November 29th, 2022

We have been in a year of transition at HRTC: changing programs, changing leadership, surfing a rapidly changing harm reduction political landscape in San Francisco and nationally. President Biden said “harm reduction” on the national stage! SAHMSA released its first harm-reduction focused grant! OnPoint, the first officially sanctioned safe consumption site in the United States, opened its doors in New York City! And California Governor Newsom vetoed legislation, years in the making, to pilot a safe consumption site in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles despite previously expressing his support. San Francisco’s Mayor Breed declared a drug use state of emergency in the Tenderloin resulting in increased policing. The policy focus shifted from more police to the creation of new programming (such as a low-threshold, safety-first drop-in center), then pivoted back to focusing on increased policing and criminalization while the low-threshold center prepared to close its doors. For HRTC, attending the National Harm Reduction Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico felt like a much-needed opportunity to be together as a team; to be with other harm reduction agencies to learn and collaborate, while strengthening our work and ourselves. Then Hurricane Fiona arrived.

Fiona hit Puerto Rico’s southeast side on Sept. 18, 2022 inundating the island with rain, wind and flooding. Thousands of homes were destroyed and power, water and supply delivery systems crippled; many neighborhoods remain completely cut off to water or electricity as you read this piece. Many of these the same neighborhoods struggling still from the effects of Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the failed response of the United States to the needs of Puerto Ricans.

Should we go to the conference? Would we be of help or hurt? How could we be of help if we didn’t go? Would it hurt if we didn’t go? Would it be safe? What does it mean for each of us to be in a beautiful place, with beautiful people, learning and growing while knowing others are suffering? These are some of the questions our team decided to wrestle. In keeping with our values to create community and an inclusive workplace, we decided to talk and make our decision (to go or not to go?) together. We weighed the pros and cons of attending (and not attending) the conference. We heard from friends living in Puerto Rico and spoke to many of our harm reduction partners before deciding that HRTC would attend.  

Nathan Kamps-Hughes & Patt Denning at the HRTC team dinner.

Nathan Kamps-Hughes, Celia Sampayo Perez, Jeannie Little & Maurice Byrd in Old San Juan

We arrived in the “Isla del Encanto” (the “Island of Enchantment”), as many people affectionately refer to Puerto Rico, to the warm greetings of the island’s climate and our shuttle driver. Once settled, rested and registered, our team hit the ground running (and dancing and swimming)! We attended workshops and plenaries, met new colleagues and reunited with familiar ones–many of them at our booth. The team came together with Patt Denning and Jeannie Little, our founders, over dinner one night–a true highlight of the conference for many of us. And, of course, we shared our knowledge and musings with other conference attendees. This year, HRTC staff offered the following presentations and supports at the National Harm Reduction Conference:

• “Are We Not Cool Enough? (Bringing TAY into Harm Reduction Therapy Spaces)” 
• “Yes! Harm Reduction Includes Abstinence: Navigating from Abstinence-Only Treatment to the Full Harm Reduction Spectrum”
• “Community Harm Reduction Groups: Come High, Come Low, Come as You Are: Physically, Mentally, Spiritually, Emotionally”
• “Under the Harm Reduction Umbrella: The Foundations and the Infinite Possibilities of Harm Reduction Therapy. A Workshop in English and in Spanish. Bajo el Marco de la Reduccion de Danos: Las Fundaciones e Infinitas Posibilidades de la Terapia de Reduccion de Danos. Un Taller en ingles y en espanol.”
• “Strangers With Candy in a Van: The Long Game of Street-Based Mobile Harm Reduction Therapy”
• “Who’s the Boss? Applying de-colonized, DEI, and anti-racist frameworks to Harm Reduction Leadership”
• “Come as You Are, Even if You’re Racist”
• “Legalizing Magic Mushrooms the Right Way: Addressing Equity, Ensuring Access, and Honoring Tradition”
• “The Language of Harm Reduction: Unpacking stigmatizing language”

Nancie Jann moderating "Who’s the Boss? Applying de-colonized, DEI, and anti-racist frameworks to Harm Reduction Leadership"

Jason Brown, Irina Alexander & Nathan Kamps-Hughes presenting “Strangers With Candy in a Van: The Long Game of Street-Based Mobile Harm Reduction Therapy”

Nata Oberg, Shannon Ducharme (DPH), Tracey Helton (DPH) & Jason Norelli (HealthRight 360) presenting “Yes! Harm Reduction Includes Abstinence: Navigating from Abstinence-Only Treatment to the Full Harm Reduction Spectrum”

Additionally, for the first time ever, this year’s conference included onsite Harm Reduction Therapy Groups for conference attendees. After years of 12-step only support offered at the event, the National Harm Reduction Coalition accepted HRTC’s proposal to offer harm reduction therapy groups onsite!  (see below piece by Clinical Director, Celia Sampayo-Perez)

We thank you for your support of HRTC and of harm reduction and we hope to connect with you more–perhaps at the next National Harm Reduction Conference!

In community,

HRTC’s Leadership Team

Nancie, Celia, Maurice, Anna

A note about the harm reduction conference…

By Corey Drew, ASW, Community Based Therapist

This was my first conference since working in Harm Reduction for eleven plus years. It was also my first trip focused on learning and self care. I arrived at SFO about 6 am then landed in Puerto Rico about 11 pm. Traveling was seamless and my co-workers were great travel companions. I think it is important to note the effort and detail that Erica put into making this trip happen. Once we got to the hotel/resort I ate some food then hit the bed and slept hard. I woke to an ocean breeze and the sound of ocean waves. 

