The War on Drugs, the Prison Industrial Complex, and Harm Reduction (In-person Training) 10/19/23
Thursday, October 19th, 9:30 am – 1:30 pm

Training Overview:
This four-hour in-person training is designed for people with harm reduction training and experience who are looking to take their programming and care to the next level. Through a combination of history, shared experiences, case studies, and discussion, training participants will explore the ways that criminalization and exploitation have created a system that causes certain groups to have worse health outcomes and a lower quality of life. Participants will learn how they can use this knowledge to build programming that interrupts these oppressive systems and angle their services toward being as open and inclusive as possible.

By the end of the training, participants will be able to:
- Define what the prison industrial complex and the war on drugs are and how they impacted communities of color from the 1970’s to the present
- Identify three ways different behaviors and drugs are treated differently within the justice system and what those differences stem from
- Explore the ways that the harm reduction can be used through direct service, policy, and community organizing to reduce the harms that stemmed from the racialized war on drugs
- Identify 3 ways that their program can change in order to resist further oppressing marginalized people and create spaces from healing and growth

This training will be held in person at 25 Van Ness Ave. Suite 610, San Francisco, CA 94102

Continuing education units (CEUs) are available thanks to the Center for Learning and Innovation (CLI) for the following disciplines:
- Registered Nurses (RN)
- Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW)
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT)
- Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCC)
- Licensed Educational Psychologists (LEP)
In order to receive your CEUs, you must complete the following:
- Sign in and sign out of the training using the chat in Zoom.
- Complete the evaluation after the training AND complete the 5 post-question quiz
- You will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the training if you fill out the evaluation.
- CEUs will be emailed to you within 1 month.
Attending one of these trainings fulfills the annual harm reduction training contract requirement, which is part of the SFDPH Declaration of Compliance for SFDPH systems of care and funded agencies that provide direct service to clients.
Equity Statement
The San Francisco Department of Public Health is committed to leading with race and prioritizing Intersectionality, including sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, class, nationality, language, and ability. SFDPH strives to move forward on the continuum of becoming an anti-racist institution through dismantling racism, building, building solidarity among racial groups, and working towards becoming a Trauma-Informed/Trauma Healing Organization in partnership with staff, clients, communities, and our contractors. When attending, SFDP trainings, events, and/or meetings, we uphold expectations and standards of rules of engagement for our employees and contractors. We expect that all participants operate in professional integrity and adhere to the DPH Employee Code of Conduct or their employee conduct. Participants will be accountable for upholding any group agreements provided by the trainer or host and uphold principles of transparency, confidentiality and respect. We support respectful participation across intersecting identities and experiences including race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, class, nationality, religion, language, physical and mental ability, and political ideology. While we strive to make an space of inclusivity, belonging, and hub for various perspective, we do not tolerate any inappropriate behavior or comments rooted in anti-blackness, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, sexism, or any comments or behavior that is discriminatory, disruptive, or divisive. If participants cannot abide by these expectations, they will be removed from the training or event and will not be allowed to attend any additional DPH trainings, event, and/or meetings. Trainers have been informed to notify DPH of any misconduct and a DPH representative will follow up with that employee’s supervisor or participant’s agency regarding the misconduct.