III. Working with Health Departments

Advocacy and community Activism

SAPs can also serve as a valuable player in community affairs through involvement in advocacy and activism around policies relevant to IDUs. This can occur at the local, state or even national level. Too often, policies that affect drug users are developed and promoted without the input of drug users and drug user allies. Consequently, these policies are not only unhelpful, but often times have a direct negative impact on IDUs. By amplifying the voices of IDUs and sharing their expertise and insight, SAPs have the potential to advance meaningful structural changes that will support and promote IDU needs.

One approach to community activism is through the creation of a “user union” or other user-driven advocacy group. This organizing model allows drug users to drive the agenda and identify campaigns that reflect their priorities. User groups support the empowerment of users and offer valuable skills building. User unions may require additional resources and commitment from the SAP to support their efforts and vision. In addition, user unions will likely benefit from the expertise of a community organizer if resources allow. Whether an SAP decides to organize a user union or take another approach to advocacy, it will be essential for IDUs to be involved in the planning process and that their voices and concerns remain central.

Advocacy can also be incorporated into the day-to-day job responsibilities of certain SAP staff members. For example, staff may be encouraged to get involved with planning councils, attend community board meetings, reach out to other community groups or engage with politicians. Staff should develop strategies for keeping abreast of changes in policy at any level that could have implications for participants. In some cases, it may be appropriate for certain staff to be focused on specific issues – for example HIV, HCV, housing or criminal justice.

SAPs should also develop strategies for engaging with the media, both in cases where the SAP may want to promote a specific media campaign, as well as for when comment is sought by the media in response to policy changes or specific incidents in the community. Messages and sound bites should be carefully constructed to ensure respect for participant confidentiality, minimize negative attention to the SAP, and communicate ideas and messages clearly and effectively. Identify media point-people who will be able not only to hone messages and media strategies, but also to build contact lists of journalists who may be more supportive or familiar with the benefits of SAPs. Links to resources for working with the media can be found in Appendix A.

Public Service

SAPs can and should be a resource for the entire community. The more an SAP invests in the community around them, the more likely that the community will identify the SAP as a valuable resource and indispensable member of the community as well.

SAPs can reach out to city workers and departments, as well as residents, business owners and law enforcement as a resource for syringe clean up and disposal, distributing and retrieving sharps containers if necessary. SAPs can provide education and training on topics such as overdose prevention in cases where public injection is an issue. SAPs benefit from identifying themselves as resources to the community and making themselves available to respond to emergencies or concerns.

wOrKing wiTH HeAlTH DePArTMenTS

Productive collaboration and communication with health departments can be vital to the success of. Health departments may develop SAPs themselves or seek out community-based organizations to provide syringe access services.