December 1, 2021

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

+ NEWS: Supervised Injection Sites for Drug Users to Open in New York City — New York Harm Reduction Educators (NYHRE) and Washington Heights Corner Project are merging to form OnPoint NYC and will expand syringe access programming to offer supervised injection at the current sites. As the U.S. lost more than 100,000 people to fatal overdose in the first year of the pandemic, there is more urgency for supporting evidence-based harm reduction programs like supervised consumption sites across the country. 

+ NEW RESOURCE:  Harm Reduction is Healthcare: Sustainable Funding for Harm Reduction Programs — With the U.S. reaching 100,000 overdose deaths in the first year of the pandemic, there is an urgent need for the healthcare system to fund work that is designed and driven by people who use drugs across the country. National Harm Reduction Coalition, Vital Strategies, In The Works, and Anka Consulting partnered to produce a new toolkit, including a free 90-minute e-course, a downloadable workbook for harm reduction organizations, and two educational handouts for putting that new knowledge into practice. The toolkit launches this Friday, December 3, but you can pre-register today.

Save the date, Tuesday, December 7, 4:30-5 PM EST, to join some of the co-authors of the toolkit (Dr. Kimá Taylor, MD, MPH of Anka Consulting, Taeko Frost, DrPH, MPH of In The Works, and Tracy Pugh, MHS of Vital Strategies) for a Facebook Live exploring the toolkit and how to use it. Tune in on our Facebook page.

+ GALA FOLLOW UP:  Thank you to everyone who joined our first-ever virtual gala, Liberation + Libations. Special thanks to our guests Deja Foxx, Onyx Fury, Alyesha Wise, and Murf Meyer. A key part of that event was our first Community Choice Awards and our team at National Harm Reduction Coalition made mistakes in the process of producing those awards that harmed our community. You can read our statement and apology here. 

+ NEWS:  The War on Drugs Didn’t Work. But Biden is Doubling Down on it With Fentanyl Analogs — "Ending the overdose crisis will require full drug legalization — so people can access a safe supply, with accurate information about the dosage.” Read this plea to decriminalize drugs from Maya Schenwar, co-author of Prison by Any Other Name: The Harmful Consequences of Popular Reforms.

+ CALENDAR:  Don’t miss this year’s Harm Reduction Hotties calendar. Proceeds from the calendar support Points of Distribution, Florida Harm Reduction Collective and the Peer Network of New York. 

+ TRAINING:  Hep C Medical Care and Treatment Update, Part 1 and Part 2 — Join us for a 2-part training for New York Hep C navigators on what to expect for their clients and for themselves through treatment processes. Register for part one here and register for part two here. Each 2-hour webinar in the series will review the latest advances in treatment for hepatitis C (HCV) and increase awareness of HCV Peer Workers about the overall medical care needs of people living with HCV. These classes will provide peer workers with an opportunity to reflect on a wide range of ethical issues as well as their own attitudes and beliefs about HCV treatment with the goal of building peer worker skills in motivating and engaging clients in HCV medical care and treatment. 

+ TRAINING:  HCV in Women and During Pregnancy: Challenges and Implications — Learn more about the changing epidemiology of HCV in the US, the impact of HCV on pregnancy outcomes, and the role of antiviral therapy during pregnancy from NATAP. 

+ BOOK RELEASE:  The Ways We “Monsterize” Drug Use, Pain, and People — In this excerpt from the new release On Opium: Pain, Pleasure, and Other Matters of Substance, author Carlyn Zwarenstein highlights the stigmatization of people who use drugs and the racist narratives behind prohibition. 

+ ACTION:  Immediately Pass Legislation to Reduce Record Number of Overdose Deaths — The Drug Policy Alliance, National Harm Reduction Coalition, People’s Action, and VOCAL-NY, along with 240 undersigned drug policy, health policy, criminal justice, civil rights, and advocacy organizations urge Congress to swiftly enact legislation to address the historic and ongoing drug overdose epidemic by supporting urgently-needed public health services, including increased access to harm reduction services and treatment. 

+ NEWS:  Florida Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Decriminalize All Drugs — A Florida lawmaker has introduced a bill to decriminalize all currently criminalized drugs, provide relief for those with existing drug-related convictions and to promote harm reduction services. Learn more about the bill in Filter.

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

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