Women’s History Month is a chance to honor the progress of women across all fields. Women have played tremendous roles in the history of all the services that Alliance provides, including HIV testing, treatment, awareness, and advocacy; income equality; fair housing; and more. In the field of harm reduction, women have led agencies from the National Harm Reduction Coalition to Harm Reduction International and New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition.
Participants at Alliance LES Harm Reduction Center shared their experiences and perspectives during Women’s History Month.
Evelyn M.
Q: Hi Evelyn. Thanks for talking with us. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
A: Well, I’m 64 year-old Nuyorican. I live in the neighborhood, just a few blocks away.
Q: What do you like to do for fun?
A: I like going on long walks, fixing things like broken furniture, and being with my sisters, who live further up the East Side. But when I’m on drugs, I avoid them. I don’t want my problem to become theirs.
Q: How long have you been coming to Alliance LES Harm Reduction Center?
A: I started coming here a little more than a year ago. I get safer smoking supplies like pipes, and I get counseling and care management services here. I get Methadone at a clinic nearby, but it’s not enough to help me overcome drugs, which is my goal.
Q: What other resources do you think will help you with your sobriety goals?
A: I think I have a better chance if I move somewhere else. Being around the same people that I’ve done drugs with is enabling my habits, I’ve got to move somewhere else. NYCHA has approved me for a housing transfer, but I haven’t been able to find somewhere closer to my sisters.
Q: Affordable housing is complicated.
A: Yeah, it is. Ana, my counselor, and my case worker Luis, are amazing. They help me get my benefits. And Luis is trying to help me get me into Bellevue Hospital’s detox program. They check in every day they see me, and try to get me a bed, because I’ve got to detox, I have to. He got me a telehealth appointment and sat with me the whole time, for my Bellevue screening. But I don’t want to go to detox until I can move somewhere away from the people that enable my addiction, so it’s all pretty complicated.
Q: Besides being with people that you feel enable your drug use, what are your biggest triggers?
A: Feeling depressed, and anxious. Talking to Ana and a psychiatrist helps, but I can’t do that every second.
Q: You’re a participant in our CHOICES Medication-Assisted Treatment program, right? How does that fit into your life?
A: Yeah, I like going to groups to hear other people’s stories. Listening helps.
Q: Are there any specific services just for women that you can get here?
A: I like that we have a women’s group here, to discuss what’s going on in our lives. I like that there’s a clothing room here and we can get clean pads and panties.
Q: In your experience, what are some of the challenges that women who use drugs face more than men?
A: I think women who are on parole or actively using drugs have a harder time getting hired for jobs than men in the same situation. I think people underestimate us a lot.
Q: Since it’s Women’s History Month, can you tell us who are some of your sheroes?
A: Definitely Helen Keller. She was so brave and overcame so much.
Q: If you weren’t using actively, how would life be different?
A: Well I would spend more time with my sisters, going to amusement parks and movies, like we do when I’m sober. And I also want to move out to Pennsylvania to be near my son and grandkids. They’re out in the country, I think that would be nice, relaxing for me.