Come meet the Ohio native and harm reduction legend
Harm Reduction Ohio is proud to announce that Tracey Helton Mitchell, the “Heroine of Heroin,” will be a featured speaker at our “Family Matters” conference on Saturday, April 6. Come meet her and hear Tracey tell her compelling story.
Tracey earned the nickname “Heroine of Heroin” for civil disobedience that saved lives: She mailed naloxone across the country before it was legal. Even today, she sends naloxone — at her own expense! — to people who need the opioid-overdose-reversing drug and live in states where government restricts access. Her work earned her the well-deserved moniker, “The Heroine of Heroin,” from the news media.
Watch this NBC Today Show feature on her. (Commercial first.)Â
Tracey’s personal story is amazing, too. The Ohio native went from Catholic school girl and University of Cincinnati honor student to heroin addict in San Francisco in shockingly short time. It was quite a spring break!
In her heroin using days, Tracey was featured in the HBO documentary “Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of the Street” as a ferocious, foul-mouthed heroin addict. Few who saw this memorable young woman would have predicted she’d become a harm reduction legend with a master’s degree and an important government job managing a large program.

Great book!
Tracey told her life’s story in the book “The Big Fix: Hope After Heroin.” Buy it on Amazon here.
Or listen to Tracey talk about her life on NPR’s “Fresh Air” show with Terry Gross. (Google it.)
Even better…come meet Tracey in person! You’ll learn a lot and be inspired.
Harm Reduction Ohio’s “Family Matters” conference is co-sponsored with Ohio CAN (Change Addiction Now), a large family group. Tickets are $35. This includes food and naloxone to take home. Register here. Space is limited.