Discussion Space 3E: Turning Our Values into Reality: How to Employ People Who Use Drugs
Tracks
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| Thursday, October 8, 2026 |
| 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM |
| Discussion Space/Exhibition Room (Meridian) |
Details
Truly centering people who use drugs requires looking carefully at our employment practices, including hiring, supervision, benefits, culture, and so much more. This session will bring together people who use drugs and people who employ them in both research and service provision to share how they’ve creatively approached a variety of situations that can arise in employment. Should you ask someone if they use drugs in an interview? How do you balance accommodations and expectations while working with people who are experiencing instability? What steps can you take to hire and protect people who use drugs if your funder or institution has a “Drug Free Workplace” requirement? Bring all of your questions and leave with information to make your work more relevant and responsive to people who use drugs through employment practices that meaningfully involve and retain them, plus access to Texas Harm Reduction Alliance’s toolkit on “Nothing About Us Without Us: Building Workplaces By and For People Who Use Drugs.”
Speaker
Ms Sarah Whipple
Community Engagement Co-Director
Yuba Harm Reduction Collective
Turning our values into reality: how to employ people who use drugs
Biography
Sarah Whipple is the Community Engagement Co-Director of Yuba Harm Reduction Collective, where her living experience informs her work in syringe services, drug checking, and more. She is on the Steering Committee of the California Syringe Exchange Programs Network and received the Jude Byrne Emerging Female Leader Award in 2024.
Ms Sarah Whipple
Community Engagement Co-Director
Yuba Harm Reduction Collective
Introduction
11:15 AM - 11:20 AMBiography
Alex White
Director Of Services
Texas Harm Reduction Alliance
Introduction
11:15 AM - 11:20 AMBiography
Dr Thomas Brothers
Assistant Professor
Dalhousie University
Panel Discussion
11:20 AM - 11:50 AMBiography
Dr. Thomas (Tommy) Brothers, MD PhD FRCPC, is a general internist and addiction medicine physician in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and assistant professor of medicine at Dalhousie University. His clinical and research work focuses on improving health services for people who use drugs, and especially the integration of substance use care into general medical and hospital settings. He is an Associate Editor at International Journal of Drug Policy.
Mr Sione Crawford
CEO
Harm Reduction Victoria
Panel Discussion
11:20 AM - 11:50 AMBiography
INHSU 2026
Facilitated discussion with audience and open Q&A
11:50 AM - 12:10 PMBiography
Ms Sarah Whipple
Community Engagement Co-Director
Yuba Harm Reduction Collective
Closing
12:10 PM - 12:15 PMBiography
Alex White
Director Of Services
Texas Harm Reduction Alliance
Closing
12:10 PM - 12:15 PMBiography
Chairperson
Sarah Whipple
Community Engagement Co-Director
Yuba Harm Reduction Collective
Alex White
Director Of Services
Texas Harm Reduction Alliance
