What is harm reduction?

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Harm reduction is a term for the policies, programs, or practices that reduce the negative impacts of substance use on people who use drugs or alcohol. Harm reduction is about "meeting people where they're at" and acknowledging that people may engage in high-risk behavior such as drugs for many different reasons without passing judgment, feeding stigma, or furthering harm. Harm reduction seeks to build relationships, provide resources, promote health, and facilitate positive changes as they are defined by the individual. Harm reduction services also provide an alternative to abstinence-based models of substance use treatment for individuals who find harm reduction a better fit.

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Learn more at www.HRI.global or www.harmreduction.org

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About us

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Kalamazoo Harm Reduction (KHR) is a small syringe service program operating within Kalamazoo, Michigan. KHR provides free sterile syringes to people who use drugs in an effort to reduce their risk of communicable diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C, infection, and long term health conditions associated with substance use. KHR also offers free safer smoking supplies, safer sex supplies, fentanyl and xylazine test kits, naloxone (the antidote to an opioid overdose), and overdose prevention education. Through close partnerships with area resources, KHR provides linkages to medical testing services, medical treatment, substance use treatment services, rehabs, housing resources, peer support groups, and more.

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If you are interested in harm reduction supplies but are not on in the Kalamazoo area, check https://www.nasen.org/ for harm reduction organizations in your area or check https://nextdistro.org/ for mail based options.