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katal newsletter – august 30, 2018

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In this issue…

Harm Reduction & Criminal Justice Reform in Albany

International Overdose Awareness Day Rally at the Capitol

The Prison Strike 2018

Lauren Manning, Dr. Alice Green, and Donna Hylton in Albany, NY.

Harm Reduction & Criminal Justice Reform in Albany

On Monday, August 27th, Katal staff from NYC were in Albany, NY to spend the day with some of our partners in the Capital Region. Katal staff members Keith Brown, Donna Hylton, and gabriel sayegh visited the Albany Center for Law and Justice to discuss our ongoing partnership on arrest diversion work and other municipal and community strategies for public safety. We are grateful to Dr. Alice Green, Lauren Manning, and the CFLJ team for hosting us!

(L to R) Katal’s Donna Hylton and Keith Brown. — Donna in an overdose reversal training, learning how to use Narcan to save lives, with trainer Joe Filippone from Project Safe Point.

Later, Donna and Keith met with staff from Project Safe Point, the Capital Region’s syringe exchange and harm reduction provider, to discuss harm reduction services in the Capital Region. The visit included a training in overdose prevention and reversal, using Naloxone (also known as Narcan) — special thank you to Joe Filippone for the training! Lastly, Shahmeeka Chaney-Artis and the staff of Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless provided a tour of their drop-in facility, where they are truly defining what it means to “meet people where they are.”


International Overdose Awareness Day Rally at the Capitol

Join us alongside Capital Region advocates and families impacted by the overdose crisis, as we will take to the state capitol tomorrow, August 31st at 12:00 PM to observe International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) by remembering those lost to overdose, and demand action to prevent future deaths. Speakers will focus on the prevention, treatment, recovery, harm reduction, and public health policies and interventions necessary to stop overdose deaths and drug-related harm.

The End Overdose NY campaign–a state-wide coalition of harm reduction organizations, people in recovery, families who lost loved ones to overdose, and drug policy reform advocates– will observe IOAD with direct actions throughout the state. The campaign demands the state invest in universal access to life-saving public health interventions, innovative strategies for an evolving epidemic, and public education that provides information and hope to struggling families and communities.

Learn more about how to become involved here: https://bit.ly/2wxzYuf


The Prison Strike 2018

Incarcerated people in prisons across the United States are peacefully protesting from August 21st to September 9th — in what is the largest peaceful prison strike in US history — demanding urgent reform to a system that abuses and exploits them. The dates chosen for the protest are symbolic, as August 21 marked forty-seven years since activist and Black Panther Party member, George Jackson, was shot by prison guards; September 9 was the day that the Attica uprising began in 1971.

The American prison system has a long history of brutalizing incarcerated people. We’ve seen how our broken system shatters the souls and dignity of people time and time again. The strike, led by those on the inside, needs the support and witness of those of us on the outside.

Below, check out the demands put forward by those on strike, and on social media search for the hashtag #PrisonStrike2018 to follow the news. For ways to support the strikers and take action, check out this action page on the nationwide #PrisonStrike. itsgoingdown.org/prisonstrike

You can also check out this article about the strike: Organizing Behind Bars, Inmates Push Back Against Abuse

We stand in solidarity with those on strike and redouble our commitment to work towards a world where prisons are obsolete.

These are their demands:

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