California Harm Reduction Initiative (CHRI)
Grantmaking and Capacity-Building for California Syringe Service Programs
In collaboration with California Department of Public Health and the Drug Policy Alliance
The California Harm Reduction Initiative, or CHRI, was established by the California Budget Act of 2019, which included $15.2 million to strengthen substance use disorder response by supporting syringe services programs (SSPs). This program represents the single largest government investment in harm reduction in the history of California.
“CHRI is a critical investment in harm reduction services that we haven’t seen for more than a decade in California. Ending HIV, hepatitis, and overdoses among people who use drugs won’t happen without sustainable funding. In one of the defining crises of our time, public officials in other states must demonstrate the same commitment for expanding harm reduction programs because lives depend on it.”
Monique Tula (she/her)
Former Executive Director
Expand, Establish, Ensure.
National Harm Reduction Coalition, in collaboration with California Department of Public Health, will act as a grantmaker to increase staffing at qualified SSPs and as a technical assistance provider to develop and deliver training, resources, and mentorship.
Our goals are to:
Expand
the range, reach, and quality of harm reduction services in California
Establish
and enhance collaborations between SSPs and other medical, social service, and substance use disorder treatment providers
Ensure
CHRI centers racial equity and meaningful inclusion of people who use drugs by funding projects that center those most vulnerable to structural violence in California
Community Collaboration Leads to Funding
In 2017, volunteers and staff at SSPs in California identified a problem. Programs had enough funding to cover supplies, but lacked the resources to employ staff to hand out those supplies. They were unable to effectively reach people who were not in treatment or connect people to syringe access, overdose prevention, drug treatment, and healthcare services.
The Harm Reduction community rallied. Co-led by the Drug Policy Alliance and National Harm Reduction Coalition, we came together around a budget request called Community Opioid Response Resources & Education (CORRE). It was a call for dedicated state funding to support staff in SSPs.
After two years of active community advocacy, the CORRE budget request was approved by Governor Newsom, in the California Budget Act of 2019.
Grantmaking for SSPs in California
National Harm Reduction Coalition will be funding up to $12.6 million in grants over three years. The aim is to:
• Expand harm reduction approaches throughout the state of California
• Increase capacity to connect individuals to a variety of services
• Reduce the impact of drug-related harms
We’re thrilled to announce our grant recipients. We can’t wait to see the impact of these partnerships.
- Access Support Network
- Any Positive Change Inc.
- Asian American Drug Abuse Program, Inc. (AADAP, Inc.)
- Bienestar Human Services
- County of Santa Cruz Syringe Services Program
- Face to Face/Sonoma County AIDS Network
- Family Health Centers of San Diego, Inc.
- Fresno Needle Exchange -Fresno Free Medical Clinic
- Gender Health Center
- GLIDE
- Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego County (HRCSD) On Point
- Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County
- Harm Reduction Services
- HIV Education and Prevention Project of Alameda County (HEPPAC)
- Homeless Health Care Los Angeles
- Homeless Youth Alliance
- HRI of AAIMM
- Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction (HACHR)
- Humboldt County Public Health
- Inland Empire Harm Reduction
- Los Angeles Community Health Project
- MCAVHN Care and Prevention Network
- Needle Exchange Emergency Distribution (NEED)
- Northern Inyo Healthcare District
- Northern Valley Harm Reduction Coalition (NVHRC)
- Plumas County Public Health Agency
- Punks with Lunch, a project of NASEN
- San Francisco AIDS Foundation
- San Francisco Drug Users' Union
- SANE
- Sierra Harm Reduction Coalition
- Siskiyou County Health and Human Services- Public Health Division
- SLO Bangers Syringe Exchange and Overdose Prevention Program
- Stockton Harm Reduction Program
- The Sidewalk Project
- The Spahr Center
- Venice Family Clinic
Technical Assistance for California Harm Reduction Programs
Equally important as funding is training and technical assistance. We’ve scaled the capacity of our own California team so that we can:
Provide tailored technical assistance to programs
Develop resources to increase program sustainability
Launch a learning collaborative
Facilitate a Peer Leadership Mentorship program
Have questions? Connect with our California team at california@harmreduction.org