Reducing Harm and Saving Lives: Exploring The Role of Harm Reduction Centers, with speakers Alexandra Collins, PhD, and Kelsey Coletta, LCSW.

This webinar will be hosted by the NASW-RI Chapter (CEUs approved by NASW-MA)

Description: This workshop will examine the principles of harm reduction and public health interventions addressing the overdose crisis, including harm reduction centers. We will also consider the role of harm reduction centers in supporting the health and social outcomes of people who use drugs, and the role of social workers in these spaces. 

Learning objectives

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

• Understand the principles of harm reduction

• Describe the evidence supporting harm reduction centers as an effective public health intervention 

• Discuss how social workers can work in and with harm reduction centers to support clients

Speaker bios: 

Alexandra Collins, PhD, is an Investigator in the Department of Epidemiology at Brown University’s School of Public Health and a member of the People, Place, and Health Collective. She received her PhD in Health Sciences with a focus on medical social sciences and applied anthropology from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. Her community-engaged ethnographic and qualitative research focuses broadly on: social and structural drivers of health outcomes among people who use drugs; gender and drug use outcomes; and implementation and effectiveness of harm reduction and overdose prevention interventions. 

Kelsey Coletta, LCSW, is a bilingual Licensed Clinical Social Worker at VICTA in Providence, RI, an agency that provides substance use, mental health, and primary care services. She earned her Master’s in Social Work from Simmons University in 2021. Kelsey has worked in the field of addiction and mental health in a variety of settings including acute inpatient, crisis stabilization, and the women's facility at the Adult Correctional Institution. She was a Women's Policy Institute fellow from 2020-2021 and has worked closely with state legislators to draft and submit legislation inspired by her advocacy work for reproductive rights. She plans to continue advocating for her clients through direct one-on-one counseling and on a statewide level through policy.

This event is approved for 1.5 CEUs

$15 for NASW members / $30 for non-members