In everyday life, harm reduction is as simple as wearing a seatbelt in a car, or having a smoke alarm in your home. It’s rooted in the idea that everyone cares about their own safety and health. When it comes to drugs, harm reduction is one of the best ways of creating better outcomes for at-risk individuals and improving community health. Harm reduction is compassionate and non-judgmental and doesn’t require people to stop using drugs to access services. Because everyone is unique, harm reduction meets people where they are and respects the dignity and autonomy of those it seeks to help. It saves lives by preventing both overdose and the spread of communicable disease such as HIV and viral hepatitis. It also helps by reducing acute emergency interventions by giving people preventative strategies and tools. Harm reduction programs provide people with the means to reduce the risks of drug use and improve their health, at their own pace.
Harm reduction centers provide essential services for people who use drugs such as health education, sterile supplies, fentanyl test strips, and naloxone to prevent overdose. Other services may include wound care, medication for opioid use disorder, and access to housing programs and stabilizing resources. By offering practical information and advice, harm reduction programs allow people to take their health into their own hands, one small change at a time.
Harm reduction providers care about people who use drugs, and welcome anyone in need of assistance. They understand the challenges faced by people who use drugs, often through harm reduction workers’ direct experience of substance use. Harm reduction’s compassionate approach is proven to be more successful than abstinence-based programs at connecting clients to medication-assisted treatment, recovery, mental health care, and other vital health and social services. Harm reduction providers give people who use drugs the opportunity to take important steps towards a safer and healthier future.
Harm reduction centers provide essential services for people who use drugs such as health education, sterile supplies, fentanyl test strips, and naloxone to prevent overdose. Other services may include wound care, medication for opioid use disorder, and access to housing programs and stabilizing resources. By offering practical information and advice, harm reduction programs allow people to take their health into their own hands, one small change at a time.
Harm reduction providers care about people who use drugs, and welcome anyone in need of assistance. They understand the challenges faced by people who use drugs, often through harm reduction workers’ direct experience of substance use. Harm reduction’s compassionate approach is proven to be more successful than abstinence-based programs at connecting clients to medication-assisted treatment, recovery, mental health care, and other vital health and social services. Harm reduction providers give people who use drugs the opportunity to take important steps towards a safer and healthier future.
If you use drugs, harm reduction is here to help you.
See our resources page to learn more about where you can find harm reduction services near you, today.
See our resources page to learn more about where you can find harm reduction services near you, today.