Harm Reduction Training Institute

HRTI logo
HRTI logo

The San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) Harm Reduction Training Institute (HRTI) supports SFDPH and SFDPH-funded staff, providers, and programs that work with people who use drugs and their communities.

 The goals of SFDPH HRTI are to:

  1. Build agency and program capacity
  2. Improve consumer engagement in service design and delivery
  3. Enhance the citywide system of care prevention and education to meet the needs of people who use drugs and alcohol in San Francisco

SFDPH-funded programs are required to integrate harm reduction principles into their service design and delivery, and all their staff are required to complete annual HRTI trainings. SFDPH Community Health Equity & Promotion Branch (CHEP) and Behavioral Health Services (BHS) collaborate with the National Harm Reduction Coalition (NHRC) and other community partners to provide monthly training to SFDPH and SFDPH-funded agency staff. HRTI training topics focus on how to work effectively with people who use drugs to support them in achieving their goals and implementing harm reduction principles to reduce stigma. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available from the Center for Learning and Innovation (CLI).

Please contact us at HRTI@sfdph.org.


SFDPH Policies

Resolution:

No. 10-00

Adopting a Harm Reduction Policy For Substance Abuse, STD and HIV

WHEREAS, the San Francisco Department of Public Health seeks to reduce adverse health effects to individuals, to individuals’ families and to the broader community through legal and compassionate interventions; and,

WHEREAS, the Harm Reduction model of health care offers multiple non-judgmental approaches to assist clients in their movement toward better health; and,

WHEREAS, the Harm Reduction model is client-centered and attempts to reach clients “where they are at”, to assist them in making choices that lead toward better health; and,

WHEREAS, deaths in the City and County of San Francisco due to injection drug overdoses reached 180 in 1999, the third leading cause of lost years of life; and,

WHEREAS, existing research indicates that 90% of injection drug users who have injected for more than two years are infected with Hepatitis C, and 16% are infected with HIV; and,

WHEREAS, soft tissue infection associated with injection drug use is the leading diagnosis for admission at San Francisco General Hospital’s Emergency Department, leading to 1,400 inpatient admissions in 1999 (costing $18 million), 70% of which were uninsured; and,

WHEREAS, needle exchange, a Harm Reduction program, has proven to decrease further HIV and Hepatitis C infections by providing clients with clean needles with which to inject; and,

WHEREAS, practicing safer sex reduces the likelihood of transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STD), including HIV; and,

WHEREAS, abstinence-based programs are successful for some individuals, but not all; and,

WHEREAS, recovery from substance use, practicing safer sex and improving health status often take place in an incremental manner; and,

WHEREAS, the serious consequences of substance abuse and unsafe sex cause significant health problems for the residents of San Francisco and some harm reduction practices have been shown to mitigate these health effects, now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED that all Department of Public Health providers, including DPH contractors, who deliver substance abuse, STD, and HIV treatment and prevention services, and/or who serve drug users and abusers in their programs shall: (1) address in their program design and objectives how they will provide harm reduction treatment options, and (2) develop harm reduction guidelines.

I hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was adopted by the Health Commission at its meeting of September 5, 2000.

