This is a recording of the Session 2 Panel for our center's Symposium on Harm Reduction, Healing Justice, and Mental Health Approaches on May 7, 2024. This video forum uplifts the wisdom and perspectives of a diverse group of mental health professionals, who all shared their lived experiences, thoughts and ideas on policies and practices that support a healing-centered approach to harm reduction.

Panel speakers Gabriela Zapata-Alma, LCSW, CADC, Dylan Thomas, and Janis Whitlock, Ph.D, MPH all offered concrete strategies and guidance for family, friends, and other allies who wish to support the healing and recovery journey of a loved one. The dialogue was grounded in a few guiding questions, including:   

• In your experience, what are the most effective approaches for families, friends, and other allies to support the harm reduction and healing journey of a loved one?   

• Harm reduction has historically been thought of in relation to drug use. What additional applications of harm reduction are emerging that should be elevated?   

• Healing justice is conducive to harm reduction because the process is holistic and compassionate, seeking to repair harm and create change rather than punish and isolate. What does healing justice mean to you and why is it important to talk about healing-centered harm reduction?   

• The healing practices of our ancestors have historically been taken from us by means of slavery, imperialism, and systemic oppression. How has the reclamation of these ancestral, culturally rooted healing practices shifted the landscape of harm reduction?