Questions from a Harm Reductionist

Tristan Dreilich

Network Coordinator - Selkirk Manitoba Harm Reduction Network

Pronouns: He/Him

Are the people who you work with at the decision-making table?

Do the people impacted/supported by services have a say in what those services look and feel like?

Who has the most skin in the game and who has the most say?

Are we relational at the community level?

Do we show up for those doing the work in community (allied services, peers, mutual aid)?

How do we build and strengthen our interdependence?

Do you have relationships with the communities most impacted by the war on drugs?

How do we unlearn many of the harmful things we have been told about drugs and the people that use them?

Much of our framework and terminology (Rock Bottom, Drug-Seeking, Drug-User) so how do we welcome new ways of thinking?

Our work is rarely (and shouldn’t be) one direction (Provider to Client).

We both benefit from supportive relationships so how do we foster those and increase kinship?

Does your organization, policies, governance, evaluation, staffing include people who use drugs?

If Harm reduction recognizes the expertise PWUD’s carry, so how do we increase their roles in the work?

Does your organization plan for safety for PWUD, like having a safer bathrooms policy?

Naloxone training

Safer bathroom toolkit https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/cisur/projects/active/projects/safer-bathrooms.php

Give Yourself a Big Hug