GREENFIELD — Support groups for drug users are often aimed at people in recovery. But a new Greenfield group seeks to change that, including people who currently use drugs in support services and advocacy work.

Illaria Dana, a harm reduction counselor for the regional nonprofit Tapestry, conceived the group, saying those who use are often ignored and silenced.

“It kind of became clear that there may not be a space for people who are using drugs,” Dana said. “I think that the first thing that I wanted to achieve is to just be a space where the rights and voices of people who are using drugs are centered.”

On Wednesday night, Dana held the first meeting of the “Letter Writing and Advocacy Group” at the Tapestry office in the basement of the Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew. The group is open to people who use drugs and is free to attend.

Going forward, the group will be held on the third Wednesday of the month from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the same location.

Dana said she hopes the group will give members a community of people who can better relate to their situations than others.

The group will be encouraged to discuss and advocate for their rights, Dana said. Drug users are often denied basic rights, she said, like medical treatment and housing access. She envisions participants will write to their elected representatives, like state senators and house members, about issues having to do with drug use that they feel strongly about. She will make suggestions about issues to advocate for, but won’t tell participants what to think or do, Dana said.

“I really hope that people will come and have their own issues and kind of, dreams and desires, that we can discuss, and maybe we can make a plan to work toward those,” Dana said.

One example Dana cited was hepatitis C treatment. She said many users report being denied care for that infection, possibly due to the stigma attached to drug use.

“From what I’ve heard from people I’m speaking with, it can be difficult to get hepatitis C treatment,” Dana said. “I think that stigma might be a barrier for people to receive hepatitis C treatment.”

Tapestry already makes an effort to keep drug users safe. The nonprofit runs a “syringe access and disposal program” in Greenfield, as well as in Springfield, Holyoke, Northampton and North Adams. The program seeks to ensure people take drugs safely. It offers a variety of free services and resources, including counseling, access to nalaxone (the overdose reversal drug), syringe pick-up, safer injection education and supplies (bleach kits and alcohol swabs), and help with benefits like food and housing assistance.

View Wednesday’s Facebook event at bit.ly/2N2UDBY.

Reach Grace Bird at
gbird@recorder.com or
413-772-0261, ext. 280.