#ref tag

What is harm reduction?

working with people who use drugs without judgement to make sure they're doing it safely. It can also apply to sex workers by ensuring they have access to tools and resources to do their job safely. Here's a more eloquent explanation and a website with loads of resources and info.

How can I get involved in harm reduction in my community?

My first bit of advice is to find a needle exchange near you (this links help for finding exchanges in: USA (includes Hawai'i and Puerto Rico), another USA Specific, in the UK, Canada, Thailand, and here's a global report from 2022). This goes doubly so if you have no experience working in harm reduction or with vulnerable and marginalized populations like unhoused folks. You'll want to shadow people who've been working with these folks before; you learn a lot of soft skills (like setting and enforcing boundaries, how to communicate in a way that people will trust). Depending on where you live, carrying and distributing needles may be a legal grey area or illegal unless you're part of a program, so you will want that legal protection if/when you get stopped by cops. You will want the support network that comes of struggling together. You will want the advice and wisdom of people who've been doing this longer than you. You will want the fresh perspective of new faces on the scene. My second advice is to educate yourself. It's great that so many people are getting involved in harm redux, but you have to read/listen to a lot of stuff to broaden your perspective. You have got to be educated about transmissible diseases, esp the ones that people who use drugs are most at risk of contracting. You should know basic first aid. You should know how to use Narcan. You should know the resources in your community like free clinics, food pantries, homeless resources, and other social services to point people to.

What if there's no needle exchange in my current community?

Yay! You get the pleasure of building that bullshit from the ground up. I don't envy you, but I recommend to find other people to help you with it. You can order needles online and start going into your communities and finding where the need is. here are some resources that are going to help you: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bookmark and read all of them. I don't care if you think they don't apply to you. I reread them regularly. You will too.

How do I become a street medic?

Get some fucking medical training. Don't care if it's Wilderness First Responder, or something else, you need medical training and it can't just be a basic ass first aid course. You can supplement with free resources like Stop The Bleed and youtube help, but you need to either shadow/apprentice under a trained medic or have other training like EMS, WFR, etc. You should not be attempting to provide street medicine in a disaster setting without prior training. Riot Medicine Guide Demonstrator's Guide to Gunshot Wounds Virtual Street Medic Training | Protest Health and Safety (with ASL interpretation) ^these are supplemental resources that I myself (certified paramedic) review regularly. They are not adequate replacement for medical training.

How do I get involved in my community?

beloved fucking google some shit. I say that with kindness. When I first got to where I currently am I started looking for local Food Not Bombs, queer events, other groups, and messaged them on instagram with "how can I help. What do you need." Some people I never heard back from. The most critical ingredient is time. The second most critical ingredient is you. You must be willing to go out again and again and find people, because chances are there's someone doing work already and they'd love another hand or pair of hands. Conduct yourself respectfully; hold people in grace but at a distance to avoid the drama that often tears apart formations. Ground yourself in compassion, and not superiority or a need to be the best. Be ready to become tired, and stand back up again after sufficient rest.

not questions but helpful resources:

Street Medic Handbook (from Occupy Chicago 2012)

Surviving a Pandemic, by Crimethinc

Protestor Health and Safety Handouts/Educational Materials

Tactics for fighting back against gangstalking

here's the shit I get up to:

Kaon City Medics