Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The politics, finances, and cultural values of the modern world has limited the social safety net for people who use drugs. These people are often pushed to the edges of society to fend for themselves without proper education, healthcare, or community support. This marginalization has been proven to spread of infectious diseases, disempower low-income communities, and decrease the quality of life for society as a whole.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Training and Capacity Building
HRC provides training and capacity building services focused on substance and sexual harm reduction. Our trainings include overdose and disease prevention for people that use drugs, professional development for service providers, and public health education for our local communities.
Education and Health Materials
HRC creates and disseminates educational materials and health supplies for our network of national public health partners, including AIDS services, syringe exchanges, and recovery centers. Through this service, we aim to increase access to quality healthcare, education for healthcare providers, and empowerment for people who use drugs.
Harm Reduction Conference
Harm Reduction Coalition’s biannual national harm reduction conference is the only multidisciplinary gathering dedicated to improving the health and well-being of people who use drugs or have a history of drug use.
Policy and Advocacy
HRC works to eliminate disparities in health care and human services for drug users and their communities. We advocate for the acceptance and expansion of harm reduction approaches necessary for sound public health practices. Harm Reduction Coalition seeks the inclusion of drug users in policy discussions to create change in the political arena. Our campaigns include the expansion of syringe access, overdose prevention, and access to quality healthcare. We aim to reduce the stigma faced by our most marginalized populations.
Where we work
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Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Harm Reduction Coalition recognizes that the War on Drugs has failed and offers an effective and compassionate alternative. Instead of stigmatizing and marginalizing those who need help the most, we aim to promote the health and dignity of individuals and communities impacted by drug use. Our efforts advance harm reduction policies, practices, and programs that address the adverse effects of drug use including overdose, HIV, hepatitis C, addiction, and incarceration. Recognizing that social inequality and injustice magnify drug-related harm and limit the voice of our most vulnerable communities, we work to uphold every individual’s right to health and well-being and their competence to participate in the public policy dialogue.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
At Harm Reduction Coalition, we employ harm reduction strategies to promote the wellbeing of those who use drugs. Harm reduction is a practical public health philosophy that aims to reduce the negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm Reduction is also a movement for social justice built on a belief in, and respect for, the rights of people who use drugs.
At HRC, we believe the following are integral aspects of the harm reduction philosophy and incorporate these beliefs into all our programs and services:
-For better or worse, drug use is part of our world. We should choose to minimize its harmful effects rather than simply ignoring or condemning them. We acknowledge that some ways of using drugs are safer than others.
-Drug use is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon that encompasses a continuum of behaviors, from severe abuse to total abstinence. High quality of life does not necessarily mean the cessation of all drug use.
-Health programs and resources should be non-judgemental and non-coercive. Drug users and their communities should be empowered agents of reducing harm and thus, have a say in the health services that they utilize.
-Poverty, class, racism, social isolation, past trauma, sex-based discrimination, and other social inequalities affect people’s vulnerability to and capacity for effectively dealing with drug-related harm. Social justice plays a direct and essential role in community wellbeing.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Harm Reduction Coalition focuses on using education and advocacy to promote the wellbeing for those who use drugs and their communities. We offer a number of educational trainings and capacity building programs that cover an array of public health topics, including overdose and disease prevention for people that use drugs, professional development for healthcare providers, and methods of empowerment for vulnerable communities. Our services have been utilized by health departments, recovery centers, syringe exchange programs, community organizers, and fellow public health non-profits from across the country.
We also utilize coalition building, policy analysis, information dissemination, and direct advocacy with policymakers to achieve our goals. We pride ourselves in allowing those who use drugs to have direct involvement with the policies that affect their quality of life. Harm Reduction Coalition has been continuously involved in national and international drug policy work since 2008, and importantly is the only U.S. reform organization that has a solid relationship with the drug and health infrastructure of both the US administration and the UN system including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UNAIDS.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
At HRC, we are tackling complex systemic, cultural, and political issues. With this in mind, our progress is on-going and will take much time, labor, and resources.
However, we are proud to have successfully advocated for the partial lift on the federal ban for funding syringe access services, leading to the expansion and improvement of these programs across the United States and reduced rates of preventable disease and overdose. In HRC's lifetime, we have held over 10,000 capacity building trainings in almost all 50 states. In 2018, HRC hosted its largest national harm reduction conference to date, with over 3,000 in attendance.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Harm Reduction Coalition
Board of directorsas of 06/10/2021
Susan Sherman
Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
Mark Kinzly
Texas Overdose Naloxone Initiative
Susan Sherman
Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
Russell Barbour
Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale School of Medicine
Alex H. Kral
Urban Health Program, Research Triangle Institute International
Tino Fuentes
Corinne Green
Louisiana Trans Advocates
Dakarai Larriett
Marcia S. McIntosh
The YMCA Retirement Fund
William O. Pick
Bureau for Global Health, Office of HIV/AIDS, U.S. Agency for International Development
Nandini Pillai
Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases
Lisa Ramirez
Texas Targeted Opioid Response
Carlos Roig
Subject Matter
Julie Stampler
Hansel Tookes
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Miami
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
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Gender identity
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