In addition to traditional Boards of Directors, many harm reduction agencies have other bodies for democratic control of various aspects of an organization, especially ones where participants can share responsibility and power with the organization. These bodies—usually called participant or community boards or committees—can help with policymaking decisions and community responses to escalated situations. In some organizations or programs, these boards are even charged with making decisions about the restorative justice or transformative justice process. Bear in mind that escalated situations reach far beyond the individual people involved. Escalated situations are often loud and dramatic, which means that everyone in the community is involved and impacted. That impact means you need a larger community response that addresses the ways in which escalated situations often unmoor communities.

These kinds of boards help participants feel ownership and responsibility for the organization, as well. This helps keep those communities more secure and safe, ultimately because people feel more invested in them. Harm Reduction leaders reported that they often find these boards are invaluable assets when escalated situations arise.