No matter how friendly we are and how good our intentions, there may be people in the community who are hostile to the work we do with people who use drugs and other marginalized community members. Therefore, it’s imperative that in addition to being warm, friendly, inviting, and transparent as much as possible, we also prepare for the worst.

In the case of many harm reduction organizations, this has been largely at the hands of community members who are sometimes derogatorily called NIMBYs, for “Not In My Backyard”. These are community members who do not want services for marginalized people in their communities. Hostile community members have disrupted harm reduction across organizations, counties, cities, and even whole states. To be clear: Space Hacks is not an exhaustive treatment of the problem; to give them fair treatment would require an entirely new edition of the Hacks. But here are a few excellent tips:

• Keep good notes—Many organizations, especially those in communities more hostile to harm reduction, make it a practice to keep notes about both allies in the community and people or organizations that are challenging. These notes are invaluable for keeping a clear idea of allies who can be counted on in the larger community and can offer insights into how to avoid or resolve challenges. These notes should be kept confidentially by key members of the organization such as the executive director, key staff, and/or Board members. This is also an invaluable resource in case of sudden or unexpected leadership transition.
• Get a lawyer—Look for a lawyer before you have an issue. You can find more tips for finding lawyers in the original Hacks. Even if you can’t get your own lawyer, connect with values-aligned communities of lawyers including your nearest National Lawyer’s Guild Chapter. Get to know the landscape of legal services in your area, with an eye out for services that might be relevant to your organization or your participants. While you’re at it, connect with your nearest ACLU Affiliate and ask if you can pick up Know Your Rights handouts for your participants and staff..
• (Where possible) Make friends with LEO—This may seem counterintuitive to many folks who’ve traditionally mistrusted law enforcement, but when and where possible it’s a good idea to reach out to local law enforcement leaders. Give them the same information you might give your neighbors—tell them about your services and how they benefit the community—so that they get a sense that you and your organization are legitimate community partners. It is essential to emphasize the question of “where it’s possible” here; there are many harm reduction organizations that exist in jurisdictions in which law-enforcement is entirely hostile to their efforts. SO PLEASE BE JUDICIOUS. In these or other communities it may not be a good idea to try and work with law-enforcement outside of carefully vetted circumstances. If you’re not sure how they might respond, look for allies and partners who have experience with local law enforcement and ask questions before approaching them for support. Keeping an open mind and a “trust but verify” attitude is always prudent. Only you know your community and your risk tolerance. NEVER give law enforcement information about participants, colleagues, or other people unless you are legally required to. If law enforcement asks you about an event or a person, tell them you cannot share that information. If they continue to pressure you, ask if you’re free to go. If they say no, then you are under arrest. Say, “I will remain silent until I have spoken with my attorney.” Then, most importantly, don’t say anything else.
• Learn to advocate for your folks—Brush up on the legislative process, learn to build coalitions, and lobby for or against issues that impact the folks your organization serves and the work you do. Remember, people who work in nonprofits can spend about 20% of their time doing this kind of work on behalf of the people they serve. And anyone who works in government is free to do, in their spare time, whatever they like. For more information see the original Hacks on advocacy, or the resource section.
• Learn some non-violent direct action skills—When in doubt, non-violent direct action is another tool for social change that has served the harm reduction and other activist communities for decades. Please see the resource section for more information on those skills.
• Find allies—Part of the importance of doing community outreach and working on your outer community is finding allies in that community. Try to identify community members who are on your side. These can be people in positions of power, but it can also just be average citizens. Those people can create their own coalition to support you.
• Join forces—Look to the larger harm reduction community for support and other strategies for dealing with hostile community members. It’s important that you join local and statewide action and affinity group meetings. Go to regional and national conferences and network—meet and connect with other folks who have dealt with similar issues.