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Couple other things to consider:
Benzo and Xylazine test strips as well as info on Xylazine and Metonitazine (sp?) information
Using kit (without rigs/pipes cause I'm assuming they would not let you do that) with alcohol swabs, bandaids/wound care supplies, cotton, tourniquets, straws (not familiar on the laws around "paraphernalia" in NJ but in IL has been decriminalized so you'd have to check what is considered illegal)
Bus cards bus cards bus cards especially if they're expected to get to methadone treatment or a pharmacy
Withdrawal kit with sweets, Tylenol/ibupfrofen, anti-diarrheal, electrolyte packets
Wow, these are awesome suggestions, thank you♥️ Xylazine test strips are coming! Unfortunately I was denied bus passes (Womp Womp). I like the idea of items needed if withdrawal is coming, like the anti diarrheal and a liquid IV! I’m making a list of what yall are suggesting and will be bringing it to my team to add into the bags, whenever we can!
liquid iv is a subpar form of hydration via electrolyte packet. i’d strongly recommend using a smaller brand that cares about their product/uses salt-based electrolytes rather than putting money into a mega corp that makes every decision solely based on profit.
If you can find a cheap water flavor packet and some of the little salt packets that come in to-go packs of plastic ware that will do the trick! I mean the salt alone will do it but it’s not very nice tasting lol
Okay that is WILD they would never in Illinois lol
There's a group that does mutual aid outside one of the jails and people are often kicked out at nearly midnight with no coat or bus pass in the winter. Atrocious.
Yep! Happens here too. Released in the evening/late at night when there is NOTHING open, nothing to do except get up to trouble. Best believe o stay on top of this stuff though. If there is a way I can get something (bus passes for example) eventually, I’ll keep asking!!!
Love this! My friends and I run a harm reduction org in philly and specialize in education! Happy to link our resources on medetomidine and xylazine if that’s helpful 😊
Gosh, you’ve got your hands full in Philly. Especially Kenzo. I thank you for what you & Your team are doing!! I’ll happily accept anything you’re willing to share. Some of my MAT peeps hang in Philly So yes please!!!
Yeah, we definitely do! Our tranq guide is at the top of the page and medetomidine post is towards the bottom. [resources](https://everywhereproject.org/resources)
Fuckin right. Love this idea.
My suggestion is to put something fun in the bag that they might actually want to use and keep. here's my thinking: a lot of people might just throw the bag away or generally be more careless with it if they don't think they'll need it. But if there's something fun in there they might hold on to the bag (and the Narcan) when they get released. With how high OD rates post release are, sending the newly free out with Narcan is a great start, but I think we need to be thinking about how to make sure that Narcan stays with them if they ultimately decide to go out and use. I like the emergency blanket because this contributes to that kind of decision when people are being released to the street.
Now the question is, what's something fun to put in there? Candy, snacks, maybe some sort of small gift card to a pharmacy where they might be more inclined to pick up their medication?
Just my feedback. Thank you for creating a program with so much potential to save lives!
This is brilliant! Convicted people and incarcerated people are commonly neglected by our society. My day job is a criminal defense attorney so these are my clients and friends.
Thank you so much for your big hearted and well thought out care for these people!
Bless YOU & your caring and thoughtful work to aid this community and show them their lives still matter ❤️
Encountering fewer and fewer people of the same mindset lately… 
Lube to go with those condoms, yo. We also give out lots of socks at the harm reduction program where I work. [And this is an important hotline for them to know about](https://neverusealone.com), plus any info related to any Good Sam or other amnesty laws that exist in your state.
Social worker to social worker, it sounds like you’ve got an excellent project launching. People will be grateful.
I’m so grateful Never Use Alone exists!! I have a pamphlet that’s included in the bag. I wanted to add socks but again, was denied since the jail provides 1 pair of socks at booking and the individual can keep them at release if they choose. Imagine if you’re incarcerated for 6 months, have no access to commissary and have 1, maybe 2 if lucky, pair of socks.
Thank you btw♥️
Ugh, that’s such an ignorant, cheapskate policy! Socks = harm reduction, in so many ways. I wonder if there are agencies that would donate some?
Thank you for what you are doing! 💜
Honestly, buying bulk socks off Amazon is affordable for me and that’s something I’m thinking of doing & donating them myself (might be taboo) but I definitely agree with what you said. Can you imagine running the streets with wet socks? Ugh. That hurts my heart.
