112. Whatever the Community Needs: Intersectionality, Harm Reduction, and the Environment
How do we care for our community and each other? River Valley Organizing, the only organization doing harm reduction work in the Ohio River Valley from East Liverpool to Portsmouth, has that question at the heart of its services. With the mission to “build each other up for a better Ohio,” the nonprofit centers its community in all its organizing work, including drug policy and harm reduction, environmental justice, criminal justice, and civic engagement. This week, Dan speaks with Nancy Woods and Michael Goughenour, organizers with River Valley Organizing, about their community-centered approach to building power and responding to issues.
As Dan mentions, SAMHSA defines harm reduction as “an approach that emphasizes engaging directly with people who use drugs to prevent overdose and infectious disease transmission, improve the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of those served, and offer low-threshold options for accessing substance use disorder treatment and other health care services.” You can read more about harm reduction on the SAMHSA website.
The Columbus Dispatch recently published an article on River Valley Organizing and how they were the first to take over the syringe exchange program from the Portsmouth health department. Syringe exchange programs save lives, and River Valley Organizing uses these programs as a vehicle to build relationships with community members and meet them where they are.
Dan mentions a book of stories he co-led and published that uses powerful storytelling to understand how opioid use has impacted our communities.
Not only do we need to encourage people to register to vote and turn out for every election, we also have to have conversations about systemic issues and educate people. River Valley Organizing also organizes around police oversight in East Liverpool after conducting a survey that showed that 80% of people felt the community would benefit from a police oversight committee.
River Valley Organizing, Nelsonville Voices, and other community groups have called on Senator Sherrod Brown and Senator Rob Portman to support the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act.
GET INVOLVED!
The biggest thing River Valley Organizing wants you to do is make sure you are registered to vote so that you are able to elect candidates that will protect our communities. The voter registration deadline for the November 8 Midterm is October 11, so register to vote or verify your voter registration status today.
RELATED EPISODES
26. Addiction Treatment Resources with Emerald Jenny Foundation founders, Bill and Jackie Ayars