Harm Reduction Coalition has released a report to highlight the Know Overdose campaign that will be coming to the streets of San Francisco soon. The DOPE Project collaborated with people who use drugs to develop guidance and community-specific messaging to expand overdose prevention education in a way that centered people who are most at risk, highlighting the lifesavers of San Francisco: people who use drugs.
SHAPING THE CAMPAIGN
Harm Reduction Coalition spent several months talking to people who use drugs in different neighborhoods and venues in San Francisco where we have seen the highest overdose rates. As part of the process, they shared photos of different campaigns that have already been developed to see what resonated with community members from examples that already exist. From there, they learned that there were a few key components that were important:
- There isn’t a one-size-fits-all so the campaign needs to have different kinds of messaging for different communities
- Information and facts are still impactful and useful
- Drugs and drug equipment should be realistic (no 5cc huge syringes!),
- People in the campaign should be real people and not staged, so people can see themselves in the campaign, and
- Posters in transportation hubs, bus stations, and bars are most impactful
Are you thinking about developing an overdose prevention campaign in your community and want to meaningfully include people who use drugs through the process? Read more about the process, data, lessons learned, and recommendations from the process created by Kristen Marshall, Eliza Wheeler, and Taeko Frost.
