Harm reduction: meeting people where they’re at

Evergreen Health, first established in 1983 under the name Buffalo AIDS Task Force (BAFT), was formed by a group of volunteers to address the emerging HIV and AIDS crisis. Though not much was known about HIV and AIDS at the time, the members of BATF knew from the CDC’s findings and from lived experience that many of the people who were most vulnerable to HIV transmissions were people who were already underserved by the healthcare industry, including people who injected substances.

Since these early days in Evergreen history, we’ve prioritized caring for the health of people who use drugs. We follow a harm reduction model of care, not just for our patients who use drugs, but for all our services and programs. This means that we provide the tools and services needed for our patients to reach their goals, but we don’t push them to do or be anything in order to come to Evergreen, and we empower our patients to make their own health and wellness decisions.

Emma Fabian, associate vice president of harm reduction at Evergreen, explains that the harm reduction model of caring for people who use drugs is about “providing care to people in an effort to reduce the potentially negative consequences of a behavior like drug use. And that involves having staff and services who can meet them where they’re at.”

Evergreen’s harm reduction center aims to care for the health of people who use drugs, prevent overdose deaths and disease transmissions, and help people who want to stabilize, reduce or cease their drug use to meet those goals. We do this through many approaches, including:

• syringe exchange program locations in Buffalo and Jamestown, where people who use drugs can access new syringes, safely dispose of used syringes, and get connected to other harm reduction and medical services
• a mobile syringe exchange van that serves East and West Buffalo and rural areas of Western New York (call or text 716.482.9633 to find out where the syringe exchange van is in WNY)
• safer injection support
• access to Naloxone, Fentanyl test strips, Xylazine test strips, and instructions on using all
• mental health counseling
• drop-in center where people who use drugs can shower, do laundry, eat snacks and get connected to other harm reduction services
• medication assisted treatment for stabilizing, reducing or ceasing opioid use
• HIV and hepatitis C testing and treatment
• anti-stigma and harm reduction education advocacy
• drug user health coalition, where people who formerly or currently use drugs meet to share community and work together on harm reduction advocacy projects

Though Evergreen offers many services for people who use drugs, what sets us apart is our team and how they care for our patients. Our providers treat people who use drugs with unconditionally non-judgmental, educational, affirming and understanding care.

To learn more about our harm reduction services, drop in to the harm reduction center at 206 S. Elmwood in Buffalo or 320 Prather Ave in Jamestown, or call us at 716.482.9633 (choose option 2).

40 years of harm reduction at Evergreen

2023 marks Evergreen’s 40^th anniversary. Each month this year, we’re taking a look back at where we’ve come from to better see where we are now.

The following is a brief history of Evergreen Health’s harm reduction work. For more, see Evergreen’s historical timeline page.

2002: AIDS Community Services (later renamed Evergreen Health) and Project REACH, WNY’s syringe exchange and harm reduction provider, collaborate to open the Urban Services Center on corner of Bailey and Kensington on Buffalo’s East Side.

2008: Evergreen’s Prevention Education Team develops the Life Changes program, a drop-in center designed to create safe space for men of color who have sex with men and engage them in HIV testing, harm reduction and health care services.

2015: Evergreen Health is licensed by the NYS Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) for outpatient treatment services, the first program licensed in NYS using a harm reduction model.

Evergreen purchases a mobile van which is custom-designed for syringe exchange, HIV and HCV rapid testing services.

Evergreen’s Syringe Exchange Program receives NYSDOH approval to open a satellite in Jamestown, to be located in the Mental Health Association building at 31 Water Street.

2017: Evergreen receives funding from NYSDOH to provide low-threshold medication assisted treatment co-located with syringe exchange and other harm reduction services.

2018: Evergreen sponsors a regional conference on harm reduction for area substance use professionals.

The Harm Reduction Mobile Unit serves 317 people with 46,779 syringes dispersed and 69,605 syringes collected.

2022: Evergreen’s Center for Behavioral Health opens a new Drop-In Center on the first floor of the Watkins Building to provide low-barrier support, shower and laundry services, and other basic necessities for people who use drugs and are at risk for overdose as an extension of our Harm Reduction Center.

Evergreen Health, founded in 1983 under the name AIDS Community Services, has been providing unconditional care to underserved communities for 40 years.
Help us continue to provide unconditional medical, behavioral and supportive services for another 40 years by becoming a donor today.