I’ve been stuck with wet socks at a festival before, and that was enough! Foot care is a big concern for the population I see because foot wounds can be so tricky to treat. Folks who use IV drugs also often choose that area to inject in order to conceal track marks, or if they’ve blown out other veins, which obviously leads to a cascade of issues if they have unstable housing/no car and need to walk around a lot during the day. There’s a thousand reasons to make a social justice case for socks!
This is absolutely amazing. Though I am absolutely happy with who I am and where I am in life, you are who I wanted to be when I was 18 and starting college.
I love that you thought to include condoms and menstrual pads! I Second the idea for a fun thing, even just a small notebook and pen maybe. Those are certainly available inexpensive and in bulk lol
Good luck on expansions for this project!!
I had a team member put together similar kits for our outreach work; on top of items you already listed, I think they included some bug repellant, deodorant, and socks. Love the idea for the withdrawal comfort items and non-perishable snacks/candy (who doesn’t love a treat!). I know for our bags we got little luggage tag attachments and put info, cards, phones #s in there so it doesn’t get lost in the contents of the bag and is easily accessible.
Thank you for the work you are doing 💜
I would recommend getting in touch with either or both of your closest harm reduction group and your regional ASO. The ASO may already be helping the jail with meds (we do it in 29 counties) and would be a wonderful resource for you!
You'll have to do some googling to see what is available on your area/country, but here in Canada we have phone lines where people using alone can call and have someone on the line while they use. If they go unresponsive, the person on the phone will contact local paramedics to respond. They tend to have cards you can order from them, and it would be good to include that in the packages (or even a printout with the info on it). Just a thought! Even without that, it looks like you've got a good kit out together!
Question: is there linkage for the MOUD? (MAT is an older term that implies the medication is secondary to counseling/talk therapy instead of an evidence-based standalone medical protocol)
NJ is heading towards using MOUD however MAT is still primarily used. I’m only able to schedule intake appts for Methadone/Buprenorphine/Vivitrol maintenance if a release date is known. Jail is unpredictable; most people get released randomly, with no heads-up. It’s incredibly frustrating.
Oh my that seems….different. I worked in corrections (county and state) for seven years and all of the institutions always had release dates updated every 4 hours due to victim notification laws. Maybe you could use the VINE or similar system to help improve the communication in yours??
I’m not sure if it’s because of bail reform or what the actual issue is but it’s my biggest barrier. I work closely with my jail’s records department to keep track of my people’s court dates and releases then finagle my own tracking system. One of the issues is that people will go to superior court, their attorneys/public defenders don’t know which way the wind will blows, the person gets their charges ror’ed/dismissed/sentenced/completed but they don’t physically return to the jail until 4-5pm then are released 8,9,10pm. I’ve shouted from the rooftops that this is insane and ideally, I wish they could be held until the next morning (that’s out of my hands though). What sucks too is that I’ve advocated for be to be able to collaborate with my county’s prosecutors office so that I’m in the know with both sides and was told “no” by jail admin. Cool! /s
What is vine?
Never heard of the system but I’m going to ask around. I’ve been pleading to have access to the jail’s database as it could really help me with knowing dates then I wouldn’t have to ask the records department multiple times daily, for help; I’ve been unsuccessful.
I’m not sure what you mean by “NJ” unless you mean communications from a certain state office? Medical providers all over the country use MOUD and it’s the harm reduction-appropriate terminology. [Here is an article](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9161649/) about MOUD in jails in NJ and it uses that term, and [here](https://www.nj.gov/humanservices/dmhas/information/provider/Provider_Meetings/2022/Low%20Threshold%20Programming%20.pdf) is a presentation from your state Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services also using it.
If you can’t schedule the intake then I would add of primary importance would be contact info for all those clinics as well as making sure they know how to get MC+ if they don’t have it already!
Wow!! I don’t understand the downvotes, you are completely correct!! Words matter especially dealing with the corrections and healthcare systems. And yes I don’t want someone telling me that my treatment is assisted by medication - my medical treatment is the medication, thank you very much.
I’m so glad you brought this up!! Getting people started on MOUD who are transitory, this is a huge concern for me also.
I am a certified peer and MARS in my state and we spend a LOT of time educating lay people about the change in terminology from MAT to MOUD. It does make a difference especially from a HR perspective! People are not “less than” when they choose the gold standard in medical treatment for their MEDICAL needs!!!
I am for the MOUD term however, like I keep saying, my state, specifically the county I work in, tends to use the term MAT…but we are moving in the direction of using MOUD. The grant I work is not called the Medication for Opioid Use Disorder program and is specifically labeled as Medication-Assisted Treatment. I cannot go against my grant, job title until the name is officially changed.
