“Harm reduction is on the front lines [of drug overdose] but we have to argue for our existence and the lives of the people we serve. That is unconscionable.”
Tag: Tessie Castillo
How Harm Reductionists Keep the Faith
Morning to evening, nearly seven days a week, Karen and Michelle endure taxing commutes to bring harm reduction services to drug users in North Carolina’s hard-hit, rural areas.
How Fentanyl Hysteria Leads to Harmful and Ineffective Drug Laws
We might as well accept reality and direct our efforts towards making drugs less deadly, in the same way that we accept the risks of driving a car but also try to prevent accidents.
Fighting the Drug War in Budget Motels and Prisons
On paper, Nicole’s job is to deliver opioid overdose prevention supplies and make referrals, but in reality, she is a health care worker, mental health counselor, legal advisor, social worker, confidant and more. Every morning Nicole Reynolds sits down at her kitchen table with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and a phone… Continue reading Fighting the Drug War in Budget Motels and Prisons
A Space for Grief and Growth: The 12th National Harm Reduction Conference
When we demand answers without a deep, authentic understanding of the problem, we wind up putting band-aids on gangrene. As I wandered into the opening plenary at the 12th National Harm Reduction Conference in New Orleans last week, something felt off. It wasn’t just the four white-robed women on stage, solemn and elegant in contrast… Continue reading A Space for Grief and Growth: The 12th National Harm Reduction Conference
Bringing Harm Reduction to Haywood County
The man in the camouflage shirt who emerges from the cabin is drawn and thin with circles under his eyes. He tenses at my presence, especially once Jeremy tells him I am there to write an article. It is a cloudy evening and mosquitoes patrol in full force as Nancy Bauman and I pick our… Continue reading Bringing Harm Reduction to Haywood County
Pawn Stars: The Opioid Edition
If you are at risk for overdose or use needles to shoot up drugs, come see Brandi and she’ll take care of you – no frills, no questions, no judgment. On a cold November morning in 2015, Brandi Tanner and her husband stopped to pick up their 10-year-old niece from her grandmother’s house. “Grandma’s sleeping… Continue reading Pawn Stars: The Opioid Edition
Dan Bigg, The Godfather Of Harm Reduction, Has Passed Away
Bigg, who co-founded the largest community-based naloxone distribution network in the country, was 59 years old. On Tuesday, the harm reduction community lost a godfather. Dan Bigg, co-founder and Executive Director of the Chicago Recovery Alliance, died suddenly at home at 59 years old. Bigg started his journey to harm reduction in the mid-1980s working… Continue reading Dan Bigg, The Godfather Of Harm Reduction, Has Passed Away
How One Rural Community Is Fighting to Save Lives from Drug Overdose
“I don’t want another parent to pick out a casket. I don’t want another grandparent to have to look a grandchild in the eye and say ‘your momma is gone.’” The Driftwood Motel on Oak Island, North Carolina, has seen better days. All around it, pastel-colored vacation homes with kitschy names like After Dune Delight… Continue reading How One Rural Community Is Fighting to Save Lives from Drug Overdose
Harm Reduction: How to Engage Parent Advocates Effectively
I’ve had to correct parents whose first line to any policymaker is “my kid was from a good family, not just some homeless person.” “I never thought I would end up here, but here I am. I choose to create beauty in the space left in this world that my daughter used to occupy” –… Continue reading Harm Reduction: How to Engage Parent Advocates Effectively