Sydney Sauer

Sydney is a sociology PhD student at Harvard University. She is also the former director of operations at The SOAR Initiative, and has given a TEDx talk on harm reduction for beginners.

Campus Harm Reduction Fueled by Student Advocacy, Some State Policies

At the University of California, Berkeley, six locations across campus offer students free fentanyl test strips and naloxone. Harm reduction…

February 26, 2026

Discontinued Canadian Safe Supply Program Was Working, Study Shows

Facing right-wing backlash, harm reduction initiatives around Canada have steadily been rolled back. Safer opioid supply (SOS) programs—which provide pharmaceutical-grade…

January 22, 2026

Naloxone Boxes: New Strategy Makes OD Antidote Accessible 24/7, for Free

In 2021, Harm Reduction Michigan (HRMI) began using streetside newspaper-style boxes to station naloxone kits in outdoor spaces where the…

December 30, 2025

To Move Beyond Abstinence-Only, We Need Better Tools to Measure Recovery

Recovery from a substance use disorder has traditionally been conflated with “sobriety,” or total abstinence. In reality, many people recover…

December 1, 2025

Drug Testing Defeats the Purpose of “Second Chance” Hiring

Opening employment opportunities to people with prior convictions, often called “second chance hiring,” can be an economically savvy way for…

October 22, 2025

Indigenous OD Mortality Plummets in Minnesota, But Disparity Remains

Indigenous people face persistent disparities in access to harm reduction services in the United States. In response, Native American health…

September 22, 2025

Tennessee Harm Reductionist Faces Charges for Drug Checking

A constant threat to harm reductionists is that without clear legal protections, their lifesaving work can be criminalized. The recent…

August 19, 2025

People Seeking Methadone or Bupe Face “More Stress Than You Know”

Methadone and buprenorphine are widely prescribed and considered gold-standard medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Yet despite their proven benefits,…

July 22, 2025

Harm Reduction Vending Machines Work, Says 30 Years of Research

From New York City to rural Oklahoma and across the world, harm reduction vending machines are gaining popularity. They offer…

June 30, 2025

Music Festival Attendees Embrace DIY Drug Checking Despite Barriers

As temperatures rise and music festival season kicks into gear across the United States, hundreds of thousands of people will…

May 22, 2025