Harm Reduction Ohio will host
Harm Reduction Ohio will host an “Ohio Meet Up” at the National Harm Reduction Conference in New Orleans this week.
The 12th national conference will attract more than 1,600 people to New Orleans from October 18-21 for panels, presentations, coalition building and idea sharing. (See program here.)
Harm Reduction Ohio will have four people in attendance: Taylor Bennett, HRO’s advocacy director; Sheila Humphrey-Craig, our Dayton director; Dylan Stanley, our community outreach coordinator; and Laura Cash, a member of HRO’s board of directors.
Harm Reduction Ohio will host an “Ohio Meet Up” on Saturday, October 20 from 2:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. in the Mardi Gras A room on the 3rd floor of the Marriott New Orleans, where the convention will be held.
Taylor Bennett is the contact person for the “Ohio Meet Up” and its host. She can be reached at taylor@harmreductionohio.org.
Ohio residents, natives and friends are invited to the Ohio Meet Up, an informal gathering to meet others who care about harm reduction in this large state of 11.7 million people.
Ohio presentations
Two Ohio-related presentations are on the conference agenda:
- Kevin Gillespie, executive director of Integrated Services for Behavioral Health of Athens will hold a workshop titled “The Other Hillbilly Elegy: Empathy, Harm Reduction & Hope for Appalachia.” Integrated Services is a harm reduction oriented mental health and social service provider that operates in 13 counties.
- Aaron Vissman, Sara Cannon and Kimberly Sperber of Talbert House in Cincinnati will present on a panel called “Correlates of Hep C Virus Screening and Treatment Among Clients in Southern Ohio Community Correctional Facilities.” Talbert House provides social services related to employment, housing and substance abuse mostly in six Cincinnati area counties.
Harm reduction has come late and slow to Ohio but change is happening fast across the state.
If you’re interesting in joining the harm reduction effort to reform drug policy so people can life safer, happier lives, consider volunteering here for Harm Reduction Ohio. There’s much to do, and Ohio’s harm reduction community makes it enjoyable and fulfilling to do.
HRO New Orleans Crew
Photos: Harm Reduction Office staffers and volunteers Taylor Bennett (wearing Harm Reduction Ohio t-shirt), Sheila Humphrey-Craig (baseball cap) and Dylan Stanley (on stage) will attend the National Harm Reduction Convention.
