Harm Reduction aims to identify the multiple harms related to engagement in risky behaviors such as sex work and drug use, while ultimately working toward increasing overall health and well-being. This course provides a foundation in the philosophy, principles, and practice of harm reduction as it exists in the context of the United States. Participants will learn tools to more effectively understand the different types and levels of harm, including overdose, HIV and Hep C risks, and develop practical skills and interventions that can be used in their work with substance users and other participants. This course is a foundation course for those in all disciplines interested in harm reduction.

This workshop seeks to enhance staff abilities in addressing conflict and de-escalating situations with clients in the street and within a community service setting. The overall goal of the workshop is for staff to learn and share skills to continue to build a safe and healthy community of staff, participants and clients. In the workshop we will review basic "customer service 101," including the role of professionalism, boundaries and improving communications and trust levels with clients and team members. We will also discuss tips for preventing and responding to conflict and some principles of the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Model, designed to help staff provide for the best possible care and welfare of disruptive or out-of-control clients. The workshop seeks to be highly interactive and fun. Come ready!

Mental Health 101 will be a full-day overview intended to be a “crash course” in mental health. It is created for all service providers working with clients with mental health and substance use issues. The training will cover an explanation and overview of the assessment system used to diagnose and direct mental health treatment. Focus will be on disorders usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood or adolescence. Special focus will also be given to thought disorders vs. mood disorders as they appear in later stage adolescents and adults. The impact of illicit drugs on the developing brain will be covered. The training is intended to familiarize service providers with some of the confusing jargon used by the mental health system and increase their ability to feel comfortable working in conjunction with their client's other medical and mental health providers. The training will be interactive so please be sure to bring case examples and questions. You will leave the training feeling more confident and better able to advocate on your client’s behalf.

In this training participants will receive an overview of the legal, social, political & environmental factors that impact the everyday lives and working conditions of sex workers. We will discuss the intersections of race, class, and gender with the different types of sex work venues. We will discuss and examine the issues from the global, national and local perspectives. Participants will understand the roots, political trajectory and current condition of the sex worker rights movement. Participants will learn how and to what degree all of these factors impact the sex workers they might serve at their agency as well as in the community around them. Participants will leave the training with practical tools and strategies to provide client centered, harm reduction approaches to their clients as well as a deeper understanding of the macro and micro issues that impact this dynamic and diverse “at-risk” community.

Part one of this full-day training will cover overdose prevention and response basics. Participants can attend both parts of the training, or just one part. Family members, friends, partners and loved ones of drug users who are interested in learning about overdose prevention and response are also welcome. The first part of the training will cover overdose prevention and response for both stimulant (cocaine, crack, speed, etc.) and depressant drugs, like opioids and benzodiazipines. Opioids include drugs like heroin methadone, and prescription drugs like Oxycontin or Percocet. Benzodiazipines include drugs like Valium, Ativan, Xanax and Klonopin. Training participants will learn the skills necessary to respond to an overdose, including rescue breathing and Narcan administration. This training will also cover overdose risk factors, recognizing an overdose, important prevention tips.

During the second part of the day, learn how your agency can implement overdose prevention education and survival interventions with drug using participants. Attendees of the second part of the day should have attended a basic overdose prevention and response training previously. The goal of this part of the training is to help service providers integrate overdose prevention work into their current programming in variety of ways, taking into consideration the resources available at your organization. We will discuss developing a protocol for responding to an overdose on-site at your program. We will explore how to effectively engage and talk to program participants about overdose and discuss implementing overdose prevention groups and naloxone distribution at your agency.

Do you work with clients who continue to engage in potentially harmful/destructive behavior? Do you find it hard not to become over involved or burnt out? Service providers are great at problem solving - but we can get stuck when people aren't sure if they are ready to make changes. Come learn how to identify what "Stage of Change" your client is in to be able to tailor interventions effectively. We will also cover how to use Motivational Interviewing and Solution Focused Interventions to help clients move along in the stages of change. This interactive training will cover practical techniques to assess readiness for change and how to address ambivalence. Take "client centered" to a new level - come better understand the reasons client's seem "resistant" to suggestions - end the power struggles, and learn to more effectively partner with clients in the process.

