Community Partner: Baltimore Student Harm Reduction Coalition
Peer Mentor: Matthew Brown
Site Supervisor: Mark Sine
What is Baltimore Student Harm Reduction Coalition?
We work to build a local network of health, policy, and social service students, alumni, and
professionals committed to harm reduction principles, and to serve as a conduit for community
involvement, education, and advocacy in Baltimore and beyond.
Working with the Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition this summer has been
an eye opening experience as to how my Public Health background can be
used in an effective manner. Having learned about various behavior change
theories in my classes, I was hoping to be able to see them used in real life in
order to understand how effective and applicable they can be. BHRC uses
the Behavior Change Theory Model to understand the best way to reduce
the harm someone might cause to themselves by engaging in risky behaviors.
Working with my boss and his coworkers has shown me just how effective
their workshops are. They stress how important it is to meet a person where
they are at in their behavior change stage in order to make the most positive
impact. During my time with BHRC, my boss has allowed me to develop
various workshops around mental health, women's reproductive rights,
sexual consent, and illicit drugs. Being able to learn about these various
topics and then create presentations around them has been a highlight of my
summer. One of the trainings I helped develop is going to be used at
Morgan's campus to help train their Residential Life Staff. Being able to see
and I look forward to seeing them used in the near future. Another thing I
valued about working with BHRC was seeing the policy and management
side of nonprofit work. With only one full time member in our Coalition, it
can be difficult to figure out who can come to a training or complete a task.
However, every time an event or meeting is about to take place, we always
have more than enough people to help us out. I look forward to watching the
great work that BHRC continues to complete throughout Baltimore and I am
excited to continue helping them with anything they need throughout the
year to come. ‐ Matt
Tasks:
● Created workshops that aim to reduce harm
caused by risky behaviors
● Helped facilitate trainings about overdose
prevention and nalaxone use
● Met with university administrators to
determine the best way to implement harm
reduction programs on campus
● Data entry and analysis
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