February 15, 2021

National Harm Reduction Coalition creates spaces for dialogue and action that help heal the harms caused by racialized drug policies.

+ VICTORY: On 2/2, Gov. Cuomo repealed the “Walking While Trans Ban” (WWT), a discriminatory law that allowed and supported law enforcement to specifically profile, target, and apprehend people who trade sex, many of whom are Black, Latinx, and LGB TGNC+  solely based on appearance. The repeal of this law is a critical step in protecting the lives of trans women, particularly BIPOC trans women. To hear why the passing of the WWT Ban is significant to LGBTQ New Yorker’s we asked our LGBTQ Coordinator, Nathalia Gibbs (they/them) to weigh in: 

+ EVENT: Foundational Fridays - join us for refreshers on the basics of harm reduction, taking place every Friday from noon – 2PM ET, from February – April 2021. Register now for next Friday's webinar (2/19), Drugs 101. We will learn basic knowledge about the drugs that are commonly used by participants at Syringe Service Programs. Check out the other sessions and register right from our calendar.

+ WEBINAR:Please join NASTAD Drug User Health for a webinar with Next Distro on 2/24 from  3- 4:15 PM ET. The popularity of distributing harm reduction materials including safer use supplies by mail has grown significantly since COVID-19. Members of the NEXT Distro team will provide an overview of program operations, opportunities to collaborate, and discuss how to expand mail-based harm reduction access in local communities. Additionally, Corey Davis from the Network for Public Health Law will be available to provide an overview of the legality of mail-based syringe and naloxone access. Register here.

If you support emergent and exciting work at National Harm Reduction Coalition, please join our community of monthly donors, the Harm Reduction Champions!

+ BLACK BECOMING: A LEGACY OF HERSTORY: This month, we want to draw from the wisdom of teachers who paved the way, and interrogate what possibilities their wisdom presents for us.

Follow us on Instagram all month to connect and share as we explore the wisdom of women leaders throughout harm reduction and intersecting movements.

On February 25, we’ll release Black Becoming: A Legacy of HERstory, a free multimedia mini-course, to share your responses and what we learned from each other over the month.

+ LEGISLATION: Oregon First State to Decriminalize All Drugs- On November 3rd, 2020 Oregon Passed Measure 110 with over 58% of the vote! The precedent-setting ballot initiative, funded largely by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), decriminalized the possession of heroin, methamphetamines, cocaine, and other drugs for personal use. Oregonians that have been previously criminalized for drug use and/or possession know that this initiative is just the first step. Possession of drugs is still considered illegal, against the current law in Oregon, but now, it’ll be considered a civil offense and not a criminal one, (meaning that it would result in a fine or court-ordered therapy and not jail time). While Oregon is the first state in North America to decriminalize all illicit drugs, we can only hope that it sets a precedence for other states to follow suit.

+ SAVE THE DATE: NHRC Week of Advocacy- Mark your calendars for March 22nd - 26th, 2021 and join NHRC and our partners! We’re collaborating to host a (virtual) week of advocacy events aimed at: amplifying and passing comprehensive Federal policies; sharing best practices used for local and/or state-wide campaigns; and educating our elected officials, across the board. (Think city council members, all the way up to President Biden himself). The time is now, during these first 100 days, for us to make it clear: how critical funding is for our direct service programs, how COVID-19 isn’t the only pandemic that we’re working against, how we need strong leadership and evidence-based data to move life-saving policies forward. Now is the time for action! Collectively, we can make a change.

+ PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT: Harm Reduction Coalition Of San Diego County, (HRCSD On Point)

"I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for a syringe service program, If not us, then who? If not now, when?”

- Tara Stamos-Buesig, Executive Director, HRCSD On Point

HRCSD On Point is an all-encompassing forum for educating, supporting, empowering, and networking to spread the awareness of the importance of harm reduction and to reduce stigma.

HRCSD On Point helped make history recently in San Diego by pushing the County Board of Supervisors to overturn a ban on needle exchanges. HRCSD On Point aims to provide harm-reduction services ranging from syringe exchange, prevention education, drug poisoning risk prevention and community referrals. Their harm reduction coalition is composed of members including health care providers, mental health clinicians, activists, students, members of the community at large and most importantly- consumers of harm reduction services.

Read more about HRCSD On Point on our Instagram.

+ DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Do you want to join a dynamic and growing organization working to advance harm reduction policies and practices across the United States? Do you have an understanding and vested interest in how the nation’s history of racialized drug policies have caused egregious harm to people most vulnerable to structural violence? Do you have the knowledge and skills to support local advocates at the state level and influence federal policies that lead to equity, wellbeing, and liberation for people who use drugs and their communities? The National Harm Reduction Coalition is seeking a dynamic, committed and strategic Deputy Director of Public Affairs to join their leadership team. See the full job description.