This evening Introduction to Harm Reduction educational workshop is recommended as a prerequisite for all other trainings if the participant is new to harm reduction philosophy and practice. This course is an examination of the history, philosophy and principles of the harm reduction model as it has evolved in the United States. Included are discussions on the harm reduction perspective of drug use in the context of an individual's life, "traditional" drug treatment and drug use management.

This training uses a harm reduction model to provide overall knowledge of case management. Information will include case management principles, tools and extensive work with client interventions. In addition there will be discussions and activities around clients in their environment. A strong emphasis will be placed on interventions using a harm reduction framework. The information and activities will serve as a foundation for those new to case management as well as a tool to strengthen developed case management skills.

Working with transgender clients can be challenging. Transgender people are highly vulnerable and marginalized in the United States. Multiple issues such as society stigma, depression, unemployment, substance use, lack of support system, identity documents, housing, and transportation are all barriers that many transgender people experience when trying to access services. This training will provide insight into challenges faced daily by transgender people. We will gauge participant's knowledge and comfort level in understanding transgender identities and develop skills to effectively work with transgender clients. We will also explore the reasons why transgender women are particularly vulnerable to HIV/STD infection, substance use, and sex work and how harm reduction strategies can work in eliminating barriers to HIV and other services. Learning Objectives * Define transgender terminology and be able to identify four different trans identities * Become more comfortable in working with transgender clients * Increase your understanding and awareness of the multiple issues that prevent transgender people from accessing health care services; develop strategies that can make healthcare settings more trans friendly, supportive, and inclusive * Identify at least three barriers to health care and HIV/STD Prevention and care services and offer workable solutions to eliminate the barriers * Develop at least three harm reduction strategies that will help your transgender client reduce their risk for HIV/STD infection

Mental Health 202, also a full-day overview intended to be a “crash course” in mental health, will build on Mental Health 101. It is created for all service providers working with clients with mental health and substance use issues. The course is primarily focused on adults. The day will begin with a brief review of Mental Health 101. In Mental Health 202, the focus will be on working with particularly challenging populations such as clients with personality disorders, clients who are actively psychotic, multiply diagnosed clients and clients who are severely and persistently mentally ill. In addition, the common classes of medications used to treat mental health issues will be discussed and demystified. Effects of illicit drugs and their relationship to mental health disorders will be covered. Motivational interviewing and harm reduction techniques will be infused throughout the training. The training is intended to familiarize service providers with some of the confusing jargon used by the mental health system and increase their ability to feel comfortable working in conjunction with their client's other medical and mental health providers. The training will be interactive so please be sure to bring case examples and questions. You will leave the training feeling more confident and better able to advocate on your client’s behalf.

Public health has been defined as “what we as a society do collectively to ensure the conditions in which people can be healthy.” What is not addressed is what we as a society do collectively to ensure the conditions in which people cannot remain healthy. The Drug War negatively impacts our communities on all levels. And already oppressed communities experience increased harms from the War on Drugs including; separation of family, poverty and homelessness, harmful substance use, poor physical and mental health, and increased incarceration. This workshop is a call to action and examines the structural violence of the war drugs and its impact on the lives of our clients, their families and society itself. This training provides a historical context of the War on Drugs and its impacts and also addresses some of the specific needs of individuals/families that interact with the criminal legal system through the war on drugs. Participants leave with harm reduction based tools to take back to their communities toward decreasing drug war related harm and increasing awareness, advocacy, and activism.

This workshop intensive is designed to address critical core competencies of culturally responsive leadership for individuals working in Harm Reduction based agencies. Participants can expect to complete the day with an enhanced understanding of the interconnectedness of cultural humility vs. competence as well as the essence of culturally responsive practices. Topics will span individual roles and responsibilities for deepening cultural humility within human services agencies, Harm Reduction as a social justice movement, reflective practice, and culturally responsive leadership tools and techniques. Participants will have a full-day of interactive learning aimed at building communication skills, self-awareness, cross-cultural awareness, and strategies for organizational change. Come prepared to learn, engage, have fun, and strategies!