What Vermont Harm Reduction Advocates?
Vermont Harm Reduction Advocates is a coalition of organizations and individual Vermonters dedicated to ending the harms caused by the state’s drug laws and stigma, while advancing health-centered, equitable, and human rights–based solutions."
Guiding Values
1._People who use drugs deserve dignity: People should not be stigmatized, marginalized, and subjected to traumas such as incarceration because of their use of drugs.
2._Criminalization increases harm: Laws criminalizing drug possession deter people from seeking voluntary health services and create systemic barriers to obtaining jobs, housing, credit, licenses, and more. Systems of punishment are also wasteful, expensive, and ineffective.
3._Vermont must invest in systems of care:We must adapt our laws and enhance our systems of care to meet the needs of people who use drugs and their communities. These policies must promote equitable health care and be grounded in both evidence and lived experience.
Meet the Coalition
These organizations and individuals are committed to bringing that better approach to Vermont.
Organizations:
Individuals:
Rachel Siegel
Rachel Bolton
Jennifer Monroe Zakaras
Liv Hoynes
Amy Taylor
Victoria Fearn
Nicole Capozziello
Kana Zink
John Sherwood
Madison Perry
Amshula Jayaram
Bella Fearn
Sara Piette
Timothy Fair
Jenny Evans First
Dana Kramer
Titan Potter
Jessica Lee Smith
Sybil Schlesinge
Eva Frazier
David Mickenberg