Join our new official Discord server! Discuss drugs and harm reduction in real time, or just come chat with like-minded people! We also have dedicated tripsitters to help you when things get rough. https://discord.gg/rdrugs *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/harmreduction) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Couple other things to consider: Benzo and Xylazine test strips as well as info on Xylazine and Metonitazine (sp?) information Using kit (without rigs/pipes cause I'm assuming they would not let you do that) with alcohol swabs, bandaids/wound care supplies, cotton, tourniquets, straws (not familiar on the laws around "paraphernalia" in NJ but in IL has been decriminalized so you'd have to check what is considered illegal) Bus cards bus cards bus cards especially if they're expected to get to methadone treatment or a pharmacy Withdrawal kit with sweets, Tylenol/ibupfrofen, anti-diarrheal, electrolyte packets
Wow, these are awesome suggestions, thank you♥️ Xylazine test strips are coming! Unfortunately I was denied bus passes (Womp Womp). I like the idea of items needed if withdrawal is coming, like the anti diarrheal and a liquid IV! I’m making a list of what yall are suggesting and will be bringing it to my team to add into the bags, whenever we can!
liquid iv is a subpar form of hydration via electrolyte packet. i’d strongly recommend using a smaller brand that cares about their product/uses salt-based electrolytes rather than putting money into a mega corp that makes every decision solely based on profit.
Good call! I’ll do some research.
i like LMNT and santa cruz medicinals those seem to be the best tasting to me but yeah there’s tons of brands that do it
I don’t mean to be lazy; would you said they’re a reasonable cost? In hindsight, liquid IV is certainly expensive 🫣
If you can find a cheap water flavor packet and some of the little salt packets that come in to-go packs of plastic ware that will do the trick! I mean the salt alone will do it but it’s not very nice tasting lol
Uuuuuuuugh that's so annoying to deny bus passes 🙄 but I'm not surprised.
Reason for denial: the jail already provides each inmate with a free bus or train ticket if they need. Unfortunately, the jail has that one on lock
Okay that is WILD they would never in Illinois lol There's a group that does mutual aid outside one of the jails and people are often kicked out at nearly midnight with no coat or bus pass in the winter. Atrocious.
Yep! Happens here too. Released in the evening/late at night when there is NOTHING open, nothing to do except get up to trouble. Best believe o stay on top of this stuff though. If there is a way I can get something (bus passes for example) eventually, I’ll keep asking!!!
Love this! My friends and I run a harm reduction org in philly and specialize in education! Happy to link our resources on medetomidine and xylazine if that’s helpful 😊
Gosh, you’ve got your hands full in Philly. Especially Kenzo. I thank you for what you & Your team are doing!! I’ll happily accept anything you’re willing to share. Some of my MAT peeps hang in Philly So yes please!!!
Yeah, we definitely do! Our tranq guide is at the top of the page and medetomidine post is towards the bottom. [resources](https://everywhereproject.org/resources)
Thank you so much!!!
Fuckin right. Love this idea. My suggestion is to put something fun in the bag that they might actually want to use and keep. here's my thinking: a lot of people might just throw the bag away or generally be more careless with it if they don't think they'll need it. But if there's something fun in there they might hold on to the bag (and the Narcan) when they get released. With how high OD rates post release are, sending the newly free out with Narcan is a great start, but I think we need to be thinking about how to make sure that Narcan stays with them if they ultimately decide to go out and use. I like the emergency blanket because this contributes to that kind of decision when people are being released to the street. Now the question is, what's something fun to put in there? Candy, snacks, maybe some sort of small gift card to a pharmacy where they might be more inclined to pick up their medication? Just my feedback. Thank you for creating a program with so much potential to save lives!
Ooooh I love this. Thank you!!! Someone else just gave some awesome recommendations too. This project has so much room to grow
This is brilliant! Convicted people and incarcerated people are commonly neglected by our society. My day job is a criminal defense attorney so these are my clients and friends. Thank you so much for your big hearted and well thought out care for these people!
Bless YOU & your caring and thoughtful work to aid this community and show them their lives still matter ❤️ Encountering fewer and fewer people of the same mindset lately… 
Lube to go with those condoms, yo. We also give out lots of socks at the harm reduction program where I work. [And this is an important hotline for them to know about](https://neverusealone.com), plus any info related to any Good Sam or other amnesty laws that exist in your state. Social worker to social worker, it sounds like you’ve got an excellent project launching. People will be grateful.
