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Hacks for Enforcing Boundaries and Consequences

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It’s essential that if boundaries need to be enforced or reiterated, they should be addressed in a calm and clear way. Here are some other tips for enforcing boundaries and consequences:

  • Maintain stated boundaries. Attempt to help the person, but do not change the rules or policies simply to placate an agitated person. This will only exacerbate the situation. Instead calmly reiterate boundaries and offer suggestions that conform to them.
  • Set and maintain clear policies and boundaries.
  • Clearly and calmly state the consequences for violating boundaries, and the reasons for those consequences.
  • Be prepared to follow through exactly as stated.
  • Be clear, brief, and make sure you are understood.

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 Empathetic Active Listening

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Once you have grounded yourself during an escalated situation, next engage in active listening with the person who is agitated. This can seem counterintuitive or difficult when you are dealing with somebody who is, for example, screaming at you, and it may feel like you’re rewarding them for being completely irrational. But it is key to getting them more centered and grounded so they’re less agitated and less likely to become a danger to themselves or others.
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Principles of Harm Reduction

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These principles were developed over a period of about four years in the 1990s amid much debate among early harm reductionists, who came to consensus on these enduring principles of harm reduction.
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