This July, Cochise Harm Reduction had the honor of hosting the second annual Arizona Harm Reduction Coalition (AZHRC) in-person convening here in Bisbee.
This convening is funded by the NASTAD Centers of Excellence grant, of which we are currently wrapping up year two. The convening brought together 20 coalition members, including individual harm reduction workers and folks from 8 different harm reduction and mutual aid organizations from across the state. We also hosted seven facilitators who traveled from as far as Washington D.C., Ohio, and Texas to be with us. Our first convening in July of last year included just one full day, this year we expanded to two full days. This is a reflection of how much our coalition has grown and how much work there still is to do together. Two members of the NASTAD drug user health team, Billy and Kirsten, also made the trip down to Bisbee and were able to witness the coalition’s work firsthand and participate in community building right alongside us.
The convening weekend was packed with meaningful presentations and workshops, all organized by the AZHRC Planning Subcommittee, which spent five months organizing the event. The sessions covered a wide range of topics including employing people who use drugs, Arizona harm reduction legal considerations, funding strategies, soliciting formal participant feedback, and an herbal wound care workshop led by Wolfberry Apothecary out of Tucson. One particularly significant session was the session led by the AZHRC Defining Subcommittee, which has been meeting over the last year to develop the coalition’s admission process, mission statement, vision, and shared values. At the convening, they were able to present their work and open it up for group input and discussion. This was a really powerful moment to put some of our shared values of solidarity, collaboration, and transparency into practice.
Of course, the convening was about more than building and sustaining formal programming. When everyone arrived in Bisbee on Friday night, we gathered at Cafe Roka for a shared meal. After the first full day of convening on Saturday, coalition members, facilitators, CHR staff, friends, and family all came together at Lu’s house for a BBQ. Dan, CHR’s own Kitchen Coordinator, was on the grill all evening, and Chappy from SPUN treated us all to a fire show under a darkening, stormy sky. These small moments of rest, laughter, and connection are part of our work. The AZHRC is a space for peer-led harm reduction workers to be in community and solidarity with each other, to share our knowledge and resources, and to deepen our interdependence. That is part of what sustains our life-saving and system-changing work. Spending time together in-person is irreplaceable, and we are already looking forward to next year’s convening!