Laura Guzman
Senior Director of Capacity Building and Community Mobilization
Harm Reduction Coalition
For the past 25 years Guzman has brought that passion to save lives of people infected with HIV AIDS, Hepatitis C and people with opioid addiction and other substance use disorders. She works through the lens of harm reduction. As Senior Director of Capacity Building and Community Mobilization for the Harm Reduction Coalition, she believes that incarceration and punitive approaches have never worked. The harm reduction movement, on the other hand, minimizes stigma to increase access to treatment so people can recover.
She’s learned that taking a soft approach is the best way to bring people around. She believes that today’s terrifying convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, addiction, relapses and community protests offers a rare opportunity. “We need to listen to people and understand where there are intersections. We have an important moment to challenge racism and classism, and use our collective asks to increase access to treatment. When the system is broken, we have the opportunity to reimagine our future.”
