California Regional Initiatives

Harm Reduction Resources for People Who Use Drugs in California

Oakland is our home. It’s where the first harm reduction working group came together over twenty five years ago, and where our West Coast office is still located today. We remain passionately dedicated to people who use drugs and their communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout California.

National Harm Reduction Coalition provides programming, technical assistance, training, and advocacy, and engages in policy to ensure that people who use drugs in California have access to the resources they need to support their health and dignity.

Credit: Taeko Frost

Find Local Harm Reduction Resources

Looking for naloxone, sterile syringes or other harm reduction resources in California? Search our map to find the program that is closest to you.

Community Opioid Response Resources & Education Budget Win

California Syringe Exchange Programs (CASEP) Coalition is a mutual-aid and advocacy network of syringe services providers and participants who work collectively to build strong harm reduction programs and who organize to reduce the harms of the racialized war on drugs and drug use at the individual level.

In 2017, volunteers and staff at SSPs in California identified a problem – they had sufficient funding to purchase supplies, but lacked the resources to hire program staff. 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. CASEP, Drug Policy Alliance, and National Harm Reduction Coalition came together to co-author the Community Opioid Response Resources & Education (CORRE) budget request. It was a call for dedicated state funding to support hiring and retaining staff at SSPs. After two years of dedicated community advocacy, the CORRE budget request was approved by Governor Newsom, in the California Budget Act of 2019. In 2021, the CASEP Coalition teamed up with Radical Roadmaps and created a timeline to share this story.

Title: CORRE Budget Win, The People’s Timeline. Led by the frontlines, informed by community needs. Image: Drawing of a group picture of CASEP Coalition at the 2018 National Harm Reduction Conference in New OrleansDate: Pre-2009 Description: People have been doing Syringe Access work Formally since the 1970s. Programs were historically underfunded, understaffed, and underground. The first programs were created and led by people who use drugs, people living with HIV, & LGBTQ and grassroots activists. Some programs in California have existed since the 1980s, and LA programs started in the 1990s. Images: The state of California with stars representing syringe access work regionally in Northern and Southern California. A bullhorn representing the activism from early programsDate: May 2009 Description: During the recession, the Governor and legislature made $80.1 million in budget cuts to HIV/AIDS services - virtually eliminating funding for essential HIV/AIDS programs in California. 1,000 positions for HIV were eliminated statewide. Approximately $6 million of the 80.1 million was cut from SSPs. Communities lost syringe service programs where people received free testing and outreach services. By June 2009, the San Francisco Department of Public Health AIDS office contract was cut in half. Many programs had to close their drop-in centers Images: Scissors representing a budget being cut in half, and a door shutting representing programs who had to close their drop-in centers. A drawing of two people standing behind a sign that says “Drop-In Center.”Date: 2009-2017 Description: Rebuilding. The California Department of Health invested in hiring staff to create new programs. Dozens were established in rural areas especially. Over the years, state funding was directed to harm reduction but was restricted to supplies and couldn’t pay people to do the work. Programs continued to do lifesaving work with limited resources. Quote from Libby Guthrie of MCAVHN Care and Prevention Network: “[When CASEP grew] it was like ‘ oh, we’re back!’ It was through CASEP that we were reunited [with other programs]. Before it was a desert. Many areas were completely stripped of their ability to do work.” Images: A liferaft representing lifesaving work. Injectable naloxone represents the lack of funding for supplies. A portrait of Libby Guthrie next to the “desert”, which symbolizes this period of stripped resources.Date: September 2017 Description: CASEP Conference. 2009 had taught the importance of advocacy and coalition building. At the conference, we asked, ‘how can we advocate for money to go directly to SSPs?’ Taeko came up with the acronym CORRE (Community Opioid Response Resources & Education) while eating tacos at Lake Merritt. There was no funding to support staff, it was about getting supplies. CORRE had to happen. Images: Butcher paper with three post-its: housing, staff, and access to MOUD. Portraits of conference attendees. Tacos and conversation bubbles.Date: March-May 2018 Description: The CORRE Budget request was created and sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance and National Harm Reduction Coalition. It provided funding for opioid response navigators, support partnerships, overdose prevention education, and support programs to meet the needs of people who use drugs. We are the experts. We organized letter-writing campaigns, lobby visits, and budget hearings. “Let’s win $11 million!” Images: Flowers beginning to bloom. Program staff speaking at budget hearings. Letter in an envelope representing the letter-writing campaignDate: June 2018 Description: The CORRE request was rejected by Governor Brown, along with other public health requests. Everyone thought it would pass, it felt like a shock when it didn’t. Still, this put harm reduction on the map. The win was everyone coming together to work on this! Images: The state capitol, “shock” waves following the request being rejected. Harm reduction being placed on a metaphorical map.Date: March-May 2019 Description: CORRE reintroduced! Lobby days and budget hearings. We increased the budget ask from 11 to 15.2 million to reflect the 10 new programs. It was an opportunity to meet harm reductionists from across the state. Gratitude for our community’s advocacy. CORRE passed the assembly budget sub-committee on health by a unanimous 7-0 vote! Images: The people walking during a lobby visit. One person’s shirt says harm reduction saves lives. A phone with text messages of warmth and gratitude.Date: June 2019 Description: Victory! 15.2 allocated. The largest amount of funding for harm reduction led by programs in history. Money to pay people to do the work! Game-changing! Drastically changes what can be done for our folks. Images: Raising a glass and popping a bottle during a virtual celebratory party. Graphic of increasing people who can be paid to do the work. A football making it through the goalpost - a win!Date: September 2019 Description: CASEP conference. 170 people from almost every program in the state came to Oakland. With continued momentum, we asked, ‘what will CASEP fight for next?’ and came up with a list: more funding for the clearinghouse, decrim drug use, local grassroots advocacy. “The benefits showed up in the growth of the network. Momentum from the victory led to a renewed and strengthened confidence.” - Jenna Haywood, NHRC. “Additional staff equates to the expansion of services, a critical need to address the ongoing overdose and homelessness epidemic in our Oakland community.” -Denise Lopez, HEPPAC Images: Portrait of Jenna Haywood. Arrows representing the conference theme, “leveling up.” Butcher paper with the list of what CASEP will fight for next. A crown and wand, two items that Jenna Haywood and Savannah O’Neill used during the conference.
"www.harmreduction.org" at bottom right. Framing right side of graphic is yellow line border and black-and-white maze-like pattern.

