In New York City, an overdose occurs every four hours, a statistic that far exceeds the combined number of homicides, suicides, and car crashes combined. This devastating reality underscores the urgency of addressing the ongoing opioid crisis, which has become a public health emergency. In response to the crisis, the harm reduction movement emerged as a vital and compassionate approach, focusing on providing resources, support, and education while emphasizing empathy, dignity, and social justice for those impacted by addiction. Rather than focusing on punitive measures, harm reduction seeks to minimize the negative outcomes associated with drug use through pragmatic strategies such as supervised consumption sites, clean needle exchanges, and overdose prevention programs.

The concept for Harm Reduction NYC was developed in collaboration with Varun Mehta at Selman, a design studio based in Brooklyn, NY. During the course of the project we consulted with Design Directors, Anne Di Lillo and JP Chirdon, to realize our concept. The research process was conducted with consultation from VOCAL-NY, a local harm reduction organization.