#syringeaccess

[harmreduction]

The latest Narcotica podcast sits down down with Harm Reduction Coalition's, Eliza Wheeler. Eliza has been working in harm reduction, distributing syringes & naloxone directly to people who use drugs for over two decades, & reflects on how easily the bedrock values and principles of the movement can be compromised and co-opted by political forces when it goes mainstream. Eliza talks about how funds for naloxone end up in the wrong hands, how syringe access deals with NIMBYism, & how the heart of her harm reduction philosophy is bodily autonomy.

Listen here.

[harmreduction]

CALL TO ACTION! California legislators will soon be doing the final vote on a budget proposal that would fund a paid staff position in all authorized syringe access programs!

We need your help pushing it through, please call the Senators and Assemblymember's on the Budget Conference Committee:

- Assemblymember Phil Ting (SF) [phone] - Senator Richard Roth (Riverside) [phone] - Senator Nancy Skinner (Alameda) [phone] - Senator Holly Mitchell (LA) [phone]

Here's a sample of what you could say:

"Hi, my name is ______ and I live/work in _____. I'm calling to ask ___[name of legislator]___ to support the budget request led by Harm Reduction Coalition and Drug Policy Alliance to fund Harm Reduction Care Navigators.

This is important because syringe service programs are on the front lines providing care to people who need it most and many of these programs have little money or are all volunteer. These funds would make it possible to help connect people to treatment and reduce overdose deaths in California. Please support this budget request!"

[harmreduction]

Save the Date: 13th National Harm Reduction Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, October 17-20, 2020  

[harmreduction]

For #supportdontpunish today, please join us in calling on Congress to fund syringe access. Now, more than ever, we NEED YOUR VOICE to help fund harm reduction: http://harmreduction.org/action-center/syringe-access/

[harmreduction]

Interested in learning more about mobile harm reduction outreach? Check out this great video on mobile syringe access created by Aaron M. Laxton of Missouri Safe Project.  

[harmreduction]

Harm Reduction Coalition advances policies and programs that help people address the adverse effects of drug use including overdose, HIV, hepatitis C, addiction, and incarceration.

Need a good news story? Here's how Indiana Recovery Alliance, who started as a few friends doing outreach on bicycles, built a harm reduction service dedicated to giving a voice to underserved members of the community.

[harmreduction]

Today is International Harm Reduction Day. Only 1% of countries worldwide with people who inject drugs have high coverage of both Syringe Access & Medicated Assisted Treatment (MAT), which is insufficient to end AIDS & eliminate Hepatitis C by 2030. Scale up of harm reduction interventions is URGENTLY needed, both in the community & in places of detention. Here's how syringe access can work in prisons & other criminal justice settings. 

[harmreduction]

"After participation in our harm reduction service, a grown man walked out and through the lobby with tears running down his face, because he was treated with respect, and as a human being." -Angie Gray, Harm Reduction Program, West Virginia.

Read the full interview with Angie in our #amplifyinghope series, that showcases the unsung heroes of harm reduction: http://harmreduction.org/blog/amplifying-hope/