Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Raville.
Lisa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Thirteen years ago, I found my activist’s voice. I found it while unexpectedly homeless and living in a van with my husband and dog. We had driven from Alaska to California for me to participate as an AmeriCorps VISTA at an AIDS service organization. During those seven months of living in parking lots and abandoned building areas, I worked full-time with my agency in their development department and at their syringe exchange program. This experience awoke my activist’s voice that just hasn’t been able to stop since.
Simultaneous to the experience of working at an AIDS Service organization and being homeless, I became very involved in the fundraising and education with Planned Parenthood Mar Monte. Once I was housed, I continued to my work with PPRM with policy assistance, coordinating events for young feminists, and on their fundraising executive leadership committee. After my year contract as an AmeriCorps VISTA, I supported a successful grassroots ground campaign for a progressive, feminist California County Supervisor, worked at a women’s emergency overnight homeless shelter, and in the development of a domestic violence agency that all culminated to my current dream gig.
In 2009, I became the executive director of a small, scrappy non-profit in Denver that serves people who inject drugs. The Harm Reduction Action Center provides programs and services to prevent and eliminate the transmission of HIV and viral hepatitis along with the prevention of overdoses. We are the largest Colorado direct service provider for people who inject drugs.
I can’t imagine being anywhere else.
Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t been easy, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The harm reduction movement has been in the United States since the late 1980’s … only in the last few years has the larger community found us relevant in our work. That’s annoying, obviously … we’ve been there when no one else has been serving and fighting. Direct service is what we provide first and foremost, but the policy has been important for the streets to influence the policies at the State Capitol and with Denver City Council. We’ve passed seven pieces of harm reduction statewide legislation in the last ten years, four to reduce the harms associated with overdose and three to reduce syringe criminalization. Oh, we’ve made three Denver City Council policy changes.
If stigma, shame, and incarceration worked with drug use, we would have wrapped this up years ago.
All that has done is drive drug use underground, where folks have acquired preventable chronic diseases such as HIV, hepatitis C, and died of an overdose. We are trying to do something different. We engage with folks for a healthier and safer them today.
Unfortunately, we have lost too many people to preventable overdoses. And quite frankly, if you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention. We have an overdose memorial wall in our agency that continues to grow. If it was your kid, you would want us fighting this hard.
We’d love to hear more about your organization.
The Harm Reduction Action Center is Colorado’s largest public health agency that works specifically with people who inject drugs. And as MANY of you know, we are located right across the street from the Colorado State Capitol…….right.where.we.should.be.
1. Direct service – first and foremost. Over 9,000 participants have signed up with us, we see between 120-178 people per morning being pro-active about their health. They have the opportunity to dispose properly of used syringes, access sterile syringes, and are offered referrals/resources. There is access to Naloxone, vein care with staff, resources, referrals, their mail/phone, HIV/HCV/STI testing, fentanyl testing strips, supportive service providers (MHCD, St. Francis Center, substance use treatment navigators, Medicaid enrollment, ETC, ETC, ETC), and community in a safe space. In addition, we provide mobile syringe exchange in high drug traffic areas 3 afternoons per week and provide syringe clean-up efforts all over the City.
2. Then, community/health education engagement. We provide three health education classes with factual health information and pertinent PWID information (STRIVE, HIV/HCV 101, and wound care), have an active PWID advisory committee as all rules/programming/advocacy efforts is determined by participants, volunteering/interning/employed at HRAC, and monthly neighborhood clean-ups, to name a few.
3. Advocacy/Policy. We believe the streets should influence the policies at the State Capitol and Denver City Council. We have passed seven pieces of statewide legislation in the past ten years (four to reduce the harms associated with overdose and three for syringe decriminalization) and led three Denver City policy changes.
4. And finally, technical assistance for providers working within bureaucratic institutions that our participants intersect with daily. These institutions include, but are not limited to; law enforcement, criminal justice, healthcare providers, neighborhood associations, and nursing/medical/pharmacy students tour to see what we are (and aren’t), learn more about our programming/services, and the ability to ask questions. In addition, we provide presentations to the larger community to chat about harm reduction and working with PWID for a healthier and safer today.
Oh, and meetings, grant writing, hugs, high fives, and administrative work. All of this with eight staff, over 500 volunteers, and three to five interns at any given time. Have we mentioned that it takes a village to raise this teenager?!?!?! There’s a lot of life that happens at the Harm Reduction Action Center.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Oh heck yes!!
Pricing:
- nope, all services are free at the Harm Reduction Action Center
Contact Info:
- Website: www.harmreductionactioncenter.org
- Phone: 303-572-7800
- Email: HRAC.Denver@gmail.com
- Instagram: Harm Reduction Action Center
- Facebook: Harm Reduction Action Center
- Twitter: @HRAC_Denver
Image Credit:
Harm Reduction Action Center
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