Harm Reduction Hacks in Focus: Space Hacks
Space Management—Fixed Site Specific
There are 6 hacks in this section
Managing Fixed Sites with Intention and Care
Every room is a message—make sure yours says welcome, safety, and respect
Fixed-site harm reduction spaces are made up of many moving parts—lounges, bathrooms, lockers, laundry rooms, and more. Each space comes with its own challenges, expectations, and opportunities for care. This section offers grounded tips from long-time harm reduction workers on how to prep a site before doors open, manage shared spaces with calm and consistency, and reduce conflict through clear communication and mutual respect. Whether you’re building systems from scratch or tuning up what already exists, these hacks are designed to keep things flowing and community-focused.
Hacks for Pre-Service Prep in Fixed Sites
Posted in Space Management—Fixed Site Specific.
A well-prepared site sets the tone for the day and helps everything run more smoothly. Whether it’s organising supplies, tidying the space, or checking in with the community, taking time before opening ensures that both staff and participants feel supported.
Hacks for Waiting Room or Lounge Management
Posted in Space Management—Fixed Site Specific.
Waiting areas are often the first part of a service space that people experience, so setting a calm, welcoming tone matters. A few simple practices—like clear signage, consistent expectations, and light refreshments—can help reduce tension and support a respectful environment.
Hacks For Bathroom & Shower Management
Posted in Space Management—Fixed Site Specific.
Bathrooms and showers are essential services in many harm reduction spaces—but they also come with unique safety, privacy, and accessibility considerations. Creating clear expectations, preparing for medical emergencies, and designing with compassion can help ensure these spaces remain safe, dignified, and functional for everyone who uses them.
Hacks for Laundry Management
Posted in Space Management—Fixed Site Specific.
Laundry access can be a vital part of supporting dignity, health, and comfort—especially for people navigating unstable housing. With a few clear guidelines and the right supplies, laundry services can run smoothly while remaining welcoming and respectful.
Hacks for Locker Management
Posted in Space Management—Fixed Site Specific.
Lockers can offer a rare sense of security and stability for people who carry their belongings with them. To keep the system fair and functional, it’s important to have clear expectations, consistent rules, and a plan for managing demand.
Notes About Clinical Space Management and OD Prevention Spaces
Posted in Space Management—Fixed Site Specific.
Some harm reduction spaces require specialised knowledge, regulations, and infrastructure that go beyond the scope of these general tips. Clinical spaces and overdose prevention sites in particular involve complex planning, staffing, and compliance considerations.
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"Opponent’s of syringe service programs and harm reduction in general typically remark that it “sends the wrong message.” The message they are referring to is, “We love you and want you to be safe.”
Christopher Abert -
"The conflict between the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud is the central dialectic of psychological trauma."
Judith Lewis Herman -
"We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say "It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem." Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes."
Fred Rogers -
"There isn’t a way things should be. There’s just what happens, and what we do."
Terry Pratchett -
“As always, be transparent with participants about what you have, what you don't have, and/or what's for only special populations.”
-
“One doesn’t have to operate with great malice to do great harm. The absence of empathy and understanding are sufficient.”
Charles M. Blow -
“The bottom line is that overdose prevention sites — which exist in more than 100 cities around the world — offer compassion for fellow human beings,”
Mayor Jim Kenney -
"Between an uncontrolled escalation and passivity, there is a demanding road of responsibility that we must follow. "
Dominique de Villepin -
"We have to be ready and able to reach clients where they are, not where we want them to be”
-
"One of the problems that arises with the term “people who use drugs” is that it is intentionally pluralistic in its embrace of ALL people who use drugs—from recreationally to deeply problematically. This makes using it to talk about the things that especially impact people who are using drugs problematically very difficult. "
-
“Boundaries help me to give all that I can and still come back tomorrow.”
-
"Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything - anger, anxiety, or possessions - we cannot be free."
Thich Nhat Hanh -
“People who cause harm are often also survivors of harm. If we want to address the roots of violence, we have to honour both truths.”
Danielle Sered -
"If you question harm reduction works, I can’t help but wonder if you have ever actually seen what happens in these spaces. We promote health safety and dignity, and it works. It is simple, beautiful and changes peoples lives."
Haven Wheelock -
"Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone."
Fred Rogers -
“Many of the harm reduction leaders interviewed talked about the importance of not having too many policies and involving your participants in the development of policies—especially those that impact them directly.”
