Foundations of Harm Reduction & Drug User Stigma: Opioid stakeholder committee meeting

Join the Community Mental Health and Wellness Coalition and the National Harm Reduction Coalition for a comprehensive overview of Harm Reduction. This approach incorporates a practical set of strategies designed to prevent disease and promote health by “meeting people where they are” rather than making judgments about where they should be in terms of their personal health and lifestyle. Recognizing that not everyone is ready or able to stop risky behavior, harm reduction focuses on promoting ways to reduce the health risks associated with drug use and other high risk behaviors. Throughout the course drug user stigma will be an underlying theme for participants to understand how this affects engagement with various services. This course will assist webinar participants in more effectively engaging in a range of interventions to reduce the risk of harm for others by promoting the principles of harm reduction and actively working to combat stigma.  Trainer:  Shannon Curry-Izzo, Training and Content Development Coordinator with the National Harm Reduction Coalition

Training objectives:

By the end of the two webinars, participants will be able to:

• Explore the definitions of harm reduction & stigma both conceptually and in practice
• Identify three ways in which people that use drugs experience stigma and discrimination.
• Identify two consequences of drug-related stigma and discrimination when accessing services.
• Define three key principles of harm reduction.
• Describe ways in which they can incorporate harm reduction skills into their relationships in their work
• Practice identifying relevant approaches and barriers to using harm reduction techniques in their work