PLEASE NOTE: In-person training intended for our partners and other professionals providing homeless services and other support services

In this session, facilitators will build upon the information delivered in the “Introduction to Harm Reduction” session to help attendees further explore how to build and maintain a therapeutic alliance with participants using substances or engaging in other high-risk behaviors. Attendees will explore themes of “accountability” and “enabling,” discuss the overlap between harm reduction and abstinence-based recovery models, and review practical applications of harm reduction skills in clinical interactions. Facilitators will discuss strategies to help participants explore their relationship to risk behaviors in both a person-centered and recovery-oriented manner. Finally, attendees will have an opportunity to discuss common fears associated with harm reduction practice, and explore the vital role of self-reflection and self-care as harm reductionists.

Presenter Bios

Ryan Villagran, MSW LSW joined Housing First University in June 2021 as a Training Specialist. Ryan holds a Master of Social Work from Temple University with a concentration in Communities & Policy. His clinical background includes delivering psychiatric rehabilitation services in the mental health recovery model at a Community Integrated Recovery Center. Ryan also developed and coordinated a training program in a university setting for social workers serving transitional-aged youth and later taught a Human Behavior in the Social Environment course for graduate social work students. Ryan is involved in organizing efforts around ending mass incarceration and believes in the power of our collective imagination to dream of a better future centered around the most vulnerable members of our community.

Andrew Spiers, MSS, LSW is the Director of Training and Technical Assistance for Pathways to Housing PA’s Housing First University. Andrew joined Pathways in early 2018 and served as an Assistant Team Leader and Team Leader before launching Housing First University in October 2019. Andrew holds a Master of Social Service from Bryn Mawr College’s Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, where he concentrated in Community Practice, Policy, & Advocacy. He has taught Human Services and Sociology courses as an adjunct professor at Harcum College and conducted trainings and workshops all over the country on Housing First, harm reduction, and affirming care for LGBTQ+ communities.

Continuing Education Statement

Housing First University: a program of Pathways to Housing PA, Provider number 1759, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. All other non-social work professionals, please check with your board of accreditation to ensure this training meets your licensing needs.

Practicing Harm Reduction in an Abstinence-Focused System