In this issue…
Making Connections in Harm Reduction
In Hartford: Tabling with Neighborhood Youth
Making Connections in Harm Reduction
The Katal team gathers for a group selfie alongside the Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Coalition team.
On Tuesday, August 13th, we hosted our friends from the Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Coalition (PAHRC) at our Brooklyn office. PAHRC joined us as part of their harm reduction road trip to New York. Members of our team came from Albany and Hartford to meet PAHRC in Brooklyn: Kenyatta Thompson, Yan Snead, Shaka Colon, Cedric Fulton, and Keith Brown. During the meeting, we talked about the state of the field and discussed ideas, strategies, and best practices for harm reduction through the lens of community organizing.
There is always much to be gained from sharing a table with other groups doing the work to drive systemic change. We are excited to watch PAHRC organization grow over the years to come!
Check out our Twitter thread from our meeting with the PA Harm Reduction Coalition, here.
In Hartford: Tabling with Neighborhood Youth
Community Organizer, Kenyatta Thompson, tabling with neighborhood kids in Frog Hollow.
This week, our Connecticut team kept busy by tabling in Hartford. Community Organizer Kenyatta Thompson and Apprentice Community Organizer Dajuan Wiggins set their table up around the corner from our Headquarters in Hartford, CT. From the minute their table was complete, they were busy talking with Frog Hollow residents of all ages.
A few minutes into tabling, youth under the age of 10 approached our team on bikes, asking about their “Health, Equity, and Justice” stickers. They rode away with stickers for themselves and factsheets for their parents, but came back a short time later with visitors to the table. They declared they were “working” and rode their bikes up and down the block handing out factsheets, stickers and business cards to residents walking in the neighborhood.
Kenyatta and Dajuan spoke with neighborhood residents about housing, halfway houses, the prison industrial complex, community organizing and rights for people living with disabilities.
Join us in our effort to build power within CT communities and drive real change by connecting with Kenyatta and Dajuan! You can reach Kenyatta Thompson at (860) 937-6094, or at kthompson@katalcenter.org. Reach Dajuan Wiggins at (203) 295-4888, or at dwiggins@katalcenter.org.