Sandy Ouye Mori, Executive Secretary to the Health Commission

Resources

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Program Courses

6.17.26 10am-12pm Dual Diagnosis (virtual)
2 hours
6.17.26 10am-12pm Dual Diagnosis (virtual)
More than 50% of people who have a substance use disorder have a co-occurring mental health...
6.4.26 11am-1pm Incorporating Harm Reduction Principles into Substance Use Treatment (virtual)
2 hours
6.4.26 11am-1pm Incorporating Harm Reduction Principles into...
This training will discuss the application of harm reduction in substance use treatment programs...
5.27.26 10am-12pm Foundations of Harm Reduction (virtual)
2 hours
5.27.26 10am-12pm Foundations of Harm Reduction (virtual)
This training will provide health and human service providers with a comprehensive overview of...
5.20.26 10am-12pm Drugs 101 (virtual)
2 hours
5.20.26 10am-12pm Drugs 101 (virtual)
This training will cover the types, classifications, and major categories of substances. Also, we...
5.6.26 11am-1pm The War on Drugs, Prison-Industrial Complex, and Harm Reduction (virtual)
2 hours
5.6.26 11am-1pm The War on Drugs, Prison-Industrial Complex, and...
This training will give harm reduction workers a background of the history and policies related...
4.15.26 10am-12pm Spirit of Harm Reduction (virtual)
2 hours
4.15.26 10am-12pm Spirit of Harm Reduction (virtual)
Harm reduction has its origins in grassroots social justice and mutual aid. The Spirit of Harm...
4.1.26 1-3pm Harm Reduction 201 (virtual)
2 hours
4.1.26 1-3pm Harm Reduction 201 (virtual)
This highly participatory session will focus on workshopping practical ways providers can...
3.18.26 10am-12pm Vicarious Traumatization, Self-care, and Burnout Prevention (virtual)
2 hours
3.18.26 10am-12pm Vicarious Traumatization, Self-care, and Burnout...
This workshop offers information about the nature of vicarious traumatization, the root causes of...
3.3.26 10am-12pm Incorporating Harm Reduction Principles into Substance Use Treatment (virtual)
2 hours
3.3.26 10am-12pm Incorporating Harm Reduction Principles into...
This training will discuss the application of harm reduction in substance use treatment...
2.18.26 10am-12pm Trauma Informed Care (virtual)
2 hours
2.18.26 10am-12pm Trauma Informed Care (virtual)
This workshop helps participants understand the relationship between trauma and substance use,...
2.5.26 1-3pm Boundaries and Disclosure in Harm Reduction Work with PWUDs (virtual)
2 hours
2.5.26 1-3pm Boundaries and Disclosure in Harm Reduction Work with...
This workshop explores boundary setting and disclosure between people who use drugs and providers...
1.21.26 10am-12pm De-Escalation (In-Person)
2 hours
1.21.26 10am-12pm De-Escalation (In-Person)
This training will focus on developing effective techniques for approaching escalated situations...
1.7.26 10am-12pm Harm Reduction 201 (virtual)
2 hours
1.7.26 10am-12pm Harm Reduction 201 (virtual)
This highly participatory session will focus on workshopping practical ways providers can...
12.10.25 10am-12pm Motivational Interviewing (virtual)
2 hours
12.10.25 10am-12pm Motivational Interviewing (virtual)
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative, person-centered counseling approach designed...
12.4.25 1-3pm Cultural Safety, Language Justice, and Harm Reduction (virtual)
2 hours
12.4.25 1-3pm Cultural Safety, Language Justice, and Harm Reduction...
This training seeks to create space for reflection and conversation with participants about the...
10.8.25 10am-12pm Abstinence is Part of Harm Reduction (virtual)
2 hours
10.8.25 10am-12pm Abstinence is Part of Harm Reduction (virtual)
This course is designed to explore the growing perceived riff that has reemerged between...
10.9.25 1-3pm Foundations of Harm Reduction (virtual)
2 hours
10.9.25 1-3pm Foundations of Harm Reduction (virtual)
This training will provide health and human service providers with a comprehensive overview of...
11.3.25 11am-1pm Harm Reduction, Stigma, and Pregnant People who Use Drugs (virtual)
2 hours
11.3.25 11am-1pm Harm Reduction, Stigma, and Pregnant People who...
Pregnant and parenting people who use substances are one of the most stigmatized and demonized...
11.12.25 10am-12pm Substance Use Treatment with Young Folx: Harm Reduction Healthy, Safe, and Alive when 'Just Say No' isn't Working (virtual)
2 hours
11.12.25 10am-12pm Substance Use Treatment with Young Folx: Harm...
Realities of youth drug use, prevalence, and maturing out.  How society impacts youth drug use...
Self-Paced #3: Harm Reduction and Beyond
45 min
Self-Paced #3: Harm Reduction and Beyond
This comprehensive training program, facilitated by Claudia Figallo, MPH, LAADC, Manager of...
Self-Paced #2: Motivational Interviewing
1.5 hours
Self-Paced #2: Motivational Interviewing
This comprehensive training program, facilitated by Claudia Figallo, MPH, LAADC, Manager of...
Self-Paced #1: De-escalation and Conflict Management
1.5 hours
Self-Paced #1: De-escalation and Conflict Management
This comprehensive training program, facilitated by Terrance Wilder, Health Equity Training...