-
“In general, it is antithetical to harm reduction best practices to call the police except under the most extreme life-or-death circumstances.”
-
"Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone."
Fred Rogers -
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
Audre Lorde -
"Not all traumas are the result of what happened to you; some are the result of what didn’t happen for you"
Gabor Maté -
"One of the most important things we can do as advocates is to define & make concrete the vague terms used by politicians. What does it mean to “take a public health approach”? What you mean when you say “treatment”? Politicians rarely know. Our job is to make it plain for them."
Jonathan Giftos -
“Identify five things that you can see, four things that you can touch, three things that you can hear, two things that you can smell and one thing that you can taste.”
-
"I describe my experiences as a nurse volunteer at the overdose prevention site as “being in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.” And that’s exactly where I want to be as a nurse: working outside the system to make a real difference in people’s lives, showing up in the community when it matters most and challenging rules that directly contribute to the overdose crisis, and exposing government inaction by being part of the solution on the ground. For me, this is what nursing is all about."
Marilou Gagnon -
We need to play that game where we require politicians to finish every sentence denouncing supervised injection facilities with the phrase, “and that is why I think injecting alone in a McDonald’s bathroom is better.”
Jonathan Giftos -
“When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That's the message he is sending.”
Thich Nhat Hanh -
"What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured."
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. -
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
Martin Luther King Jr. -
"We don’t need to professionalize the people closest to the crisis. We need to recognise them as professionals already.”
Jules Netherland
- "Opponent’s of syringe service programs and harm reduction in general typically remark that it “sends the wrong message.” The message they are referring to is, “We love you and want you to be safe.”
- "The conflict between the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud is the central dialectic of psychological trauma."
- "We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say "It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem." Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes."
- "There isn’t a way things should be. There’s just what happens, and what we do."
- “As always, be transparent with participants about what you have, what you don't have, and/or what's for only special populations.”
- “One doesn’t have to operate with great malice to do great harm. The absence of empathy and understanding are sufficient.”
- “The bottom line is that overdose prevention sites — which exist in more than 100 cities around the world — offer compassion for fellow human beings,”
- "Between an uncontrolled escalation and passivity, there is a demanding road of responsibility that we must follow. "
- "We have to be ready and able to reach clients where they are, not where we want them to be”
- "One of the problems that arises with the term “people who use drugs” is that it is intentionally pluralistic in its embrace of ALL people who use drugs—from recreationally to deeply problematically. This makes using it to talk about the things that especially impact people who are using drugs problematically very difficult. "
- “Boundaries help me to give all that I can and still come back tomorrow.”
- "Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything - anger, anxiety, or possessions - we cannot be free."
- “People who cause harm are often also survivors of harm. If we want to address the roots of violence, we have to honour both truths.”
- "If you question harm reduction works, I can’t help but wonder if you have ever actually seen what happens in these spaces. We promote health safety and dignity, and it works. It is simple, beautiful and changes peoples lives."
- "Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone."
- “Many of the harm reduction leaders interviewed talked about the importance of not having too many policies and involving your participants in the development of policies—especially those that impact them directly.”
- “In general, it is antithetical to harm reduction best practices to call the police except under the most extreme life-or-death circumstances.”
- "Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone."
- “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
- "Not all traumas are the result of what happened to you; some are the result of what didn’t happen for you"
- "One of the most important things we can do as advocates is to define & make concrete the vague terms used by politicians. What does it mean to “take a public health approach”? What you mean when you say “treatment”? Politicians rarely know. Our job is to make it plain for them."
- “Identify five things that you can see, four things that you can touch, three things that you can hear, two things that you can smell and one thing that you can taste.”
- "I describe my experiences as a nurse volunteer at the overdose prevention site as “being in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.” And that’s exactly where I want to be as a nurse: working outside the system to make a real difference in people’s lives, showing up in the community when it matters most and challenging rules that directly contribute to the overdose crisis, and exposing government inaction by being part of the solution on the ground. For me, this is what nursing is all about."
- We need to play that game where we require politicians to finish every sentence denouncing supervised injection facilities with the phrase, “and that is why I think injecting alone in a McDonald’s bathroom is better.”
- “When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That's the message he is sending.”
- "What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured."
- "Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
- "We don’t need to professionalize the people closest to the crisis. We need to recognise them as professionals already.”