Tennessee Harm Reduction (THR) is a 501(c)(3) community-based organization operating at the intersection of drug-user-centric public health, drug user advocacy, HIV/viral hepatitis prevention, and drug policy reform.
What Do We Do?
- Mail harm reduction supplies across Tennessee. We help Tennesseans access naloxone, sterile syringes, fentanyl test strips, and safe injection supplies through our Supply-by-Mail Program, the only one of its kind in the Volunteer State. As of September 2023, we’ve given supplies to participants in 83 of Tennessee’s 95 counties.
- Run Tennessee’s #1 online harm reduction resource. Every year, hundreds of Tennesseans reach out to us for help — and tens of thousands of folks visit our website to learn about harm reduction in Tennessee.
- Provide a free drug checking service. We partner with the University of North Carolina’s Street Drug Analysis Lab to collect and lab-test drug samples, allowing us to monitor Tennessee’s drug supply in real-time. Results are posted publicly online in as little as 3-4 days, all while guaranteeing 100% participant anonymity. Of the 20+ states that participate in the program, Tennessee ranks 4th in the nation, accounting for 7.3% of all samples submitted (May 31, 2023). Of the 100+ samples submitted from Tennessee, all but 3 have come from Tennessee Harm Reduction or organizations currently or formerly working under our drug-checking umbrella.
Host our region’s only syringe exchange.Once upon a time, from June 2021 to March 2023, we ran rural West Tennessee’s first and only syringe access program. At our height, we ran two programs — one state-approved SSP, another unofficial syringe access program. We no longer operate these programs due to a chronic lack of funding.
Our Work — by the Map
