April 1, 2021

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

+ HEPCONNECT PHASE 2 GRANTEES: National Harm Reduction Coalition is proud to award more than $5 million in grant funding to 30 organizations with generous support from Gilead Sciences under the HepConnect Initiative. HepConnect is a regional initiative to mobilize and expand capacity for organizations working with people who use drugs in five states significantly impacted by rising hepatitis C (HCV) rates: Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. Grantees will use funds to provide new or expanded harm reduction services for people who use drugs (e.g. supplies, outreach sites and mobile vans, and testing materials) or to educate the community about harm reduction (e.g. public education, advocacy campaigns). Funding also supports staffing and creating positions, training, and support groups for people who use drugs.
Help us congratulate the grantees by sharing the news. Read the full press release here.

+ NEWS: The Office on National Drug Control Policy announces its first year priorities and shared that federal grant funding may now be used to purchase rapid fentanyl test strips.

+ OPPORTUNITY: LEARN Harm Reduction (HR) applications are open! LEARN HR consists of virtual group sessions, coaching sessions, and completing a harm reduction-centered project over the course of 6 months. Organizations will receive a $10,000 stipend. Open to programs located in these states: AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX. View the PDF version of the application here.

+ CONFERENCE: Rural youth and youth workers to the front! Register today for Point Source Youth’s First Annual Rural Conference on Ending Youth Homelessness - May 18 and 19. Sliding scale registration available.

+ QT NARRATIVES: The Lighthouse Learning Collective is looking for queer and trans folks who have accessed harm reduction services to produce short voice recordings (1-3 minutes) narrating their harm reduction experiences, both good and bad. These voice recordings will be used to support our training and capacity building work by and for LGB/TGNC+ communities. They will also be animated and posted on our social media. Learn more here.

+ RESOURCE: COIN – a free healthcare program for sex workers in an affirming, supportive environment. COIN offers: primary medical care, sexual health HIV treatment & prevention, transgender health GYN care, and more! COIN is named in honor of Cecilia Gentili, a community leader and trans activist.

+ RESOURCE: Check out NASTAD’s new resource: Covid-19 Vaccine: Guidance for Syringe Services Programs, Health Departments, and People Who Use Drugs

+ TRAININGS: Want more harm reduction trainings? You got 'em! Register for these upcoming trainings, webinars, and panels!

Fri, 4/16, 12 PM ET: Hep C Basics for NYC Harm Reductionists and/or hep C peers/workers! Join us for this 2 hour training we will provide basic information for health and human service providers about hepatitis C.
Sat, 4/17, 10 AM PT: This Saturday, join People of Color Psychedelic Collective to explore how our BIPOC community has been impacted by Covid-19, drug use, & harm reduction. Come explore the lessons of the Covid-19 crisis & how we can continue to support each other during this time. Panelists include Mary Sanders and two of NHRC's Charles Hawthorne and Frances Fu! RSVP here.
Mon, 4/19, 12 PM PT: Treatment Not Criminalization: Why clinicians should care about drug policy. Hear from NHRC's Capacity Building Manager, Charles Hawthorne and Drug Policy Alliance’s Theshia Naidoo. Noon PT. RSVP here.
Wed, 4/21, 3 PM PT: Drug Policy Alliance just released a new report on the impact of the overdose crisis among Latinx communities in CA. Join us, DPA CA, and William C. Velasquez Institute as we make sense of the trends and what we can do about it. RSVP here.
Fri, 4/23, 12 PM ET: Join the Learning Lighthouse Collective to bring together harm reduction organizations and organizations that serve the LGB/TGNC+ community and reimagine what safety and care looks like for queer and trans folks who use drugs. This is a monthly drop in meeting to share about work you're doing and would like to do to support LGB/TGNC+ folks who use drugs! RSVP here.
Wed, 4/28, 4-5:30 PM ET: Join Faith in Harm Reduction for their next Roundtable - Grief and Harm Reduction

+ ICYMI: Hacking//Hustling hosted great panels throughout the last two weeks on different topics relating to sex work and sex work organizing. And don’t miss this great resource on doxxing harm reduction for sex workers.

+ ICYMI: Shira Hassan on Harm Reduction, Abolition and Social Work: Reflections on 25 Years of Resistance and Cooptation.

''I need you to take a pledge. Every time you have a conversation about this critical life saving strategy, about this love letter from our ancestors, that you remember and name that Harm Reduction was started by people in the sex trade, by drug users, by street-based people, by trans people, by activists, by BIPOC organizers who wanted to reflect our resilience intergenerationally, from beyond, all the time. They wanted us to remember that we have everything that we need to survive in our relationships and in our commitment to getting us all free. And so every time you talk about Harm Reduction from now on, I ask that you remember that this was not invented by social workers, this was not invented by public health, this is something that we own fully by our lineage, by our ancestry, and by the mandate that we're working with as people who believe in collective liberation, to reflect back our resilience to past, present and future generations.''

+ RESOURCE: Are you or someone you know doing Harm Reduction work in one of these states? Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, or Wyoming? We want to connect with you! Our team is committed to offering capacity building and support for states that lack a legal framework for harm reduction programs. We'll be offering *paid* opportunities to chat with our team over the next several months. Fill out the survey and don’t forget to share with awesome Harm Reductionists in your network!

+ OFFICE HOURS: Join us next Wednesday for Office Hours: Strategies for Scaling Up Naloxone Distribution, 4/21 4-5:30 PM ET, as we dive into the question: How are we implementing high saturation models of naloxone distribution in our communities?

Panelists: Barrot Lambdin, RTI International

Lynn Wenger, RTI International

Paul LaKosky, Dave PurchaseProject

Emy Martinez, IDEA Exchange

Sara Bowen-Lasisi, Phoenix Center

Braunz Courtney, HEPPAC

Moderator: Savannah O’Neill

+ CALIFORNIA HARM REDUCTION PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT: We love The Spahr Center! The Spahr Center provides an array of services to support the LGBTQ+ community, people living with and impacted by HIV, and people who use drugs in Marin County, CA. Read more about The Sparh Center and share!

+ Come work with us! — Development Coordinator, Organizational Development Director

+ Positive Women's Network — Organizing Director, Finance and Operations Manager

+ NASTAD — Associate, Drug User Health, Manager, Drug User Health

Hiring? Send us a note about open positions in harm reduction to [email protected] to have a job post shared here.

You're receiving this e-mail because you're a colleague providing services, research, advocacy, or other supports for people who use drugs.

National Harm Reduction Coalition
243 Fifth Avenue
Box 529
New York, NY 10016
United States

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