Harm Reduction: Findings from the Field By: Cara Alexander, Ph.D., BCD, LCSW, Director, Division of Targeted Prevention, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention

https://www.samhsa.gov/blog/harm-reduction-findings-field?utm_source=SAMHSA&utm_campaign=c0eac5fc7e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_05_07_03_55&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-c0eac5fc7e-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&utm_source=SAMHSA&utm_campaign=434a12219e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_05_15_01_25&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-434a12219e-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D In 2022, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) funded 25 awards for its inaugural Harm Reduction Grant Program. Harm reduction is nested throughout the continuum of prevention, treatment, and recovery, with a service model that is strategic, practical, and transformative. SAMHSA defines harm reduction as a practical and transformative approach that incorporates community-driven public health strategies — including prevention, risk reduction, and health promotion — to empower people who use drugs and their families with the choice to live healthier, self-directed, and purpose-filled lives. Harm reduction centers the lived and living experience, especially those in underserved communities, in these strategies and the practices that flow from them.