Five years ago, Reframe Health & Justice developed our principles of healing-centered harm reduction. As a collective of queer femmes of color, we sought to bridge the gaps between various movements for justice and develop an adaptable set of values that we can strive for in our work & lives. Healing-centered harm reduction (HCHR) is a set of practical strategies and a movement to address the harms perpetuated by an unjust society through increased accountability, community mobilization, and redistribution of resources. As a collective of organizational change consultants, we have developed tools & methods to leverage healing-centered harm reduction to build harm reduction organizations that practice equity in policies, practices, and culture. In this session, RHJ will facilitate a skills-based workshop on translating HCHR principles into practice -- strengthening the capacity of our movements to address harm, prioritize liberation, and value connection.

Workshop participants will gain knowledge of the HCHR principles, learn practical strategies to apply the principles, and get some experience workshopping the use of the principles with their peers in the workshop. We will present the history of HCHR and case studies of how organizations have adapted it. After presentations and Q&A, RHJ will facilitate a set of activities – including self-reflection and breakouts – to support participants in applying what they have learned and adapting it to their own organizations. Participants will also receive a handout and a link to digital resources to support their future adaptations of the principles.

Ideally, the long-term outcome is organizations in our movement that are more generous with their resources, more accountable to their communities, and more practiced in challenging injustice.