LA County officials say more than 50,000 lives have been saved through community harm reduction efforts for those battling substance abuse.
CBSLA spoke to medical leaders and outreach workers who explain the history of harm reduction and the importance of their work.
“Hello, my name is Cecilia Falcon, and I am recovering from substance use. I am nine years sober.”
What did harm reduction look like when you were using substances?
Cecilia – So harm reduction what it looked like when I was using, there was just needle exchanges in certain areas and we were lucky if we even got to the needle exchanges cause they were only there for a few hours.
“Hi I’m Trevor Lee. I am medical director with the Harm Reduction Division with Department of Health Services at LA County.”
What is the history of harm reduction?
Trevor – I think it’s so important to remember that harm reduction was not invented by public health, social workers, government, it really came out of organizing by people who use drugs, sex workers, people living with HIV aids, black and brown community organizers, people who really felt that the government had turned away from them and had to sort of save themselves and build their own communities.
What does harm reduction look like now?
Cecilia – Harm reduction looks like today is we have staff that go out in vehicles to different locations, every encampment, we hand out supplies. It’s not only just the supplies, but it’s the naloxone that we provide. We even go out with the Aids Foundation. We go out with St. John’s to do HIV testing. We go out with a doctor to provide MAT (Medication-Assisted Treatment) services, you know if they want to reduce the cravings of their substance use.
What message do you want to give?
Cecilia – I would like to let everybody know if you have a family member or a friend struggling in their substance use, I encourage you guys to support, love, and never leave them alone.
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