Building internal community means building relationships based on your shared values as a part of a harm reduction organization, such as:

• Compassion
• Non-judgment of people and their behavior.
• Reducing shame, bias, and stigma, especially related to drug use and other marginalized activities.
• Science and peer-reviewed evidence.
• Recognition that the impact of trauma and cultural barriers (such as racism, sexism, and classism) impact people’s relationships with drugs.
• Cultural humility and competency.
• Equity
• Service
• Recognition of personal autonomy.
• Meaningful empowerment.
• Transparency
• Shared responsibility.

Practicing these values with everyone you meet will build trust and the kind of community you will need in order to build the services you want for your participants.

Some suggestions from OGs for building community are to:

• Define mission and values—People commit to ideals and values they feel good about, so an important first step in building a strong internal community is defining the core mission and values. This includes involving your participants in the process, or at least ensuring they know and understand those values.
• Share power—Making sure that various stakeholders such as staff and participants have a real say in the program helps people feel connected and committed to the community.
• Cultivate strong leadership—Identify and cultivate people who can take leadership positions that build and sustain your community. Please note this absolutely includes participants. This doesn’t mean “putting them in charge”, lest anyone’s liability insurer gets upset; but why not let participants have a say in what’s on the walls, how the furniture is arranged, what services the program provides, and even how to handle escalated situations after the fact? This builds trust and community which long-term harm reduction leaders attested, time and again, is one of the most protective factors for escalated situations. It also has the added benefit of being an evidence-based best practice.
• Practice equity—Make sure all policies and procedures are followed impartially, fairly, and universally. If there need to be exceptions, make sure those exceptions are transparent around why they exist.
• Create a culture of clear feedback—Create a community culture in which giving and receiving honest, kind, and constructive feedback is normalized. This prepares everyone when escalated events take place, and hearing negative feedback may be vital to de-escalation.
• Assume positive intent—Assuming other people mean well lightens moods, lowers stress levels, and quite often throws people off guard in positive ways during escalated situations.
• Be accountable—Be willing to openly recognize your inevitable shortcomings. We are ALL works in progress with flaws and issues. And remember that very little shows integrity more than apologizing before you are prompted.
• Be transparent—Being as honest and transparent as possible with regard to the organization and its workings helps build trust.
• Be reliable—Being an organization that people can count on is essential in harm reduction.
• Have follow-through—Follow through on all your commitments to your community, even if it is just to explain why you can’t do what you wanted or hoped. One lesson a lot of leaders have learned in this regard is that failing to communicate is a sure way to undermine or fracture any good will you have built. It is far better to be honest and transparent.
• Be equivocal—If you’re not sure the organization can achieve something, say “maybe”.
• Be a team—Act and think in terms of being a team—that is, a collective unit in pursuit of a common goal, with a common identity, and a need to support one another in order to achieve that goal.