Lyndsay Hartman, ’19, had an informational talk about her nonprofit organization Point to Point and its mission of harm reduction on May 1.
“Harm reduction is the idea that people will engage in risky behavior, and that ways need to be found to reduce the harm done,” said Hartman.
Hartman said that ever since she was a child, she knew that her mission in life wasn’t to simply get married and have kids, but rather to change the world. She said that her path on this project of harm reduction started when she married a heroin user. She said that the experience was very tough on her and her family, but she was committed to him because she believed they were soulmates.
However, as time went on Hartman and her partner decided that it would be best if they split up. She refused to dwell on her relationship coming to an end and instead decided to put all the skills she learned caring for a heroin user to use. This is how she started harm reduction.
One of the major harm reduction efforts that she undertakes is distributing materials to help drug users inject drugs more safely. This includes anything from alcohol swabs for the user to clean their arms with, sterile water for them to use for dissolving the drug into and new syringes to replace old ones.
“Ideally you should use a different syringe every day, but this almost never happens,” said Hartman.
She needed to find a way to get her supplies out to heroin users living in and around Naperville. She found that she needed to work with law enforcement and government officials in order to get users to trade syringes with her.
Law enforcement can’t endorse harm reduction openly because their programs are all abstinence-based, but they can tell users about it. Like many harm reduction programs, her organization works in a gray area. She works toward convincing local law enforcement and community leaders to support her cause.
One statistic Hartman shared is that people involved in harm reduction are five times more likely to seek help getting off the drug they are using. For Hartman, her program is more than just numbers and statistics.
“Harm reduction is an act of radical love,” said Hartman.
A lot of people set appointments and never show up or stop coming for the supplies. She and her organization also receive a lot of abuse and hate, particularly online.
“People hardcore hate what I do, they have said horrible things about drug users … people have used the term ‘natural selection’ when referring to drug users,” said Hartman.
Harm reduction helps drug users to learn to care about their own body which makes them more likely to get off of the drugs they are using.
“People die in bathrooms, alone, because they are scared to talk to anyone about their drug use … people are dying because of stigma. We are in a bubble at North Central, and I say this as a hometown Naperville girl, but a lot of you probably know someone struggling with drug addiction, you just probably don’t know it yet. Drug users aren’t just homeless people living under a bridge,” said Hartman.
She also debunked some of the myths around drugs, particularly fentanyl. It is impossible to die of an overdose from touching fentanyl.
Fentanyl tests help users know the proper dosages they should be taking. Despite the struggle she has gone through, she remains unfazed and committed to her work.
“If you want to make a change you have to want it so bad, and you have to expect people to say no,” said Hartman.
