On the 20th and 21st March, our Policy and Project Support Officer, Arianna Rogialli, attended the EFUS Security, Democracy and Cities Conference in Bruxelles and took part in the panel discussion on Drugs and Harm Reduction moderated by Laurent Maisse, Deputy Director of Transit ASBL and together with Nadia Zourgui, Deputy Mayor of Strasbourg and José Martinez Espasa, Chief Commissioner of the Gandia Local Police.

The session focused mainly on the challenges that cities face when providing support to people who use drugs, people who are experiencing mental health challenges or other marginalised populations while coordinating different social support services and communicating to the public about them.

During the session, C-EHRN emphasised its dedication to organising collaborative initiatives with city-level actors in the harm reduction field, including mayors, policymakers, and civil society. We also highlighted the urgent need to eliminate barriers to accessing mental health support services and to support and fund low-threshold services that can better reach and assist people who use drugs and are experiencing mental health challenges. Furthermore, we drew attention to the importance of funding harm reduction services. We also shared best practices for effective communication about harm reduction and neighbourhood cooperation between harm reduction services, residents, and business owners.

During the second day of the conference, we had the opportunity to visit the drug consumption room Gate, which is a member of the European Network of Drug Consumption Rooms [ENDCR], and the day and accommodation centre operated by Transit ASBL. Alongside the drug consumption room, Gate offers weekly drug-checking services, opportunities for testing for communicable diseases and community activities.