Persistent Resistance – A Living Scrapbook

12 years of pushing back and saving lives

Harm reduction, and the resistance to the war on drugs, takes a myriad of forms. Lifesaving peer-to-peer interventions, innovative programming, street nursing, and other healthcare services, along with HR distribution form much of the back bone of how Harm Reduction is produced in Canada. Without the rallies, protests, forums and marches, however, we would quickly find ourselves without the critical expression of outrage and solidarity that has slowly but surely moved harm reduction ever slowly forward. Possibly unique to harm reduction, many of those who find themselves engaged in saving lives during the day, also find themselves at night planning the protests and the resistance to the war on drugs. We are both sides of the same coin.

(Photo credit: Peter Kim | National Day of Action to End the Overdose Crisis | Vancouver | 2018)

The last 12 years have seen some huge gains and some very hard losses; all the while harm reductionists have been persistent in pushing the conversation forward. With the grief and the losses we’ve experienced, it is critical that we take the time to reflect on our hard work and revel in the achievements of others. We recognize that our work has taken many forms, and this ‘living scrap book’ is our collective tale of our how we have persisted, through our own grief and rage, to end senseless death and to honour those who have come before us.