Documentary #8: Practicing harm reduction in a climate of disasters

"Harm reduction is not just service delivery, it's not just a set of techniques, it's not just a viewpoint of how to engage problematic drug use or sex or whatever have you, it's also part of a social movement that looks for a more just world for drug users, sex workers — that population. So it has a social critique saying, no shit, this is not right." - Rafael Torruella

This documentary episode of The Response explores how community-based harm reduction programs are responding to climate-fueled disasters and other systems-disrupting emergencies. The 40-min audio documentary features interviews with Rafael Torruella (executive director of Intercambios Puerto Rico), Justin Kunzelman (executive director and co-founder of Rebel Recovery Florida), and Savannah O'Neill (associate director of capacity building at the National Harm Reduction Coalition).

Episode credits:

• Host and executive producer: Tom Llewellyn
• Senior producer and scriptwriter: Robert Raymond
• Field production and script editing: Tom Llewellyn
• Additional script editing: Elizabeth Carr and Neal Gorenflo
• Graphic art created for this episode by Kane Lynch
• Theme music: Cultivate Beats
• A special thank you to everyone who was interviewed for this project