Faith in Harm Reduction: Mobilizing Faith Communities for Harm Reduction to Prevent Drug Overdose and Reduce Drug-Related Stigma

Harm reduction has moved from the fringe to the mainstream over the last three decades. With the inclusion of harm reduction in the National Drug Control Strategy, mobilizing communities to support people who use drugs (PWUD) is crucial to help reduce overdose in the United States. Faith leaders and communities have a role in leading acceptance and naturalization of this movement for human rights. The leadership of faith-based organizations possess significant social capital and influence as thought leaders and community guides, and they have the power to reshape public dialogue on the overdose crisis away from dehumanizing, pathologizing, and stigmatizing PWUD toward social justice and belief in, and respect for, the full humanity, rights, and capacity of PWUD. Support for compassionate, public health responses to the overdose crisis, including harm reduction and the broader movement for the rights of PWUD, remains vulnerable to marginalization.

This session will feature lessons learned from Faith in Harm Reduction, which was launched by the National Harm Reduction Coalition in collaboration with Judson Memorial Church to bridge the harm reduction and faith communities to develop leadership, strengthen harm reduction advocacy, and build environments supportive of harm reduction policies and practices. Led by people with lived experience of substance use and overdose, Faith in Harm Reduction has created a national network of faith leaders, stigma reduction toolkits, and resources to mobilize faith communities and their leadership in rural, post-industrial Midwest and Southern regions of the United States. Given proper training, faith leaders can become strong allies in overdose prevention and harm reduction focused on awareness creation, narrative change, and the elimination of stigma and discrimination against PWUD.