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Hacks for Vehicular Outreach

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Running harm reduction services from a vehicle adds mobility and reach—but also comes with its own set of logistical challenges. From packing and maintenance to mapping routes and finding parking, thoughtful planning helps keep things smooth and sustainable.

  • Make sure the bags and/or vehicles are packed leaving enough time for transiting to your locations.
  • Create vehicle maintenance schedules and make sure they have a point person.
  • Create and maintain internal area maps of participant locations.
  • If you are maintaining a large vehicle like an RV or bread truck, find a secure parking space and treat it like gold. Be sure to ask your larger community for leads on this. Harm reduction leaders report that this is one of the most difficult aspects of actually owning a vehicle, one that they may have wanted for many years.
  • Pack out your vehicles every night unless it is inside a garage.
  • Try to set up an area where there will be fewer objections from neighbors, away from residential or retail commercial areas.

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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Trauma-Informed

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The term “trauma-informed” emerges from a growing understanding of the far reaching ways that trauma impacts health and well-being. Trauma is defined here, in keeping with the scientific literature, as a deeply distressing or disturbing experience(s) that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope, and significantly impacts their mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
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