I was intentional about self care and alone time on day one. I took a morning swim in the ocean, ate fish tacos by the pool, got my first ever hour-long deep tissue massage, laid in a hammock by the water and read a book. By the end of the day I felt like a different person. The days that followed were filled with ocean swims, exploring Old San Juan, eating delicious food, connecting with and learning from harm reductionists from all over the world. I remember sitting in the first big session of the conference filled with about 3000 of us who had come together as a community of and for people who use drugs. I lost count of how many times I heard the words heart and love. What a powerful response to a world that has long criminalized, stigmatized, and de-valued us as human beings.

The work we do isn't easy, then again, affairs of the heart seldom are. Agencies often promote the importance of self care but rarely follow through on their words. HRTC was intentional about building time into this trip to care for ourselves and connect with others. I am forever grateful for this experience and to be part of this group of folks who I refer to as a radical band of angels.

Callie Olpin, Jason Brown, Steven Estrada &

Anna Berg in San Juan

Corey Drew, Erica Stinemates & Nancie Jann

at the HRTC booth

By Abby McMorrow, ASW, Community Based Therapist

I had the privilege of attending the Harm Reduction Conference in Puerto Rico with my dear colleagues at Harm Reduction Therapy Center. In simplest terms, the intention of the conference was to provide a space for folks to convene worldwide interested in addressing the intricate issues of the harm reduction movement. The conference brought up themes of positionality, transparency, community, ego, and love. Being surrounded by so many ~like minded folks~ made me feel simultaneously held, and also left with the reminder how much love and care we can spread while in community.  

The perinatal harm reduction panel and the workshops centering families in harm reduction had the most impact on me. I left thinking of Dorothy Roberts’ work and abolishment of the child regulation system; the disproportionate amount of terror imposed on families of color. I learned a ton regarding the actual impact of substance use in perinatal care versus the stigmatized narrative perpetuated in so many systems. I am thinking of ways to provide therapy and support in real time to clients with current family regulation involvement and what it means to practice Harm Reduction Therapy in such a punitive system. We can all increase our advocacy for clients who use drugs and also love their children. I am also reflecting on ways to increase familial involvement in therapeutic spaces. I work with many clients facing the violence of the child regulation system and I am thankful for the opportunity to increase my knowledge base and desire to continue to develop as a clinician. So much to sit with and so much more to say. For the sake of brevity: It was quite inspiring to sit with people that validate the feelings of discontent with where we are and also hope for where we can be. Just because we meet people where they are at, doesn’t mean structures should stay that way. 

“Come As You Are” or “Ven Tal Como Eres”

First Harm Reduction Groups at the 13th National Harm Reduction Conference in Puerto Rico

Celia Sampayo Perez, LCSW Clinical Director

It finally happened! We did go to Puerto Rico to attend this conference which was postponed for two years due to the Covid-19 epidemic and ongoing lockdowns. Being in San Juan, for me, was like being at home, only an hour and a half away by airplane from my native country Venezuela. The tropical weather, the intense welcoming sounds coming from the ‘coquis’ (miniature tropical frogs), ‘Pancho’ and ‘Lola’, the two vibrant blue and yellow macaws that were near the entrance of the hotel, the beautiful colorful tropical fish in warm waters, the delicious food, and the unforgettable friendly smiles of Puerto Ricans who received us with much happiness and gratitude. It was a very unique experience meeting with representatives of other harm reduction organizations who came in solidarity to stay in community with our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico and come together to fight this nonsense drug criminalization. 

One of the highlights of this conference was that the organizers gave us permission to offer drop-in harm reduction groups, as an alternative option to an abstinence-based approach. ‘Come As You Are’ groups were open to anyone who wanted to connect with others while sharing common personal experiences, feelings, and their relationships with substances within a safe space and non-judgmental approach. There was one group in English facilitated by Anna Berg, Program Director, and one by me in Spanish. I felt there was a need for the Spanish-speaking people who attended the conference to have an opportunity to participate in a harm reduction group in their own language if they wanted to. 

Everyone who participated expressed a need to learn how to talk and provide support to families, friends, and clients about their relationship with substances and harm reduction in general in Spanish since there are limited or no resources in Puerto Rico and in some parts of the United States. Within a safe setting, there was an immediate connection when talking about similar experiences in trying to help others and understanding the complexities of harm reduction involving culture pressure (family values, stigma, shame, and guilt) while dealing with increased homelessness, poverty, untreated mental illness, social injustice, and deaths caused by drug overdoses particularly in isolated Spanish-speaking communities.

I am glad we finally had an opportunity to offer drop-in harm reduction groups through a safe and non-judgmental space in both English and Spanish for the first time at the 13th National Harm Reduction Conference. It is especially important to offer options for people who do not relate to abstinence-based approaches and still want to connect with others through support and acceptance.

Remembering Dr. Landau who passed away during our time in Puerto Rico.

Read the tribute statement written by her husband HERE

HRTC in the Media

November 29th, 2022

Merlin July 2021: the day we moved in.

Merlin November 2021: Giving Tuesday

Merlin November 2022: new floors, offices and work stations!

Giving Tuesday- the biggest fundraising day of the year- is just two weeks away. Last year you helped us install new floors, build new offices and

buy workstations. THANK YOU!

Join our Board!

HRTC is looking for passionate, community-minded individuals to serve on our Board of Directors. Interested? 

Please contact Sam Dennison, Board Chair or Maurice Byrd for more information.