Five days a week four volunteers, one of which includes a certified nurse, pile into an old moving truck in an effort to supply drug users with harm reduction services in various parts of Austin. The non-profit organization in charge of providing the resources needed is called the Austin Harm Reduction Coalition (AHRC).
Inside the truck, which is painted all-white without any sort of logo, there’s a table that contains the many supplies AHRC always has readily available. Robert, who has been with the organization for over 20 years, is hesitant to attract too much attention from anyone that isn’t there to use the services.
“We’ve had this truck since 1998,” Robert said. “When we first found it, it was completely covered in graffiti.”
The subtlety of the truck’s appearance in addition to the fact that AHRC goes to the same areas each week allows it to be easy to find for those that rely on the services, but still remain somewhat elusive. James, AHRC coordinator, mentioned that one major bone of contention is the fact that users can drop off dirty needles in return for clean ones.
“We function in a sort of gray area within the law,” James said. “The police are not a monolithic entity. Policies and opinions vary greatly.”
While the mobile outreach program itself doesn’t do anything illegal, each dirty needle has the potential to be considered a different possession charge. Every two weeks or so, a medical waste company picks up dirty needles from the organization’s office in east Austin.
“Harm reduction is seatbelts on cars, sexual education, and clean needles,” Walker continues, “everyone that uses drugs is a community member and what we provide is a service for the community.”
For one volunteer named Linda, having such a service here in Austin sheds light on the fact that not every user is given the same education and resources AHRC does.
“I have a really good friend who uses and it would help her a lot to have something like a mobile outreach program,” Linda said. “But recognizing the problem is all part of the process of treating addiction like the understated epidemic that it is.”
The organization strives to refrain from any judgment. People are given the choice to remain anonymous other than their demographic for grant purposes. Other than grants and fundraisers, a lot of support comes from local businesses, such as Treasure City Thrift.
Josh, the treasurer for the organization, takes note of the increase in awareness. “There’s definitely been a climate change in terms of national discourse,” Josh said. “People are finally starting to care.”
*I’d also like to create a map that shows where each stop is in relation to each other*
October 6, 2016 at 2:10 pm
This is such an interesting topic that i had zero knowledge of prior to reading this. It is very informative about AHRC. I know that you needed to use first names only for some people who requested not to have their last names used but if you could use last names for some of the other people who are more openly involved i think it would add validity to the sources. The Robert source – i gather that he was hesitant to be interviewed but my brain wants to know why – not sure that’s something you could elaborate on. Also, the quote about “operating in a legal grey area” raised a lot of questions in my mind. What does that even mean? What are the cops varying opinions? I’d love to know where they stand on this. I’d also am kind of curious about the kind of addictions this effects. I know there is a heroin epidemic in the US but i don’t know how bad it is locally. I also am curious about what traditional addiction treatment centers think about this. (I know an addiction specialist in Mass i can try to link you up with if you are interested or think it would be helpful for this story or your next) Maybe something for another story or maybe something to beef this one up. All in all I think its really interesting and well sourced and I look forward to reading the final draft!
You raise good questions, Hailey, especially about sourcing. Yes, it is ok to use first names only in certain situations. If this is the only way recovering addicts will be interviewed, then, makes sense. But the advocates? I agree that we should be reading their full names for exactly the reasons you cite here, Hailey – the credibility of your reporting. You don’t want the reader wondering about what you haven’t told her. Now, what about multimedia, Hailey? You don’t address that here.