In this issue…
In Buffalo: Harm Reduction Conference 2019
In Albany: September Monthly Member Meeting Synopsis
Join us 10/17 for the NYC Council Vote on the Plan to #CLOSErikers
In Buffalo: Harm Reduction Conference 2019
We invite you to join us tomorrow, Friday, September 20 from 9am-5:15pm at the WNY Harm Reduction Conference as we continue our examination of the impacts of drug policies locally, and how professionals and community members can work to reduce harms and move towards a safer, healthier, and dignifying community for everyone.
Katal’s Director of Health and Harm Reduction, Keith Brown, will be moderating the “Intersection of Harm Reduction & Social Justice” Panel at this year’s conference.
This year, the program for the conference will include a keynote presentation and panel discussions that explore:
- The Harm Reduction philosophy and the social determinants of health
- How to destigmatize healthcare
- The roles professionals and community members from various backgrounds can play in the Harm Reduction Movement
- How to provide access to medicated assisted treatment for our most high risk populations
- Insights from people with lived experience
We encourage service providers, community leaders, public health officials, members from educational institutions, community organizers, and directly impacted people to attend this day free of cost.
In Albany: September Monthly Member Meeting Synopsis
L-R: Leaders Tara Cobbins and Marketa Edwards, and Community Organizer Cedric Fulton facilitating our first Monthly Member Meeting of Fall 2019.
This week, we held our latest Monthly Member Meetings in the NY Capital Region! Group members from around the area joined us for a discussion led by Katal Leaders Marketa and Tara, about the issues they cared about, and what brought them to Katal. The group then segued into a conversation about our work in the state on criminal justice reform, including our Less Is More parole reform legislation, the effort to shutter Rikers Island in NYC, and decarerating the state.
If you’d like to join us for our upcoming Capital Region #LessIsMoreNY Meeting on Thursday, October 10, from 6-7pm, contact Cedric Fulton at cfulton@katalcenter.org or at 518.965.6771 for more details and to RSVP.
Join us 10/17 for the NYC Council Vote on the Plan to #CLOSErikers
Katal members and team alongside our partners in the effort to #CLOSErikers, JustleadershipUSA, rallying on the steps of City Hall in April.
Join us at New York City Hall on Thursday, October 17th for the historic Council vote on Mayor de Blasio’s Plan to close Rikers.
Rikers Island epitomizes everything that is wrong with the criminal justice system. And it must be closed, now. While we work to improve the Mayor’s proposed plan to close Rikers, we are acutely aware that if the process fails, Rikers will remain open; this would be a severe setback in the fight to end mass incarceration. The Council should pass the plan, keep the process moving forward, and move immediately to make the City shrink the proposed overall detention footprint. We must #CLOSErikers, and we hope you’ll join us at City Hall in October for a rally and the council vote!
If you live in NYC, let your voice be heard! Call your council member before October 17th, and demand that they support the plan to #CLOSErikers!
To learn more about the upcoming vote, our effort to close Rikers Island Jail Complex and how you can get involved, contact Shaka Colon at scolon@katalcenter.org or at 347.309.6745.
