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.

Announcement: Historic Funding to Expand Staffing for California Syringe Services Programs — We are proud to announce $12.2 million in awards through the California Harm Reduction Initiative (CHRI) for syringe service programs in the state. CHRI represents historic funding — both as the largest government investment in syringe services and as the first staffing support for harm reduction programs in the state in 10 years. CHRI funded 37 California SSPs with an average award amount of $329,805.

News: The Coronavirus Is Blowing Up Our Best Response to the Opioid Crisis — As more than 35 states report increases in overdose deaths since the start of the pandemic, harm reduction workers are pointing to a failed state response as the foundation of the crisis: massive unemployment and financial precarity, exacerbated housing insecurity as eviction moratoriums expire, slashed Medicaid budgets and addiction treatment services.

“Any gains we made in funding for health departments, syringe exchanges, naloxone distribution, safe consumption spaces, and community outreach — it’s all at risk from COVID.”

— Dr. Kimberly Sue, Medical Director, National Harm Reduction Coalition

Webinar: Syringe Services Programs Are Essential Public Health Infrastructure: Providing Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic — (On-demand) This recorded webinar focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on SSPs and the critical services these programs provide. Get information on CDC’s interim guidance for SSPs during the COVID-19 pandemic and the experiences of SSP staff and local leaders addressing ongoing risks related to infectious disease, overdose, and injection drug use while adapting to COVID-19.

Webinar: Substance Use 101: Opioids — (Aug. 13 at 3 PM ET) This webinar will review basic information about opioid use with a focus on why people use opioids, how they impact a person, and harm reduction and drug treatment options. The training will provide an overview of commonly used opioids and explain what they look like, how much they cost, how they affect the brain, and risk factors for health. Participants will learn how to use Harm Reduction methods to engage with people who use drugs and better understand their experience.

Webinar: Safer Injection (Part 1 and Part 2) — (Aug. 17 and Aug. 27 at 3 PM ET) This two-part webinar (Part 1) will build participant knowledge and skills to work with clients around safer injection practices and complications associated with injecting. This course will provide an overview of the basic anatomy of veins and arteries; the supplies and equipment used to inject drugs; common injections practices; and harm reduction strategies for working with people who inject drugs.

Virtual Office Hours: Safe Supply and COVID with Dr. Kim Sue — (Aug. 19 at 4 PM ET)
With overdoses increasing during the COVID pandemic, we need all available options to prevent the harm and death of our community of people who use drugs (PWUD). Featuring PWUD and clinicians from Canada who have been at the forefront of implementing these programs in North America, we'll explore the concepts and intervention of prescribing a safe supply in the setting of a poisoned, street-based market where fentanyl is pervasive. How we can implement this in the US and what lessons can we learn from our Canadian community?

Award:  2020 Power of Diversity: Asian 100  — Check out #99, our Medical Director — Dr. Kimberly Sue! Dr. Sue is a physician-anthropologist and published author, a physician at New York’s Rikers Island Jail, and uses evidence-based research to influence drug policies, particularly in the realm of harm reduction related to the opioid crisis.

Podcast: Hear to Slay- Episode 4 – Sign up for a free trial of Luminary to hear national Harm Reduction Coalition Hepatitis C and Harm Reduction Associate, Jose Martinez, on Hear to Slay hosted by Roxane Gay and Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom. The Other Essential — Beyond the grocery clerk and healthcare worker, have you thought about who else might be essential during a pandemic? This week, Roxane and Tressie speak to a harm reduction coordinator about how the coronavirus crisis and fight for Black lives is shaping their work now more than ever.

Now Hiring! Director of Finance at National Harm Reduction Coalition

Are you interested in developing and refining a growing organization’s financial infrastructure and building capacity for financial transparency and collaborative budgeting with program staff? Do you want to help build fiscal sponsorship systems so projects can focus on programmatic investment? The Director of Finance will supervise a team of two staff members and lead all day-to-day finance operations including functional responsibility over accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and grants administration. Learn more and apply here.