Harm Reduction Hacks in Focus: Space Hacks
Special Issues
There are 12 hacks in this section
Rare But Real
Some challenges are rare—but they’re too important to ignore
There are special issues that come up from time to time at both fixed and mobile harm reduction sites. These are serious issues that are important to address, though they may never come up, and includes things like having both children or youth participants on site, preventing conflict between participants from escalating, hacks for what to do about calling the police to your site (HINT: Don’t do this), weapons, and various kinds of personal disclosures that, though very rare, are important enough to be aware of.
Hacks for Kids at Site / During Service Provision
Posted in Special Issues.
The first thing to know about having kids at site is that most harm reduction workers are not mandatory reporters. This is not true of harm reduction workers who also happen to have certain kinds of licensure; however most people who work at harm reduction programs are not mandatory reporters, which allows them the discretion to not report if they see children in situations that would trigger mandated reporting for some licensed professionals.
Hacks for Youth Participants
Posted in Special Issues.
Like kids at site, the first thing to know about youth participants (12-18) is that most harm reduction workers are not mandatory reporters. This is not true of harm reduction workers who also happen to have certain kinds of licensure.
Hacks for Preventing Beef
Posted in Special Issues.
Some of the most escalated situations in harm reduction spaces are conflicts between participants that are pre-existing and have nothing to do with the site.
Hacks for Avoiding Having Police at Site
Posted in Special Issues.
It should be self-evident that having law-enforcement at service sites with criminalized populations would discourage those populations from coming there for services.
Hacks About Weapons at Site
Posted in Special Issues.
People starting out in harm reduction sometimes have concerns about participants possessing weapons at site.
Hacks for Human Trafficking Disclosures
Posted in Special Issues.
The need for support for human trafficking victims is rare in harm reduction organizations; however, you should think of having a plan just in case it does come up.
Hacks for IPV Disclosures
Posted in Special Issues.
Rarely will someone say they’re “being beaten” or “abused”; instead, they may hint by saying that someone ”lays hands” on them, or that they “get into it”, or employ some other euphemism.
Hacks for Third Party Disclosures
Posted in Special Issues.
Dealing with third party disclosures—that is, when someone is telling you they know of someone else who is experiencing, or has experienced, abuse such as intimate partner violence, sexual assault, child abuse, trafficking, or any situation where a third party is being abused—can be frustrating because, as harm reduction providers, our options are limited.
Hacks for Disclosures of Violence or Threats
Posted in Special Issues.
As with any group of humans, some of the people who access harm reduction are violent towards others and, moreover, they occasionally disclose this to harm reduction workers—in part because harm reduction services and spaces offer non-judgmental environments in which people often feel safe enough to disclose their violence, or they may be so agitated that they share their feelings of wanting to commit violence in the moment.
Hacks for Sexual Assault Disclosures
Posted in Special Issues.
Sexual assault is another topic that people will rarely be direct about. Instead, they may talk in euphemisms or even be confused that their experience was consensual when it could not have been, especially for minors.
Hacks for Suicidal Folks
Posted in Special Issues.
People rarely talk about suicide directly, but many of our participants suffer from serious depression and think about suicide a lot.
Hacks for Phone and Cyber Security
Posted in Special Issues.
In an era of increased surveillance and risk for criminalized populations, it is increasingly essential for harm reduction organizations to think about electronic security and hygiene.
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"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. "
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“As always, be transparent with participants about what you have, what you don't have, and/or what's for only special populations.”
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“One doesn’t have to operate with great malice to do great harm. The absence of empathy and understanding are sufficient.”
Charles M. Blow -
"We have to be ready and able to reach clients where they are, not where we want them to be”
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“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
Audre Lorde -
“Boundaries help me to give all that I can and still come back tomorrow.”
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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 -
"We don’t need to professionalize the people closest to the crisis. We need to recognise them as professionals already.”
Jules Netherland -
“In general, it is antithetical to harm reduction best practices to call the police except under the most extreme life-or-death circumstances.”
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"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 -
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
Martin Luther King Jr. -
"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 -
“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. -
"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 -
"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.”
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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 -
"Not all traumas are the result of what happened to you; some are the result of what didn’t happen for you"
Gabor Maté -
"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 -
"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 -
“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.”
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"There isn’t a way things should be. There’s just what happens, and what we do."
Terry Pratchett -
"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 -
"Between an uncontrolled escalation and passivity, there is a demanding road of responsibility that we must follow. "
Dominique de Villepin -
“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 -
“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 -
"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
- "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. "
- “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.”
- "We have to be ready and able to reach clients where they are, not where we want them to be”
- “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
- “Boundaries help me to give all that I can and still come back tomorrow.”
- 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.”
- "We don’t need to professionalize the people closest to the crisis. We need to recognise them as professionals already.”
- “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."
- "Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
- "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."
- “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."
- "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."
- "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.”
- "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.”
- "Not all traumas are the result of what happened to you; some are the result of what didn’t happen for you"
- "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."
- "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."
- “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.”
- "There isn’t a way things should be. There’s just what happens, and what we do."
- "The conflict between the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud is the central dialectic of psychological trauma."
- "Between an uncontrolled escalation and passivity, there is a demanding road of responsibility that we must follow. "
- “The bottom line is that overdose prevention sites — which exist in more than 100 cities around the world — offer compassion for fellow human beings,”
- “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.”
- "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."