Haven Wheelock has been a self-described nerd for infectious disease since she was as young as 13 years old. She wanted to help stop novel viruses such as HIV from killing people around the world and grew up to do just that for the past 18 years.
Wheelock is a pioneering advocate for harm reduction in Oregon. She is a founding member of the Save Lives Oregon Leadership Team, providing instrumental guidance in support of Oregon’s response to the overdose crisis.
As the supervisor of Outside In’s Drug Users’ Health Service Program, Wheelock helps people who use drugs minimize their risk for overdose and infectious disease. In part, this means providing sterile syringe kits and naloxone, but Wheelock says harm reduction is much more than the distribution of supplies.
“What we’re doing is creating trustworthy relationships with folks,” Wheelock said. “Providing health information, connecting them to care, being curious about people and their use. Finding ways to say, ‘hey, if you do it this way, it’s safer.’”
Wheelock sees the immense difference harm reduction makes in people’s lives daily. Whether people choose safer use methods or pursue sobriety, both indicate success.
Wheelock remembers one individual whose drug use and lifestyle choices put him at high risk for contracting HIV. Rather than first tackling the highest-risk behaviors, this individual identified quitting cigarette smoking as his first goal. Achieving that win gave him confidence to change other behaviors, too.
“Had I said, ‘Your goal shouldn’t be to stop smoking, it should be to stop behaviors that are much higher risk for HIV,’ I would have fractured my ability to be trustworthy to him,” Wheelock said.
Despite clear evidence of harm reduction saving lives and reducing health care costs, some of its strategies remain contentious. Wheelock attributes this reality to the War on Drugs mentality, which dehumanizes and criminalizes people who use drugs. Harm reduction dismantles the War on Drugs framework by acknowledging that people who use drugs are full human beings who deserve support to make healthier choices.
“People who use drugs deserve to survive,” Wheelock said. “People who use drugs deserve to be cared for and loved on. They deserve safe spaces where they can ask questions and talk to someone who doesn’t want to change them.”
Wheelock’s wisdom comes from many years of advocating for harm reduction in Oregon. It took her seven years to spearhead a state policy effort to legalize naloxone distribution at pharmacies. Outside In began distributing naloxone five minutes after the law went into effect in 2013. Over the next year, Portland saw a 40% drop in heroin overdose deaths.
Reflecting on this history, Wheelock says even when it looks like harm reduction is losing support, there has been overall progress. She encouraged people to be brave.
