MSW students to present at October NASW-PA conference

MSW students Stavi Xinos and Sydney Biondi, advanced standing MSW COSA students due to graduate this August, have had their proposal "Liberatory Harm Reduction & Social Work: Beyond Substance Use" selected for the National Association of Social Workers – Pennsylvania Chapter (NASW-PA) 2024 Annual Conference. This session will provide an overview of harm reduction's history and foundational principles, and then explore various interventions, methods, and critical frameworks for social work that are rooted in harm reduction and decarceration. Harm reduction encompasses ways in which we can mitigate the risk and harm associated with behaviors and situations that are correlated to adverse health outcomes. While harm reduction is traditionally associated with substance use, it can also be applied to diverse human experiences that are perceived as harmful, such as disordered eating, sex work, and intimate partner violence. Participants will walk away from this workshop with skills for practicing decarceral social work, an understanding of the benefits of harm reduction on individuals, communities, and public health, and methods for implementing harm reduction across micro, mezzo, and macro levels of social work.