April Wilson Smith

April Wilson Smith, MPH, is the Director of the Peer Guide Program for North-Star Care, an innovative health care company that provides telehealth harm reduction-based treatment for people with alcohol use disorder.  She is a longtime member and former director of organizational development for Harm Reduction, Abstinence, and Moderation Support (HAMS), a 10,000 member worldwide, online group of people who want to change their drinking. She holds a Masters in public health from Thomas Jefferson University and presented her thesis work at the Harm Reduction Coalition’s 2016 national meeting.

Inebriate Asylums to Narcotic Farms: Addiction Treatment’s Cruel Roots

Kenneth Anderson founded HAMS (Harm Reduction, Abstinence and Moderation Support) in 2007 as a free online support group for people…

July 7, 2022

Strychnine and Vomit: The Untold Story of Past US Addiction Treatments

Kenneth Anderson is perhaps best known in the harm reduction movement as the founder and executive director of HAMS (Harm…

September 8, 2021

“We Will Strap You Down”—A Hospital Illegally Forced Me Into a Detox Ward

It will go easier on you if you cooperate with them," said the nursing assistant sitting beside my bed. Clearly,…

September 30, 2020

Coerced Into Rehab? Here’s a 28-Day Survival Guide

January traditionally sees a surge in rehab admission rates. And if you’re going to residential addiction treatment by choice, I…

January 13, 2020

Alcohol Must Be Part of the Harm Reduction Conversation

Alcohol is our favorite recreational drug besides caffeine. According to SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 179 million…

October 1, 2019

Deprogramming From AA—When a Fellowship Resembles a Cult

Katherine was on the subway home from a meeting with her Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor when it hit. They had just…

May 2, 2019

Women Imprisoned: When Substance Use and Treatment Become Means of Control

Are you sure he’s not cheating on you?” I asked the woman next to me in rehab. She was silent.…

October 15, 2018