May 1, 2021

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

+ NEWS: Reimagine Support Press Conference — We believe Black and brown parents love and care for their children and want to do what is best for them. Child “protective” services is part of the carceral state and causes a lot of harm in our communities. It’s not designed to prevent nor heal the harms that Black and brown families have experienced for decades. Join this webinar featuring Nathalia Gibbs, LGBTQ Coordinator at National Harm Reduction Coalition, calling on New York to shift power away from institutions that criminalize and surveil to investing in community-based systems of support. Join the press conference on Monday, May 3 at 10 am EST at http://bit.ly/ReimagineSupport

+ SIGN ON LETTER: Oppose S.B.607 - Substance Use Disorder Safety Act — Sign on to join the North Carolina AIDS Action Network in our opposition to S.B.607, which includes provisions that would implement harmful changes to NC's syringe exchange laws, which will have a disastrous impact on syringe exchange programs. Syringe exchange programs are vital in reducing the negative health risks associated with drug use and must be protected in our state.

+ ARTICLE: The Price of Saving a Life: Naloxone’s Cost Barrier in the US — In this new piece in Filter, NHRCs Associate Director of San Francisco Programs Kristen Marshall shares openly how naloxone access is working, and not working in the harm reduction landscape The DOPE Project gets its Narcan, meanwhile, through a state-funded naloxone distribution program. “There’s no way we’d be able to afford that [without the program]. The fact that not every state has that kind of access is a problem,” Marshall said. “In places like West Virginia, where we’re seeing the highest rates of overdose deaths and HIV, that’s not available.” 

+ CONFERENCE: Rural youth and youth workers to the front! Rural community building is critical during COVID-19 and beyond in every state across the country. The folks who make rural communities vibrant have long requested a national platform for gathering, shared compassion, mutual aid, and more. Register today for Point Source Youth’s First Annual Rural Conference on Ending Youth Homelessness - May 18 and 19. Sliding scale registration available.

+ WEBINAR: Fighting Corporate Power with Deeper Democracy: A Virtual Panel Discussion— During this exciting conversation on Monday, May 3, hear from powerhouse leaders who are building our communities’ capacity to fight corporate influence in government and demand a say in the decisions that affect our everyday lives. The webinar will discuss two reports: People-Powered Budgets: A Case for Democratizing Local Budgets to Transform our Cities and Care for Our Communities, and Unmasking Corporate Interference.

+ CONFERENCE: Jewish Psychedelic Summit — What is the connection between psychedelics and Judaism? Join a global conversation on May 3rd exploring psychedelics, Judaism, ritual, healing and spirituality. Bring your questions!

+ VIDEO RESOURCE: Natives for Narcan Video — Watch, like, and share this beautiful Narcan training created by Bakersfield American Indian Health Project.

+ POLICY BRIEF: Redressing Inequities in America’s Drug Policies: An Evidence-Grounded Call for Bold Action — While the Biden-Harris Administration has an unprecedented mandate to advance equity, this cannot be achieved without bold action in #drugpolicy. In their new brief, the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation and the Health in Justice Action Lab outline key actions for the United States:

+ FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: NACCHO is pleased to announce a funding opportunity to promote monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of syringe services programs (SSPs) and support the use of data for SSP program improvement. With support from CDC and in partnership with the University of Washington, NACCHO will provide funding (up to $98,750) and technical assistance to local health department (LHD) and community-based SSPs to strengthen M&E efforts and systems. Applications are due May 21, 2021 at 11:59 PM PT. Access the Request for Applications here. Register for an informational webinar, to be held on Monday, April 26 at 2 PM ET, here.

+ TRAINING:  Cultural Humility and Harm Reduction — Friday, May 21st from 10 AM - 12 PM PDT. This online training seeks to create space for reflection and conversation with participants about the concept of cultural humility with the goal of initiating and sustaining a culture of continuous learning, reflection, and humility while helping training attendees explore and understand the following: what is the concept of cultural humility, why is it relevant to harm reduction and why it is a needed practice in our day to day work/life.

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

+ SURVEY: The P+A team would like to give a HUGE shoutout to everyone who took the time to fill out our 10 Target State Survey. To date we have received over 90 responses! This wouldn’t have been possible without the lovely staff at NHRC who made sure the survey got out to their networks so OUR community voices could be heard. We are still looking to hear from more folks specifically in Arkansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Oklahoma and will be extending our survey deadline until May 7th for people who use drugs, people who engage in sex work, and Harm Reduction advocates in those states. 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!

Do you want to end overdose and the harm caused by racialized drug policies? Do you want to work for a dynamic organization committed to promoting the health and dignity of individuals and communities who are affected by drug use? National Harm Reduction Coalition is hiring for the following roles:

+ Organizational Development Director

+ Development Coordinator

+ NASTAD — Associate + 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.