U.S. News

On the first floor, meanwhile, members of the Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition diligently put together kits to ensure that people who use drugs in Baltimore are as safe as possible. As the city experiences the highest fatal overdose rate in the nation, the nonprofit’s work is invaluable in fighting the crisis — one that has killed 8,000 residents in the last decade.

“Drugs and sex have been a part of human life since the beginning of time,” said Candy Kerr, the organization’s communications manager and policy advocate. “They will always be here. They should always be here. We are not enabling; people are doing these activities, and they’re going to continue to do them. We are going to make sure that they’re doing it in the safest way possible.”

The organization’s mission is to provide people who perform inherently risky acts with safer alternatives, whether it be clean syringes, stems or other supplies. Something such as abstinence, therefore, is neither a prerequisite nor an expectation.

Through a combination of mail-based services and boots-on-the-ground work, the organization has been able to foster relationships with thousands in the community, said services manager Rachel Luce.