We are a public health Harm Reduction Center who work alongside people who inject and use drugs along with their social networks & loved ones. We are participant led in offering confidential and free harm reduction services both onsite/outreach for Gloucester & Cape Ann--we have been open throughout the entirety of the pandemic for takeout/deliveries and weekly outreach for sterile supplies, providing HIV/HCV/STI testing and Overdose Prevention/Narcan distribution as well as holding space when most other services in the city were not available particularly for people who use substances. We offer health education, safety planning, linkages to healthcare, including linking people living with HCV to treatment, linkage to PrEP/PEP, referrals to treatment and BUP/Methadone referrals when identified by participants, transportation to treatment, basic needs and we believe that harm reduction is love and any positive change should be celebrated loudly!
We arranged COVID testing for our community members who were at a specific risk working within the frontline of the city through NSCHC early on and plan on working towards offering vaccinations as well to those who are distrustful of healthcare systems for reasons inclusive of stigma and shame. Our program also provides wound & abscess care supplies, substance use education, safer injection practices/health care and offers basic health initiatives for those who are not ready to access the ER or a PCP. We offer harm reduction as an act of love and to keep people alive, safe and well as the experts in their own lives and work as community collaborative advocates to support the best access to a long term continuum of care for community members and understand the importance of relationship building and autonomy in working alongside people without agenda. We have an amazing community who save one another's lives regularly and look out for one another with such grace and are advocates themselves in our community advocacy board.