If you start from a place of love, you can’t go wrong
A vigil for an unhoused community member who recently died in Newark served as a call to not look away.
Jack's Latest Articles
American stigma: A brief history
In the wake of the overdose catastrophe, more Americans should be aware that addiction is not a moral failing, and that the overdose crisis was generated by policy failures.
Care is a verb: Lessons in building supportive community from lifelong advocate Vince Engel
Times of uncertainty and fear can foster societies of care.
‘It was a holy and sacred experience to speak for them’
Stacy Schwab had submitted a victim impact statement weeks earlier, but she wasn’t prepared to speak when she entered the courtroom with others who testified about the harms done by Purdue Pharma.
Victim impact: Listening to testimony at work on a Tuesday in April
At one point, a woman thanked the judge for letting her speak. The judge replied, ‘It’s the least I could do.’ And the woman replied, ‘You’re right. It is the least you could do.’
Mourn the dead but hold space for the living
The work of harm reduction is only sustainable when you take time to notice those places where the light breaches the dark.
The problem with the CDC prohibiting ‘never use alone’
Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reportedly told recipients of overdose prevention funding that they may no longer be allowed to promote the message that has become one of the pillars of harm reduction.
Ohio’s Recovery: The past, present, and future of the overdose crisis
Fewer people are dying from overdose, but the policies and the social determinants of health did not vanish.
‘Just regular people’
There’s a long history of underground mutual aid in America that often cuts against laws and norms.
There’s nothing passive about hope
They expect you to give up when they ‘flood the zone,’ marshalling chaos and outrage to divert your gaze. In the face of despair, we must continue to rise.