Harm Reduction at Westminster

Harm Reduction at Westminster (HRAW) is a Prevention, Education, and Coordination: Educate District residents and stakeholders on Harm Reduction 101 and opioid use disorder, its risk, and harm reduction approach through coordination of community efforts through coordination community efforts 

Harm Reduction at Westminster DC was dedicated to building capacity and equipping the DC community at the intersection of harm reduction and faith-based community. Born from conversations with members of the faith community, a passion for harm reduction, and seeing the needs of people who used substances throughout the District of Columbia, Harm Reduction at Westminster DC aimed to fill a unique role as connector, community mobilizer, and capacity builder, fostering innovative collaborations to educate, expand and strengthen the Ward 6 community knowledge of harm reduction in principle, practice, and overdose prevention.

The Harm Reduction at Westminster DC program created opportunities for collaboration among the spiritual community, concerned and affected DC residents in Ward 6, as well as substance users, including those within other placed-at-risk populations like the LGTBQIA+ and other underserved communities, to build a partnership with residents who used drugs and other harm reduction community leaders. By hosting various events in Southwest DC and Ward 6 and conducting outreach in spaces where LGBTQIA+ and underserved communities gather, this program aimed to provide access, education, and resources to community members on the harm reduction and overdose prevention movement. Harm Reduction at Westminster DC strengthened resources for harm reduction at the community level, capitalizing on connections to community stakeholders, collaborations with DC Health, and other DC government programs to provide a firm stance of support and compassion for community members who were affected by substance use.

This multi-pronged program aimed to address Ward 6 residents who were concerned about the increase in overdoses in the community, equip faith and local community members with education and harm reduction resources, and to provide outreach to people who used substances offering them informative materials on harm reduction and overdose reversal tools like Narcan.

 At the conclusion of this grant, “You Are Not Alone” a grant-funded program developed by Harm Reduction at Westminster is able to tentatively* state that all its objectives have been achieved. A greater reduction in opioid-overdoses beyond than the anticipated 15% was found (Objective 1). Through its creative and varied outreach activities this program has built partnerships with SW Academy DC Youth Program (Objective 3), and in combination come to better understand the needs of Wards 5 and 6 in relation to overdose prevention initiatives (Objective 2). Additionally, outreach has solidified Harm Reduction at Westminster’s presence in spaces where LGBTQIA+ and other underserved communities may feel comfortable receiving resources and intervention tools. These efforts have placed program staff among community members to better assess local needs and concerns, as well as to provide baseline education on overdose detection and prevention methods to residents of all ages. In sum, this program has achieved its overall goal of improving health outcomes through overdose prevention efforts and begun to see the fruits of these labors in Wards 5 and 6.