Mainline has decades of experience working alongside people who use drugs. Based on our experience of outreach work as well as our expertise concerning drug use, health and the human rights of people who use drugs, we are well placed to offer specific harm reduction related training and advice.
Working in harm reduction is a tough job - Mainline offers support!
People who have become heavily dependent on drugs in countries where drug use is criminalised often find themselves marginalised by society. People fear the police because of their drug use and can be reluctant to trust social workers, doctors or anyone that they perceive as an authority. They are often shunned by their community and even by their own families. As a consequence, people who use drugs are often hard to reach.
Due to the complex factors that may underlie problematic drug use, harm reduction interventions, though pragmatic by nature, need to address many social, legal and medical needs.
The context in which many harm reduction workers operate is also usually unsupportive, unfriendly or even hostile. In brief, people who work in harm reduction have a tough job to do!
Everyone who works in harm reduction as a peer or a professional could benefit from Mainlines expertise. Mainline works on the basis of the following norms and values:
Mainline is a non-profit organisation. We offer our trainings, workshops, advice and consultancy for reasonable prices. In addition, we are open to think with local NGO’s to find ways to finance our training and/or to see into ways of financing joint projects.
Our practical trainings, advice, consultancy and on the job coaching can address any topic related to drugs. Examples include:
Contact
If you have particular training needs, please feel free to contact our trainer Simon Williams. In case you would like to discuss creative options to work together, you can contact our international programme manager Mac Busz. We are happy to discuss the possibilities with you.
Mail: training@mainline.nl
Call: +31 (0)20 682 26 60
When you work in harm reduction or meet people who use drugs in your work, you may encounter difficulties in making contact, while trying to establish trustful relationships with people and when communicating with people under influence.
People who offer harm reduction services have to work hard to reach people. And frontline workers have to make sure they can offer people quality information, services and medical, legal and social support. A project that offers clean needles and syringes to people requires more logistics and planning than one might think.
Harm reduction is still controversial in many countries. People have misconceptions about the pragmatic interventions and often believe drug use is encouraged. To make local community members understand harm reduction, a lot of talking and explaining might be needed.
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