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Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma

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Harm reduction work is emotionally demanding. This section offers guides and frameworks for recognising, addressing, and mitigating burnout, secondary trauma, and fatigue—so you can sustain yourself and your team in the long run.

Tend Academy and the Tend Academy Resource Library

Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project

Department of Justice Office of Victims of Crime and Vicarious Trauma Toolkit

Books

The Burnout Challenge, Christina Maslach & Michael P Leiter

Help for the Helper, Babette Rothschild

Reducing Secondary Traumatic Stress, Brian C. Miller

Other sets of external resources including toolkits, practical guides, and deep-dive materials on topics like de-escalation, mental health support, participant accountability, overdose response, and more:

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 Staying Present

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As discussed in the part of the site on preventing escalation, it is essential for harm reduction workers to stay present and remain centered and relatively calm during escalated events. This is one of the hardest things to do, but staying present and centered during any kind of escalated situation at your harm reduction site is essential to de-escalation.
Read this Hack

Personal Boundaries

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The most important first step when it comes to preventing escalated situations is having a good sense of personal and professional boundaries when doing the work.
Read this Hack