Native Harm Reduction

With support from NHRC staff, Arlene Brown of the Bishop Paiute Tribe developed a Native Harm Reduction Toolkit to bring together resources from Indigenous harm reduction leaders from across the country and beyond. The toolkit was informed by tribal and urban Native people from across California.

See the Toolkit

Syringe Access in California

Currently, there are 56 authorized syringe service programs (SSPs) in California, but half of the state still lacks access to these services. Many programs are stretched thin due to staffing limitations, lack of funding, and/or geographic barriers.

These vital harm reduction services in California are more essential than ever.

San Francisco DOPE Project: Saved 2,600 Lives in 2019

The Drug Overdose Prevention and Education (DOPE) Project is the largest single-city naloxone distribution program in the country. We’ve trained more than 13,000 people in San Francisco on how to administer naloxone to reverse an otherwise fatal overdose from opioids.

Learn more about The DOPE Project

Grantmaking for Syringe Service Programs in California

California Harm Reduction Initiative (CHRI) was established by the California Budget Act of 2019. It included $15.2 million to strengthen substance use disorder response by supporting staffing and infrastructure at syringe services programs (SSPs).

See how this grant is being used to build capacity among SSPs to support people in California who use drugs.

Learn More about CHRI

Credit: Taeko Frost

State-Wide Projects: Spanning a Wide Range of Needs

Collaboration and connection are essential to help scale access to harm reduction programs. We’ve partnered with healthcare providers and coalitions to develop state-wide initiatives that deliver services to those most in need.

ED-BRIDGE: A Partnership With Health Care Providers

Treatment, culture, and connection are the three keywords of this model that delivers low threshold buprenorphine to drug users and their families in acute care settings like hospitals and clinics.

More about ED-BRIDGE

Opioid Safety Networks: Uniting Communities

Created in 2017, this group of community organizations and individuals is now the largest opioid safety network in the country, with active coalitions serving 85% of California’s 30 million people.

The Network Map

Get the Facts
for California

Data helps you track progress, change perceptions, enlist the help of other organizations, and find the resources you need to help your individual community. These sites have some of the facts you need. Spend less time searching and more time serving.

CA Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard:

Provides immediate access to current overdoses, deaths, and visits to health facilities at a state and county level.

Check it Out

Urban Institute – Medication for Opioid Use Disorder access info:

Includes a highly-visual way to see treatment gaps across the state.

See the Gaps

CA Department of Public Health Viral Hepatitis Data:

Comprehensive data, including breakdowns by specific populations.

View the Data

CA Department of Public Health HIV Data:

Demographic and clinical information is collected on all people living and diagnosed with HIV in California.

Get the Facts

Support the Health of People Who Use Drugs in Your Community

If you want to support the health of people who use drugs in your community, consider implementing a harm reduction program.

How to Start a Syringe Service Program in California

Learn More

Distributing Low-Barrier Naloxone in Emergency Room Settings

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CA Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS Resource for New SSPs in California

Learn More

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