This three-part series will focus on the principles of harm reduction and its strategies to advance holistic services for individuals with substance use disorder (SUDs). Research indicates that harm reduction programs are evidence-based public health strategies designed to prevent overdose deaths, infectious disease, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancies, and injection drug use. For example, expanding access to naloxone for individuals using opioids is considered a harm reduction strategy. Specifically, this webinar series will include: an overview of the principles of harm reduction and their application in a harm reduction center; the importance of engaging law enforcement especially in rural areas and co-responder models; and a panel of experts discussing their expertise in offering harm reduction strategies in their service delivery as well as a consumer of harm reduction services.

Session Three

April 27, 2021, from noon to 1:30 MT, will feature a panel discussion to include the following panelists: (1) Lisa Raville, Executive Director of the Harm Reduction Action Center in CO, (2) Chris Harsell, ATTC Technical Trainer and Medical Director for Spectra Health in ND, (3) Gabriela Zapata-Alma, Director of Policy and Practice on Domestic Violence and Substance Use for the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma, and Mental Health in Chicago, Il, (4) and a consumer of harm reduction services. The focus will be on:

-Responding to questions surrounding implementation strategies.

-Community and consumer benefits of harm reduction services.

-How harm reduction can be employed in any agency.