October 15, 2021

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

+ CONFERENCE: Save the date for the upcoming Black Harm Reduction Network Conference, Dec 9 and Dec 14, 2021. Join the two day conference and working meeting to dive into centering racial equity across the harm reduction framework, including in drug policy, and criminal justice; elevating the history and current role of Black people in the movement; and identifying and advancing recommendations to reduce the harms of these intersecting systems on Black people and other marginalized groups. More info and RSVP here.

The Black Harm Reduction Network 2 Day Conference. Black Harm Reduction = Black Wellness. Day 1 >> December 9, 2021 12:00-3:00 ET Day 2 >> December 14, 2021 12:00 - 3: 00 PM ET Presented by: The Black Harm Reduction Network, No Heath No Justice, and Legal Action Center

+ ANNOUNCEMENT: Third Wave Fund launched the Accountable Futures Fund for transformative justice, restorative justice, and community accountability. The fund supports “communities, organizations, and movements led by young BIPOC cis and trans women, and queer, trans, and gender non conforming people to navigate conflict and harm in ways that decrease the power of carceral and state systems.”

Our November 20, 2021 Liberation + Libations Gala is coming up quick!

Get Your Gala Ticket Now!

+ EVENT: Tune in Oct 17th 8PM EST for Lysistrata’s webinar focusing on caring for sex workers’ health in clinical settings, sex work stigma, clinical provider inherent biases & the impact on sex workers access to care AND actual services provided & more! Register here.

+ EVENT: Join the National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project (NATAP) for Key Considerations for HCV Elimination in the U.S. on Friday, October 22, 2021 at 12:30 pm ET with Andrew Talal, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine at SUNY University at Buffalo.

+ ARTICLE: The Hospital Occupation that Changed Public Health Care — Learn more about how The Young Lords took over Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx on July 14, 1970 to demand accessible, quality health care for all. The Young Lords’ story is part of the history of radical harm reduction and drug user organizing and this recent feature in The New York Times offers a solid primer.

+EVENT: Join Drug Policy Nerds for the October Drug Researchers’ Roundtable. Researchers will discuss their findings on an unsanctioned supervised consumption site in the U.S. Register here for the event on Thursday, October 28 from 4:30 - 6 pm ET.

Join the National Harm Reduction Coalition and the SUSTAIN Wellbeing COMPASS Coordinating Center for Southern Foundational Fridays - a space to dialogue and learn about the Harm Reduction movement built on the belief in and respect for the rights of people who use drugs. Sept 24: Harm Reduction 101 Oct 8: History of Harm Reduction Oct 22: History of HR in the South Nov 5: Racial Equity Time: 10AM-12PM CST 11AM-1PM EST Register at bitly.com/SouthernHR. Supported by grant funding from Gilead Sciences Inc. Gilead Sciences Inc. has had no input into the development or content of these materials.⁣

+ SOUTHERN FOUNDATIONAL FRIDAYS: Join the National Harm Reduction Coalition & the SUSTAIN Wellbeing COMPASS Coordinating Center for Southern Foundational Fridays - a space to dialogue and learn about the Harm Reduction movement built on the belief in and respect for the rights of people who use drugs. Sign up at bit.ly/SouthernHR for upcoming sessions on October 22, and November 5.

+ ARTICLE: "We were maybe not going to save the world, but we were going to save each other.” How Disabled Mutual Aid Is Different Than Abled Mutual Aid by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha.

+ PODCAST: Bodies Podcast followed around NHRC's Harm Reduction Resource Coordinator, Lill Prosperino, for a few days exploring harm reduction in West Virginia. Listen now!

Illustrated digital image of Lill Prosperino with the mountains in the background, all in blue gray tones. Art by Neka King.

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

Become a Harm Reduction Champion Today!

+ WIN: People incarcerated in New York state will soon have access to medication assisted treatment (MAT / MOUD) and the state has moved to decriminalize and expand access to syringes. Learn more in this VOCAL-NY announcement, which acknowledges the decade-plus of organizing and building power that led to this move within the state and the implications of the two bills.

+ WIN: The California Legislature has passed AB 1344, which was a breakthrough victory in a struggle against opponents who aimed to use CEQA environmental legislation to ban syringe services in the state. Together with Drug Policy Alliance, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and the CASEP Coalition, NHRC advocated for AB 1344 after multiple lawsuits and attacks shut down SSPs across the state. This law will ensure that people who use drugs in California will continue to have access to harm reduction programs and life-saving supplies. Read more in Filter.

For too long people have put harm reduction and environmental justice at odds as a means to continue the war on people who use drugs. AB 1344 stops that. California Governor Newsom just signed AB 1344!

+ WIN: California ends mandatory minimum drug sentences! Supporters of the new bill signed by Governor Newsom say it will go a long way to ending California’s system of mass incarceration. Read more from AP News.