If you use drugs, want to be part of a supportive community, and learn about ways to stay safe and healthy, consider getting involved with a harm reduction organization. These folks can hook you up with overdose prevention, Fentanyl test strips, tons of supplies, and great information.
If you want to stop using opiates, find a provider that offers Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) or Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT). If Halley received the medications he repeatedly requested for his cravings he would probably be alive today. Inpatient treatment alone is not the best option for treating opioid dependency. Abstinence without medications is super dangerous — it lowers your tolerance and if you use when your tolerance is low you can overdose easily. People who receive MOUD/MAT are 50% less likely to relapse and die than those who don’t receive these medications.
24/7 Crisis Response Team
If you are experiencing a mental health or drug crisis, please call
504-826-2675 if you are in New Orleans, St. Bernard or Plaquemines
504-832-5123 if you are in Jefferson Parish.
Resources & Treatment Options
Trystereo is a New Orleans harm reduction collective dedicated to supporting folks who use drugs. Trystereo provides free supplies, harm reduction training, and an opportunity to connect with some super loving people. These resources can help you stay healthy, happy and alive.
Trystereo is a free, mobile public health resource for people who use drugs in southeastern Louisiana. Trystereo offers Naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote, available for free with opioid overdose prevention and reversal training. They provide Fentanyl test strips. (Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and can lead to overdoses very quickly.) They also deliver supply kits for safer injection, smoking, and snorting, condoms, and wound care kits with education about safer drug use and health. You can also request specific trainings by expert harm reductionists. You can even order supplies by mail.
Finally, on Trystereo’s website you can find a comprehensive list of MOUD/Suboxone/Buprenorphine Providers in New Orleans.
TRYSTEREO TEXT HOTLINE: 504-535-4766
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THE NEW ORLEANS SYRINGE ACCESS PROGRAM
The New Orleans Syringe Access Program provides lots of harm reduction services every Friday from noon to 5 pm at 1631 Elysian Fields Ave. including: sterile syringes, overdose prevention education, Naloxone/Narcan, Referrals for medication-assisted treatment (MAT)/medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD).
Crescent Care also has a program called Recovery Works that offers an intensive outpatient program. This program includes therapy, MAT/MOUD, social support, trauma resolution and more.
504.207.CARE (2273)
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WOMEN WITH A VISION
Women With A Vision fights for drug policy grounded in science, compassion, health, and human rights. Their work is centered around and led by people who use drugs, trusted community gate-keepers, and our harm reduction rooted history. WWAV offers harm reduction kits in the office daily and outreach on a bi-weekly basis.
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REFUGE RECOVERY
Refuge Recovery is a Buddhist-inspired path to recovery from addictions of all kinds. It is a community of people who are using the practices of mindfulness, compassion, forgiveness, and generosity to heal the pain that addiction has caused in our lives and the lives of our loved ones. The meetings are appropriate for anyone in recovery or interested in recovery. No meditation experience required. No registration – just drop in.
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NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS
NA is a nonprofit fellowship of people who define as recovering addicts and meet regularly to help each other live sober. Officially, this is a program of complete abstinence from all drugs. However, many groups are supportive of folks using MOUD/MAT. There is only one requirement for membership, the desire to stop using. Some folks find a larger, similar community in Alcoholics Anonymous.
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AL-ANON.ORG
Al‑Anon Family Groups include friends and family members of people who use drugs and drink. They meet to share their experiences and learn how to apply the principles of the 12 Steps to their own situations. Many people find community and a group of folks who understand the challenges and gifts of loving people who drink and use drugs in Al-Anon.
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SAMHSA.GOV
The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services offers a confidential and anonymous source of information for persons seeking treatment facilities in the United States or U.S. Territories for substance abuse/addiction and/or mental health problems and medication assisted treatment.
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ADVOCACY & ACTIVISM
HARMREDUCTION.ORG
The National Harm Reduction Coalition’s mission is to promote the health and dignity of individuals and communities affected by drug use. As a national advocacy and capacity building organization, HRC aims to shift power and resources to people most vulnerable to structural violence and racialized drug policies.
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FACINGADDICTION.ORG
An organizations dedicated to building a national response strong enough to turn the tide against addiction. Get involved and stay informed on how you can help change the way addiction is treated in this country.
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BROKENNOMORE.ORG
Broken No More provides support and guidance to those who have lost a loved one due to substance use, to advance the treatment of, and eventual cures for addiction / substance use disorder in a meaningful and useful way and to effect positive policy changes in the current failed war on drugs.
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BEREAVED PARENTS
Life After Loss workshops is an in-person six-day therapeutic program, designed to help individuals who have experienced the inexpressible grief following the death of a child. Participants move through their own unique process while being supported by the small group and larger community who are bonded by the same life experience. Participants learn the Grief Model of trauma recovery, how grief and loss impact the brain, and tools and resources to assist in understanding sadness, mourning, anger and acceptance. This program is held once a year, in a gorgeous setting in Tennessee and it is FREE. There is a waiting list.