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The Sugar vs. Bass Hack

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Another intangible hack offered by harm reduction leaders was the idea of what one called “sugar” and “bass”. What they meant was ways to use tone, inflection, and voice to help diffuse and reinforce the impact of enforcing community agreements or boundaries.

“Sugar” would purposely soften their words, while “bass” would drop their voice to convey firmness. Both techniques are deployed depending on the situation.

There are certain things that may not seem intuitive that, nevertheless, cleanup many harm reduction organizers felt were essential to creating harm reduction spaces and services free of escalation. These included cross-training and ”Proceduralization”.

Featured Hacks

These featured hacks highlight creative, practical solutions from harm reduction leaders on the ground. From DIY tools to clever workarounds, each one reflects the ingenuity, care, and real-world experience that keeps this movement alive. 

Hacks for Community Member Agreements

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Community member agreements are shared agreements regarding behavior expected of everyone who participates in a harm reduction site or service. The primary rule all harm reduction leaders talked about was the need to treat everyone with respect.
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Edie Springer’s Worker Stances for Clients Who Use Drugs & Harm Reduction Worker: Best Practices

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Harm reduction immediately resonated for Edie, who was herself a former drug user and methadone patient. Faced with the devastation of HIV’s impact on drug-using communities, Edie fully embraced harm reduction and trained hundreds of harm reduction workers who have carried her legacy with them. She developed these worker stances in 1996 and they have been shared among many of us in the harm reduction community for generations.
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