Operation “In My Back Yard” Page Harm Reduction Philadelphia

09/02/2026

Outreach went smoothly last night, and we all had the overdose walk fresh in our minds. There was something about this year’s walk that was heavy. I’m not sure if it was having family members of our volunteers attend or hearing the back to back names of people we’ve lost and replaying the memories that is still sitting with me. I had two conversations with participants we are pretty close to yesterday about them getting out of Kensington. I caught myself saying “get out, do it now while you are motivated”. I truly believe that the harm reduction services we provide opens the door for more meaningful conversations that lead to relationships, a safe space and willingness to be vulnerable. I often wonder how many of the faces we look forward to seeing will be on the list next year. The work is heavy but it’s necessary and I’m honored that people let me into their space and feel comfortable enough to talk about what’s really happening in their lives out there. End of rant. Donate if you can, the weather is going to change soon and we will need to start collecting blankets and coats as well. Our Venmo is
Thank you loveworksresourcecenter for the drinks and dry goods. Thank you inkindbakingproject for all the yummy desserts and thank you Mike for making all the food! It was a hit! And Happy 60th birthday Harry! If YKYK 😂

08/30/2026

Come walk with us tomorrow!

Come walk with us to remember those we’ve lost to preventable deaths

08/26/2026

Outreach was steady tonight and we hung our memorial banner for the walk on Monday and participants added names of people they lost to an overdose. This time of year can be very somber and there was a deafening silence tonight as I watched people add names to the banner. This is why we do the work that we do. If we can prevent one person from dying a preventable death, it’s all worth it. That’s one family that isn’t grieving the loss of their loved one and one less empty chair at the table. Please walk with us in remembrance of those we lost on Monday at 6pm. We are meeting other groups at Huntington station to walk for Overdose Awareness Day. If you have names you want added to the list that will be read, please send us a private message and we will add them. If you are interested in getting involved in our outreaches, please message us.

08/22/2026

Come walk with us to remember those we’ve lost to preventable deaths

08/19/2026

Outreach was steady tonight and we had a small team with us. Thank you dietzandwatson for your continued donations to feed our community. We are currently recruiting volunteers for Tuesday outreaches and Sunday afternoon kit making. Send us a message if you want to get involved! Come walk with us on the 31st at 6pm for Overdose Awareness Day!

08/12/2026

Outreach was very busy tonight. We served homemade pasta salad, sandwiches thanks to dietzandwatson and lots of grocery items thanks to loveworksresourcecenter! Thank you to everyone who came out to help ❤️

08/11/2026

Here’s a pic of my sweet boy since cell phones weren’t a thing back then. I usually don’t do this but here goes….24 years ago, I experienced the worst overdose of my life (I think it was somewhere around number 13). I was 22. I dreamed I was drowning and slowly falling to the bottom of the ocean. I felt myself struggling and then started to give up and go with the feeling. That’s when I was ripped out of the dream and I felt something being pulled out of my throat and I took the biggest breath of my life. I saw a nurse above me and other people in the room but I don’t remember them. I saw the tube they had down my throat that was forcing me to breath. I was alone and terrified to tell them my real name. I was Jane Doe. I was alive because my friend took me to the hospital. I had been sober for a year in jail and used when I got out. Again. Since then, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have my greatest supporters by my side, my family and and my (now) husband. I couldn’t have done this without them. There was no Narcan back then, and using with other people was the only thing we could do to stay safe. In honor of overdose awareness month, I am choosing to say out loud that I have 24 years off he**in today. I’m not ashamed anymore. I have worked my ass off building a life I want to live and an organization that supports people who use drugs because they matter. Do your part, carry Narcan, and let’s end the stigma and save lives.

08/05/2026

Outreach was steady tonight and we served turkey and cheese sandwiches thanks to dietzandwatson. Thank you loveworksresourcecenter for the bread and beverages! Thank you karasiegs1 for making homemade bread pudding! One of our participants who we have known since 2018 wanted to say hello to the community in this video, but we declined putting their face on camera. We had a conversation afterwards about awareness. He told me “I think they take our videos and do interviews so other people can laugh at us”. My heart broke hearing that. Our participants know that we take our set up video to show others what we are doing for the sake of donations and getting volunteers. They don’t even move out of the way when they see the phone coming because they trust that we will not post their faces. Harm reduction is also building relationships on trust and consistency. Reach out if you are interested in volunteering.

07/31/2026

We did outreach tonight since we got rained out on Tuesday and I actually had the evening off so we made it work with a small crew. Thank you dietzandwatson for your continued donations to feed our community. We will be back out Tuesday as long as it’s not raining.