This report provides a comprehensive review of recent research about the effects of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) on substance use and people who use drugs (PWUD) as well as information from key informant interviews with 21 staff members from harm reduction organizations in the United States about the experiences of PWUD and their service providers during this pandemic.
This report focuses on helping providers adapt their practice to care for people experiencing homelessness or at risk for homelessness with a diagnosis of opioid use disorder.
The Faith in Harm Reduction online toolkit is a national collection of faith and community leaders who work together to address stigma against people who use drugs and advance liberation, health, and wholeness for communities impacted by overdose, trauma, stigma of substance use, and radicalized drug policy.
This educational resource provides a 2-page description of the principles of harm reduction. The handout outlines 8 key ideas that are key to the harm reduction practice, and discusses key concepts in understanding the risk, mindset, and setting that can be considered when understanding what might promote or reduce risk for an individual.
This toolkit on pregnancy and substance use from a harm reduction perspective includes information intended for pregnant and parenting people who use drugs, their loved ones, and their service providers.
This article presents a new conceptual framework for understanding the opioid crisis by describing factors that escalate risk for drug use, addiction, and overdose and proposes six policy strategies to address the epidemic’s root causes and deescalate risk. The framework promotes a comprehensive approach that recognizes the social determinants of health and shifts public policy from punishment to a public health approach.
This website is the home page for the Harm Reduction Coalition’s training program on Understanding Drug-Related Stigma. The site includes information about obtaining a training as well as training materials, which are also included in CLOUD.
This 4 minute video from the Baltimore Department of Health explains how to recognize an overdose and how to administer Naloxone to reverse the overdose. Part of Baltimore City’s Don’t Die campaign.
This 3 minute video from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows how Naloxone works to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The video explains the science behind how opioids work in the body and how Naloxone works to reverse opioid overdose.
This 2-page guide details harm reduction and syringe exchange programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes information for people who use drugs about safe use during the pandemic, as well as guidance for syringe exchange and harm reduction providers on safe operations during this time.