The
Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) Program at HRC has been developed to
assist community-based organizations (CBOs) and other community
stakeholders nationally through the provision of skills-building
training and other forms of technical assistance.
As a program of the Harm Reduction Coalition, the CBA Program believes that
incorporating the principles of health promotion for drug users into any
prevention intervention increases sustainability. We believe in meeting people
where they are. The CBA Program works to address high risk behaviors without
judgment, focusing instead on building the capacity of our partners and clients
to work with individuals to ensure that their behavior is conducted as safely as
possible, reducing the harm and keeping them healthy and safe.
The Harm Reduction Training Institute (HRTI) provides regular quarterly series of skills building training and education both in New York and Oakland, CA, to providers working with drug using populations. The Harm Reduction Training Institute (HRTI) provides trainings, in-services, and workshops on a variety of harm reduction issues to service providers and the general public throughout the United States. The Institute also provides some consulting and technical assistance functions to organizations serving drug users and communities affected by drug-related harm.
Since 2002, the NYS Department of Health AIDS Institute (NYS DOH-AI) has designated HRTI as a Center of Expertise and has funded it to provide statewide training and education on harm reduction. The Harm Reduction Training Institute is the first national training center focused exclusively on harm reduction.
Policy Department The Harm Reduction Coalition's Policy Director advocates for harm reduction approaches to improve the health of drug users and their communities. The Policy Department seeks to create change on the local, state, national, and international levels through a range of strategies including direct advocacy with policy makers, policy analysis, education, and coalition-building.
Syringe Access Expansion Project The Syringe Access Expansion Project (SAEP) was introduced in 2005 to work with the IDU Health Alliance (IDUHA), community-based organizations, the New York City Department Health and Mental Hygiene and New York State AIDS Institute to stimulate and support the expansion of syringe access to injection drug users through needle exchange and Expanded Syringe Access Provider (ESAP). The SAEP aims to increase the availability of sterile syringes by assisting community-based organizations in implementing syringe exchange and ESAP programs through a combination of outreach, needs assessment, education and training, and technical assistance.
Opiate Overdose Prevention Projects HRC West's Drug Overdose Prevention & Education Project (DOPE) provides overdose education in shelter, jails, treatment programs, and SRO hotels. DOPE collaborates with the San Francisco Department of Public Health to implement an innovative naloxone distribution program at needle exchange sites throughout the city. DOPE also provides advocacy and capacity-building to programs looking to incorporate Opiate Overdose Prevention Programming throughout California.
HRC East's Skills and Knowledge on Overdose Prevention program (SKOOP) is also funded by NYC DOHMH to train heroin users and their associates to utilize naloxone kits and to provide introductions to overdose prevention, training of trainers and technical assistance for staff of local CBOs. NYC DOHMH recently contracted the SKOOP staff to address the gap in prescribing buprenorphine by developing and implementing an expansive training curriculum for health care providers.
National Conferences HRC sponsors and organizes regional conferences and, bi-annually, the only national harm reduction conference in the United States. HRC conferences provide a critical and unique forum for the exploration and development of harm reduction practice, theory, and policy, and serve as crucial networking mechanisms for individuals working in harm reduction.
Resources & Publications HRC provides state-of-the-art information on methods for reducing drug related harm, and current information on regional and national activities, through brochures, manuals, bulletins and the Internet.
