About the Contributors

About the ContributorsDr. Jay Levy Jay began working at the INPUD Secretariat in 2014 as INPUD's Policy and Advocacy Officer, and has written advocacy publications for INPUD since 2013. He has previously worked with the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), as a consultant for the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), and as a supervisor for undergraduates at the University of Cambridge. His writing, advocacy, fieldwork and research, and teaching have focussed on HIV/AIDS, STI, and blood-borne infection policy and law, the outcomes of sex work and drug use legislation, feminist, gender and queer theory, and harm reduction. Jay holds a PhD (focussing Sweden’s sex work and drug use legislation), an MPhil (in Geographical Research), and a BA, from the University of Cambridge

Louise Vincent, MPH

Louise Vincent is a Harm Reduction expert, activist and educator in North Carolina whose work expertise in drug user health, social and criminal justice reform has driven the expansion and acceptance of harm reduction in the United States conservative South. She is a harm reduction consultant who specializes in women's health, drug policy reform, and the meaningful engagement of people who use drugs. Louise is currently serving as the Executive Director of the national Urban Survivors Union. She has hosted over 100 meetings of national drug user organizers during her tenure, and offered technical assistance in the development of new user union organizations across the country. Her leadership in the national drug user union movement has led to the recent rapid expansion of drug user organizing across the country

Jesse Harvey

Jesse Harvey is a harm reduction advocate and a person in recovery. He is the founder of the Church of Safe Injection, an Interfaith Church spanning 12 states. The Church is devoted to providing harm reduction services and advocacy for all persons who use drugs. He is also the founder and executive director of Journey House. Journey House, a Maine nonprofit that provides four of the states only evidence-based, low-cost, low barrier recovery housing.

Robert Suarez

Robert Suarez is a community leader with the Peer Network Of New York and VOCAL-NY, a grassroots organization that builds power amongst \lowincome people impacted by HIV/AIDS, drug use, mass incarceration to build healthy and just communities . Robert was formerly the Advocacy Liaison at the Washington Heights CORNER Project, an organization with a mission to improve the quality of life of life of people who use drugs or engage in sex work by offering empowering and stigma- free health promotion support to individuals and their loved ones that reduce risk associated with drug use and/or sex work including HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and overdose. He is the former board member \of the International Network Of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD), a global peerbased organization that seeks to promote the health and defend the rights of people who use drugs,

"I do know loss, but I also know the other side. For everything I have lost there is beauty to be found … not immediate. Not anything that can replace our loved ones, but new and different; lovely and kind. There is more than hell on earth. I love you"- Louise Vincent, Executive Director, USU National