CHHSA Outreach

06/17/2026

Thank you so much for all the help today for an extremely successful community clean up!

06/17/2026

A reminder of our community clean up happening at 2pm!

Join us June 17th for a community clean up. We will provide the bags and gloves, just bring your energy!

06/16/2026

A safe consumption site is a monitored space with staff who believe in harm reduction practices.
Safe consumption sites, such as bars, are vital in ensuring that the supply is safe, consumption is monitored to prevent overdose, and that people don't use alone.

Harm reduction is evidence based, meaning it is supported through scientific data. During Covid, Canada saw a drastic increase in alcohol related deaths by 18% (stats Canada) due to the closures of safe consumption sites across the country.

As the toxic supply continues to increase and some areas close their safe consumption sites due to funding cuts, preventable deaths related to overdose continue to rise. Overdose related deaths are happening in and around our communities, and they are preventable.

The use of bars isn't questioned.
Neither is the moral integrity of the person accessing the bar.
The only difference between a safe consumption site for alcohol and other substances such as opioids, is the stigma.

Stigma is one of the biggest barriers in accessing resources and is the leading cause of death for people who use substances.

People who use drugs are part of our community.
Compassion and empathy reduce the stigma. 💜

The opposite of addiction is connection. Each Tuesday, CHHSA Outreach will post a "Debunk It Tuesday," which is a series to provide education on topics such as harm reduction, homelessness, addiction, and mental health.

06/09/2026

Harm reduction is part of our every day reality. Whether or not to wear sunscreen on a mid-summer day, our seatbelts in the car, or to wash our hands before we eat, are choices we all make every day. Because we make them daily, they become part of our norm.

If you went from 3 coffees a day to 0.
One pack of ci******es to none.
Or stopped your perscription medications abruptly.

Nothing about that would feel easy.

When we're talking about harm reduction, we need to talk about weighing risks and safety when making choices. Suddenly stopping a behavior that you've been engaging in daily can actually reduce safety, even though on the outside, behaviors like going from one pack of ci******es a day to none, would be perceived as a safer alternative. We know that in actuality, safely reducing to***co usage looks much different.

When we're talking about criminalized forms of drug use, the perception of harm reduction shifts away from "we're making safer decisions" to "we're enabling people to use more drugs." This harmful mindset moves us further away from safety and puts the blame back on the person, rather than the system that is causing the harm.

Having a first-aid kit in the car simply cannot encourage someone to become injured. Rather, if an injury occurs, the person will have a safer choice in how to respond. Similarly, having access to harm reduction supplies such as Naloxone, cannot encourage drug overdoses, but instead allows us to respond if it happens.

Shifting the narratives around how we talk about harm reduction is a life-saving act of care that creates safer communities for everyone.

Each week, join us as CHHSA Outreach posts a "debunk it Tuesday," which will be a series that provides education surrounding topics such as harm reduction, homelessness, addiction, and mental health.

06/06/2026

06/06/2026

June 6th is Naloxone Awareness Day.

Naloxone is a life saving medication that temporarily reverses symptoms of an opioid overdose.

With the toxic drug supply affecting communities everywhere, carrying naloxone is a simple and impactful act of care that could help save a friend, family member, coworker, neighbour, or even a stranger in an outside of our community.

Saving a life starts with knowing what to do.
To learn more about Naloxone, how to administer it, and to receive a kit, pease reach out to CHHSA Outreach! 💜

🖤Today, on National Naloxone Awareness Day, we recognize a simple truth: Naloxone saves lives.

Every overdose prevented is a second chance—a chance for recovery, healing, family, and hope.

At NE TN Change Works, we believe that every life has value and that everyone deserves access to life-saving resources. Naloxone is a safe, effective medication that can reverse an opioid overdose and give someone the opportunity to live another day.

🚐 We are committed to providing naloxone, harm reduction services, and compassionate support throughout Northeast Tennessee.

Together, we can reduce overdose deaths, fight stigma, and build healthier communities through respect, dignity, and compassion.

💜 Carry naloxone. Learn how to use it. Be prepared to save a life.

06/04/2026

We will be in Victoria Square today, June 4th, 12-1pm, providing and teaching how to use Narcan. Other harm reduction supplies will also be available.

Naloxone is a tool for community safety. It is a life-saving medication used to temporarily reverse the effects of opioid overdose while help is on the way.

You don't need to use opioids to carry Naloxone. Overdoses can affect friends, families, coworkers, neighbors, and strangers.

Knowing where to access a kit and carrying one with you, is one small and important way that we can look out for each other as a community!

For more information on harm reduction or how to use Naloxone, please reach out to the CHHSA Outreach team.

06/02/2026

Eating disorders do not discriminate.
People who experience financial and food insecurity are significantly more likely to develop a disordered relationship with food.

Homelessness and disordered eating are both heavily stigmatized and when they overlap, barriers to access adequate resources and support increase. When you aren't sure where your next meal will come from or where you'll sleep that night, and when survival is the priority, a person's relationship with food can become complex. The stereotype that eating disorders only impact people who are housed leaves people living unhoused unsupported and at a greater risk of mortality due to disordered eating.

We need to recognize the full picture when addressing the root causes of eating disorders, and create systems that provide accessible resources to individuals who are living unhoused.

06/02/2026

Join us at the pride parade here in Amherst on June 13th!

If you'd like to walk with us, please let us know by June 10th. We will be meeting at the square at 1:30PM.