Learnings from the NYS Harm Reduction Conference

Passionate harm reductionist practitioners and advocates attended the second annual New York State Harm Reduction Conference in Binghamton, NY on Monday, October 21, and Tuesday, October 22 to connect, learn and build power with community.

The conference was presented by the New York State Harm Reduction Association, a membership-based organization committed to advancing harm reduction philosophy and practice in New York State.

Evergreen Health was proud to sponsor the event to convene leading researchers, advocates, and clinical experts from across New York State and nationwide.

Check out what we learned from this year’s conference below.

How to keep harm reduction alive at organizations

Emma Fabian, associate vice president of harm reduction for Evergreen Health and co-chair of the New York State Harm Reduction Association, led an engaging discussion on how leaders from across a variety of nonprofit organizations recommend how to keep harm reduction best practices alive in the culture and policies of their organizations.

Leaders from Horizon Health Services, ACR Health, Exponents and Housingworks discussed what worked and what didn’t work at their organizations and how to best empower employees to support the community.

Among many opportunities to develop a strong harm reduction discussed note was the importance of harm reduction training in new employee orientations, in addition to ever-evolving inclusive and affirming training for employees and highlighting the importance of capacity building initiatives.

Learn more about how Evergreen Health uses a harm reduction model of care  for all our programs and services. 

The importance of peer-to-peer resource groups for people who use drugs

During this year’s conference, we learned about the effects of the ongoing opioid crisis from individuals with lived experience. Individuals with lived experiences need to be compensated appropriately for their time and dedication to supporting best harm reduction practices.

Ivette Chavez Gonzalez, Peer Outreach Navigator for Evergreen was a panelist at the conference as part of the discussion on how to best support advocates throughout the state.

Evergreen’s peer-to-peer resource group for people who use drugs gives people who use drugs in our community a space to share their wins and struggles. The Drug User Alliance also provides important feedback that informs our programs and services for people who use drugs, as well as our harm reduction advocacy efforts. Learn more by calling 716.847.2441 (press option 3).

Harm reduction defined

Tracie Gardner, Co-Director of the National Black Harm Reduction Network, best explained the definition of harm reduction during her keynote presentation about equity considerations for the future of harm reduction and substance use treatment. She shared an excerpt from Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction:

“The concept itself is surprisingly simple. Harm reduction applies the core of the Hippocratic oath – first, do no harm – to addiction treatment and drug policy… In essence, harm reduction is radical empathy. The basic idea is that regardless of whether people continue to use illegal drugs or engage in other problematic behaviors, their lives have value.”

Narcan saves lives

Carrying Narcan or Naloxone can save a life. Narcan is a nasal spray used to reverse the effects of overdose from opioids.

More and more, fentanyl is being added to drugs that would otherwise not result in overdose. So, look out for yourself and others by carrying Narcan. You could save a life!

Narcan kits and Narcan training (which takes less than 10 minutes) are available free of charge at Evergreen’s harm reduction center.

The gap in harm reduction and what we can do to close it

Led in discussion by Dr. Sheila Vakharia, Deputy Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, conference attendees learned about the prevalence of substance use and substance use disorder.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 69.9 % of the U.S. population above the age of 12 have used alcohol, tobacco, nicotine products, or illicit drugs (ATOD) in the past year, yet only 1.1% received substance use disorder treatment in the past year.

Dr. Vakharia explained the current approach to drug prevention and drug treatment created the “harm reduction gap” in the continuum of care and how a shift is necessary from the “all or nothing” treatment to meeting patients where they are in the stages of change.

To support communities across the country to stay safe and use harm reduction best practices to close the gap, Dr. Vakharia recommended the following interventions:

• accurate drug education and resources
• comprehensive harm reduction programs
• overdose prevention centers
• harm reduction psychotherapy
• harm reduction mutual aid
• safe supply models, including drug-checking

Evergreen follows the harm reduction model of caring for people who use drugs unconditionally, and abstinence isn’t required to receive substance use services. Learn more about how we meet people who use drugs where they are without judgment by contacting us at 716.847.2441 (press option 3).

The New York State Community Drug Checking Program

According to the New York State Department of Health Office of Drug User Health, drug checking services allow persons who use drugs to have their drugs analyzed, receive information on the context of their drugs, and, in some cases, allow for counseling or brief interventions to talk focusing on engagement, risk reduction and knowledge or education.

There are two forms of drug checking in New York State that include community drug checking which are selected drug user hubs utilizing a spectroscopy machine test strips to examine residual amounts of substances and provide the community with essential information to make informed decisions regarding potential substance use.

Another form of drug checking is Rapid Drug Analysis and Research (RaDAR), which is a mail-based model that involves partnerships with local health departments and various community stakeholders.

According to Saint Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction in the Bronx participation in the drug checking program, they felt the statewide drug checking program empowers communities through knowledge and harm reduction practices, fosters safer drug use behaviors, and promotes health equity.

Evergreen’s harm reduction center can supply you with free test strips to detect fentanyl and xylazine. Test strips are also available for free 24/7 at our two harm reduction vending machine locations. 

by Maggie Carrig, public relations specialist, Evergreen Health