PREVIOUSLY: 

• City of Eureka Announces Opposition to HACHR Recertification, Releases Lengthy Report Chronicling Months-Long Undercover Surveillance
  
• HACHR Responds to City of Eureka Letter Opposing State Reauthorization

Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction (HACHR) release:

Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction (HACHR) has reviewed the information released by the Eureka Police Department and takes their allegations very seriously. Staff and board members are in the process of assessing our policies and procedures, evaluating staffing options to increase safety, strengthen community ties and be the best neighbor we can be. Our mission has always been centered in the belief that we must show up for our population, supporting the most marginalized members of our community, and offering harm reduction services to those who need them the most. We remain steadfastly committed to our mission.

Due to the pandemic, HACHR has been running on a skeleton crew. This has made providing services challenging, but we are up to the task and taking measures to improve upon what is working and making adjustments in our operations to close identified gaps. We have always worked to monitor people while they are on premises to ensure compliance with important safety rules. This is additionally important now to make sure social distancing and mask wearing are in full effect.

We remain diligent in monitoring the behaviors of anyone on the premises and have never condoned drug consumption or dealing on or near our property. Over the years, we have had to limit or eliminate services to a handful of participants who have not complied with these rules, and we will continue to do so. The accusations that HACHR staff has acted otherwise disturbs us, and while we find the evidence presented to not support the allegation, we are committed to putting additional measures in place to keep HACHR free from drug selling or use.

Immediate actions that HACHR is taking include:

• Seeking funding to hire a staff person whose primary duty will be onsite monitoring of activities and ensuring our participants are accountable to their agreements with HACHR.
• Update our policies to more clearly state that: Any peers or employees who fail to adhere to HACHR policies will be released; Participants who break service agreements will lose access to HACHR services.
• Increasing our presence on social media, updating our website, and communicating about our services to the community more broadly.

HACHR has an open door policy. If you are interested in seeing how our organization operates, we welcome you! Avail yourself of services if you need or want them. Come volunteer. Get to know our people. We are all part of this place we call home.

MORE PREVIOUS LoCO HACHR COVERAGE:

• Eureka City Council to Consider Supporting Needle-Exchange Program
• (VIDEO) Humboldt County Keeps Overdosing, But the Number of Deaths Are Down — Probably Thanks to the Ready Availability of Naloxone
• Dueling Demonstrations Compete For Honks in Downtown Eureka
• Eureka City Council Members Question Whether HACHR’s Syringe Exchange Program is ‘The One’ for the City
• No, HACHR Did Not Hand Out Syringe Kits During Arts Alive
• STATE OF EUREKA: Following Citizen Outcry, the City is Ratcheting Up the Pressure on Needle Litter (and Hoping Things Won’t Snap)
• HACHR Issues Statement on State Authorization for Syringe Exchange Program
• New York Times Lists HACHR Executive Director as One of the ‘18 Memorable People We Met Across the Country in 2018’
• Eureka’s Syringe Advisory Committee Will Present Its Recommendations to the City Council Tuesday
• Syringe Advisory Committee Recommends Smartphone App to Address Eureka Needle Litter
• Eureka Police Chief Decries ‘Hostile and Threatening Speech’ Directed at Needle Exchange Program; Says EPD Will be on Hand to Ensure Peace at HACHR Picnic Tomorrow
• In Passionate Exit Interview, HACHR Founder Brandie Wilson Defends Needle Exchange, Blasts Critics and Explains How She Reached the End of Her Fucking Rope
• The Librarian and the Cop: Struggling to Serve Eureka’s Homeless Population on the Streets and in the Stacks
• Former HACHR Head Named Executive Director of Chicago Recovery Alliance
• The Humboldt Harm Reduction Coalition Would Like to Hear Your Thoughts About Harm Reduction
• Drug Use Appears To Be On the Rise in Humboldt, But Local Treatment Centers Are Still Open