Have You Heard About the Harm Reduction Action Center?

Since 2002, the Harm Reduction Action Center has been Colorado’s primary provider of HIV/HCV prevention and services to injection drug users in the Metro-Denver community. The mission of the Harm Reduction Action Center is to educate, empower, and advocate for the health and dignity of Metro-Denver’s injection drug users (IDU) and affected partners, in accordance with harm reduction principles. Staff and volunteers meet drug users "where they're at” and have developed a reputation for accessing IDUs that would not otherwise have appropriate health education, healthcare services, and emotional support, thus avoiding duplication of already available community services.

Check out more information after the jump.




Syringe Access – Clean syringes Monday through Friday from 9:00am – noon.

Health Education Classes – HIV & HCV prevention are the cornerstones of agency services.
Break the Cycle: IDUs recognize their personal power in reducing HIV/HCV prevalence, refuse to participate in other people’s initiations into injection drug use, and reduce risk of participating in actions that compromise their morals. Evaluations have demonstrated that after participating in the BTC program, the majority report having more skills to refuse initiation requests and were more aware of their unintentional influence on non-injectors. HIV & HCV 101: a group-level educational intervention to educate users about the similarities and differences between HIV and HCV, risk factors for transmission, and IDU risk-reduction behaviors.

Vein Care: a group-level educational intervention to educate users on injection-related health conditions including HIV and Hepatitis C as well as bacterial infections such as abscess, cellulitis, and endocarditis; this class also provides an opportunity for users to learn how to incorporate more hygienic and lower-risk practices into their injection techniques.

Safe Syringe Disposal Initiative - provides IDU-led community cleanups and free, disposal services to both IDUs and other Metro-Denver individuals facing similar challenges to properly dispose of medically-related syringes. In 2012 alone, more than 71,000 potentially contaminated syringes were collected from IDUs, tattoo artists, acupuncturists, and elderly/homeless diabetics in the Metro-Denver area.

HIV/HCV/Chlamydia/Gonorrhea Testing – HRAC staff provide on-demand testing.

Overdose Prevention & Treatment with Access to Naloxone – Naloxone is an opiate-reverser for folks experiencing an opiate overdose. After a 2 hour training, a physician will prescribe Naloxone to opiate users to save a life while continuing to call 911. HRAC is the only agency in Colorado providing this service.

Bridges to Access – HRAC connects with healthcare providers statewide to discuss the challenges and opportunities of working with injection drug users. It is a common misconception that injection drug users do not care about their health. HRAC is working to build mutual understanding between healthcare providers and IDU patients and to bridge the access to healthcare for our community’s most vulnerable populations.

Recovery Accessibility Initiative - seeks to provide dual-diagnosis substance abuse treatment support and/or therapy through an integrated approach. A primary goal of the Recovery Accessibility Initiative is to provide therapeutic services under a client centered framework that allows an authentic therapeutic relationship necessary to develop a healthier perspective on unresolved historical trauma.