Emmons Wellness Center uses harm reduction principles in our approach to alcohol and drug education.
Opioid overdose is the leading cause of death among adults ages 18 to 45, with fentanyl playing a contributing role in most of them. Harm reduction provides a framework for keeping our Oxy community safe from opioid overdose.
What is harm reduction?
"Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm Reduction is also a movement for social justice built on a belief in, and respect for, the rights of people who use drugs.”
Harm reduction is:
- Accepting that drug use is a part of our world and working to combat the opioid overdose epidemic by meeting people where they are
- Acknowledging and centering the human dignity of people who use drugs, and working to mitigate the negative consequences of drug use
- Community centered advocacy that recognizes the roles that structural inequality and capitalist exploitation play in facilitating the opioid epidemic
- Affirming of the agency of drug users, whose voices should be centered in solutions to keep communities safer
- Something we’re doing to keep everyone safe!
Read more the guiding principles of harm reduction .
Harm reduction is NOT:
- A campaign to encourage drug use
- Meant to minimize the harmful effects of drug use