiries.
Phoenix, Arizona — October 3, 2025
Chicago, Illinois — October 24, 2025
Baltimore, Maryland — November 2, 2025
Washington, D.C. — November 7, 2025-
Registration for DPA’s Reform Conference happening November 12 through November 15, 2025, in Detroit, Michigan, is still open! Learn more and register here.
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+ NEWS: This Overdose Prevention Center Isn’t Giving Up on Harm Reduction — Harm reductionists double down on life-saving work when things get rough. Led by and for people who use drugs, the work of harm reductionists centers the expertise and needs of those most impacted by drug use.
"The key for tackling the overdose crisis is to listen to the people with the deepest understanding of the problem, those who are directly affected...They are the experts and they are the ones who can solve this problem, if they are empowered to do so. If we only listened, and invested in long-term rather than short-term solutions, who knows how many tens of thousands of lives could have been saved?" this piece in The Nation Magazine names.
Content note: Instance of problematic phrasing included.
+ NEWS: Clark County, Ind. halts federally funded harm reduction supplies after Trump executive order — When harm reduction funding is cut, so are lives. We deserve life-saving health care, funding that makes that care possible, and for our basic human rights to this care to be honored.
"...harm reduction is about a lot more than syringes...[People] come in and we listen to what they need. It's just not that they just need the needle — they need support, they need mental health, they need other medical services [and] we're going to listen to what they need…on a one-on-one basis,'" this piece in Louisville Public Media shares.
+ NEWS: We Need to Double Down on Harm Reduction, Not Walk Away From It — Investing in life-saving health care shouldn't be up for debate. Harm reduction saves lives. We need more of it, not less.
"We lost more than 80,000 Americans to overdose last year, making it the leading cause of death for adults aged 18 to 44. But, for the first time in years, we have some reason for hope: in 2024, overdose deaths dropped by 27 percent. That progress, however, didn’t happen on its own. It came from investments in harm reduction: an ecosystem of strategies including naloxone distribution, syringe service programs, medications for opioid use disorder, and housing-first programs that secured shelter for people before connecting them to care," this op-ed in Common Dreams shares.
+ NEWS: You can help prevent deaths from opioid overdose. Here’s how. — NHRC's Capacity Building + Hepatitis C Coordinator, Jose Martinez, spoke about the importance of harm reduction and its life-saving programs and services — as well as the overall philosophy of meeting people where they're at and treating everyone with dignity.
"In a nutshell, it's about opportunity for everyone...Everybody's different. Harm reduction is about giving people a chance...Talking about drug use is taboo. But from [2021] to 2023, each year there were over 100,000 [overdose] deaths. A lot of those people would be alive with us if they had the space to be able to talk about their drug use," he shared with Doing Well.
+ NEWS: Trump’s 'Big Beautiful Bill' Could Lead to 1,000 More Overdose Deaths A Year — Harm reduction is a lifeline, public health, beloved community, and so much more. Investing in life-saving programs and services is imperative to slow down and ultimately end the overdose epidemic. Read more from TIME here.
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+ RESOURCES AND REPORTS: -
NHRC is excited to launch two additional online modules free for NYC residents, LGB/TGNCNB 101 and Stigma 101! These modules are self-paced and take approximately 90 minutes. LGB/TGNCNB 101 is a module that explores health disparities LGB/TGNCNB people who use drugs and engage in sex work face, dispels myths, and provides strategies for affirming care. Stigma 101 is a module that explores stigma's roots, forms, and impact and offers tips to help create change. Learn more about the rest of our NYC online courses here, and see our full online learning center here.
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A playbook published by Big Cities Health Coalition, "What city residents really think about overdose prevention – and how to strengthen their support," aims to share "messaging strategies to further strengthen support from city residents for a public health approach to overdose."
- DPA and the Legal Action Center have created a tracker page that outlines federal cuts to overdose prevention and addiction treatment.
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The Lancet shared a piece highlighting the book, "HIV/AIDS in memory, culture and society," which "presents a powerful, interdisciplinary exploration of how HIV/AIDS has been remembered, represented, and lived in diverse cultural, spatial, and political contexts."
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The National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO) has released its "NACCHO 2024 Forces of Change" report, including data about harm reduction services including education and training, naloxone distribution, Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) linkage, overdose response teams, testing and screening, and more.
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Research published in the Harm Reduction Journal showed that, "Despite widespread availability, naloxone access was restricted by its in-store location, high cost, and inadequate signage. This highlights a notable discrepancy between naloxone availability and accessibility, suggesting a lag in the effective implementation of policy in intended settings."
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Studies by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital show hepatitis C treatment isn’t reaching pregnant people and children, particularly Black adults and children in the south. Read more about the research here.
Findings published by Drug and Alcohol Dependence showed that "Overdose detection technologies like restroom motion sensors (RMS) enable rapid response to overdoses in public bathrooms" and "Efforts to bolster staff competencies in overdose response and equipping workplaces with the necessary tools (i.e., onsite naloxone) to respond appropriately to onsite overdoses will be imperative to successful implementation of RMS in businesses and community organizations."
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As reported in a study by JAMA Network Open, "...a Housing First approach to OUD [opioid use disorder] patients experiencing homelessness, whether accompanied by treatment or not, leads to a reduction in both overdoses and mortality." Read a brief published via GlobalData here.
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An article published by JAMA Network, "A Harm Reduction Response to Bans on Gender-Affirming Care," shows how harm reduction strategies — coupled with gender-affirming approaches — can offer safer and healthier options for people in the wake of heightened barriers to health care.
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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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+ FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES: -
The Center at Sierra Health Foundation is inviting wave 1 and 2 COPHRI (California Overdose Prevention and Harm Reduction Initiative) grantees to apply for the Expansion and Innovation Fund. Applications close tomorrow, September 26, 2025 at 1 p.m. PT. Learn more and apply here.
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The Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership (Mosaic) Municipal Matching Grant application in Massachusetts is now open, with applications due November 7, 2025. Learn more in English here and more in Spanish here, and tune into the informational webinar October 2, 2025.
- Reminder: Applications for the Health Care Advocates International (HCAI) Fund are due by September 30, 2025. Learn more and apply here.
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+ TRAININGS AND WEBINARS: -
NMS Labs is hosting the webinar, "Adulteration in Flux: The Decline of Xylazine and Emergence of Medetomidine in the Illicit Opioid Supply" on Monday, September 29, 2025 at 3 p.m. ET. Attendees can, "Learn more about the pharmacological and toxicological implications of these veterinary sedatives and their impact on case interpretation and the challenges they pose for forensic and public health responses."
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NHRC is hosting a webinar series specifically designed for California Syringe Services Programs (SSPs). The series covers a range of topics, including compassionate overdose response, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) billing, harm reduction foundations, and CDPH harm reduction supplies distribution. The remaining training, "Can I Bill for That?!" is happening at 12 p.m. PT on October 14. For more information, email [email protected].
NHRC is thrilled to continue offering 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. ET 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 tomorrow's session, "Outreach 101," click here. To sign up for the October 31, 2025 session, "Safer Injecting 101," click here. Stay tuned for updates about our latest Foundational Fridays series! For more information, contact Jose Martinez at [email protected].
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