Global Lessons, Local Actions: Trevor Stratton

Trevor Stratton thinks harm reduction may have saved his life. “Before I got HIV, I thought of HIV as a dirty thing. And then when I got HIV, I said, “oh my God, am I one of those people?”
When I accessed harm reduction services, they didn't judge me.”
Injection drugs are still a primary mode of transmission for HIV. While harm reduction services have at times been politicized, there is no denying that they work. Harm reduction isn’t just about providing safe substance use tools or safe supply, it’s about compassion and humanity. It’s about acknowledging that one life lost to drug toxicity is one life too many. It’s about reducing the negative outcomes that can be a result of injecting drugs.
But many people who inject drugs are apprehensive to trust the healthcare system or to access harm reduction services. As Trevor notes, “for Indigenous people, we have a long history of being treated poorly in the healthcare system. The healthcare system was not made by us, or for us.”
We need more innovative and accessible tools to get harm reduction to those who need it most but might not otherwise be able to access it. One way is through Our Healthbox, a new, interactive, vending machine that dispenses harm reduction and sexual health supplies, as well as self-tests for HIV and COVID. It’s a confidential and discreet way that can meet Canadians wherever they are, and is being rolled out across the country over the coming years.
Links
www.ourhealthbox.ca/

[@rdidiya]

🙏🙏🙏