Stigmatizing Drug Use Is Killing Us, But Why Is It So Hard to Stop?
Screenshot of Terrell Jones in Vital Strategies’ “Harm Reduction Saves Lives” advertising campaign Despite significant strides in drug policy in recent decades, and changing attitudes about some substances, stigmatization of people who use drugs remains a pervasive...
We Are All Practicing Harm Reduction in this Pandemic
I wonder if commitment to harm reduction could become even more widespread if more of us appreciated the broader application of harm reduction in our lives.
Untold: Defining Moments of the Uprooted
For many years as a public speaking coach, I have encouraged people to share their personal stories and open up their lives to strangers. Sometimes this involves deeply emotional and tender subjects that aren’t easy to address but can have a powerful impact in opening eyes and sharing perspective. I have to say, it is much harder to do this in practice than to teach it.
Language is Power
I recently had the honor of working for Translators without Borders (TWB), an organization whose mission is to ensure people are included in communications about the issues that impact their lives, no matter what language they speak.
Alternatives to Calling the Police
It’s coming up on a year since I wrote the article, “How We Can All Take Responsibility to Avoid Calling the Police,” for Filter magazine. My piece describes alternative practices for people who would rather avoid calling the police in crisis situations, including those that involve drugs or mental health issues, to help prevent escalating the situation and getting someone shot.
For Brandon
I wrote this to honor my cousin Brandon's birthday on May 19. I am sharing it on the day he left this earth, August 12, four years ago. May 19, 2020 Brandon would have been 43 years old today. He came into the world only six months after me. I was an only...
How to Say I Love You
A Danish friend put out an interesting question recently to his Facebook circle. Speculating that there might be a generational difference in parents saying “I Love You” to their children (as in older generations may have said this much less than parents...
The Way of the Wise Novice
The middle of life feels in some ways like adolescence, what with all the hormones and abrupt body changes. Only sometimes I wish that I felt as confident about taking on the world as I did when I was a teenager. I started thinking of myself as an activist when I was...
Tony Newman MVP
I have to admit that I’ve never stayed in a job for more than four consecutive years. These days, that probably doesn’t make me so unusual. Most of us have vastly different resumes than the generation before us. My mother worked for over twenty years for the same...
Lessons from Katrina: Put Human Rights at the Center of Disaster Recovery
I am not a professional disaster relief worker, but I think the times we are living in will require all of us to find our personal roles and contributions to supporting disaster relief.