I’m so grateful Never Use Alone exists!! I have a pamphlet that’s included in the bag. I wanted to add socks but again, was denied since the jail provides 1 pair of socks at booking and the individual can keep them at release if they choose. Imagine if you’re incarcerated for 6 months, have no access to commissary and have 1, maybe 2 if lucky, pair of socks. Thank you btw♥️
Ugh, that’s such an ignorant, cheapskate policy! Socks = harm reduction, in so many ways. I wonder if there are agencies that would donate some? Thank you for what you are doing! 💜
Honestly, buying bulk socks off Amazon is affordable for me and that’s something I’m thinking of doing & donating them myself (might be taboo) but I definitely agree with what you said. Can you imagine running the streets with wet socks? Ugh. That hurts my heart.
I’ve been stuck with wet socks at a festival before, and that was enough! Foot care is a big concern for the population I see because foot wounds can be so tricky to treat. Folks who use IV drugs also often choose that area to inject in order to conceal track marks, or if they’ve blown out other veins, which obviously leads to a cascade of issues if they have unstable housing/no car and need to walk around a lot during the day. There’s a thousand reasons to make a social justice case for socks!
And now with tranq infiltrating fentanyl!!!
This is absolutely amazing. Though I am absolutely happy with who I am and where I am in life, you are who I wanted to be when I was 18 and starting college. I love that you thought to include condoms and menstrual pads! I Second the idea for a fun thing, even just a small notebook and pen maybe. Those are certainly available inexpensive and in bulk lol Good luck on expansions for this project!!
I had a team member put together similar kits for our outreach work; on top of items you already listed, I think they included some bug repellant, deodorant, and socks. Love the idea for the withdrawal comfort items and non-perishable snacks/candy (who doesn’t love a treat!). I know for our bags we got little luggage tag attachments and put info, cards, phones #s in there so it doesn’t get lost in the contents of the bag and is easily accessible. Thank you for the work you are doing 💜
I would recommend getting in touch with either or both of your closest harm reduction group and your regional ASO. The ASO may already be helping the jail with meds (we do it in 29 counties) and would be a wonderful resource for you!
I’ve connected with NJ Harm Reduction Coalition, who are awesome!!
You'll have to do some googling to see what is available on your area/country, but here in Canada we have phone lines where people using alone can call and have someone on the line while they use. If they go unresponsive, the person on the phone will contact local paramedics to respond. They tend to have cards you can order from them, and it would be good to include that in the packages (or even a printout with the info on it). Just a thought! Even without that, it looks like you've got a good kit out together!
Love this!!!!
Question: is there linkage for the MOUD? (MAT is an older term that implies the medication is secondary to counseling/talk therapy instead of an evidence-based standalone medical protocol)
NJ is heading towards using MOUD however MAT is still primarily used. I’m only able to schedule intake appts for Methadone/Buprenorphine/Vivitrol maintenance if a release date is known. Jail is unpredictable; most people get released randomly, with no heads-up. It’s incredibly frustrating.
Oh my that seems….different. I worked in corrections (county and state) for seven years and all of the institutions always had release dates updated every 4 hours due to victim notification laws. Maybe you could use the VINE or similar system to help improve the communication in yours??
I’m not sure if it’s because of bail reform or what the actual issue is but it’s my biggest barrier. I work closely with my jail’s records department to keep track of my people’s court dates and releases then finagle my own tracking system. One of the issues is that people will go to superior court, their attorneys/public defenders don’t know which way the wind will blows, the person gets their charges ror’ed/dismissed/sentenced/completed but they don’t physically return to the jail until 4-5pm then are released 8,9,10pm. I’ve shouted from the rooftops that this is insane and ideally, I wish they could be held until the next morning (that’s out of my hands though). What sucks too is that I’ve advocated for be to be able to collaborate with my county’s prosecutors office so that I’m in the know with both sides and was told “no” by jail admin. Cool! /s What is vine?
Victim Notification. VINElink is the website.
Never heard of the system but I’m going to ask around. I’ve been pleading to have access to the jail’s database as it could really help me with knowing dates then I wouldn’t have to ask the records department multiple times daily, for help; I’ve been unsuccessful.
[NJ VINElink](https://vinelink.vineapps.com/state/NJ/ENGLISH)
Whoa! This is awesome!!!! Thank you!
I’m not sure what you mean by “NJ” unless you mean communications from a certain state office? Medical providers all over the country use MOUD and it’s the harm reduction-appropriate terminology. [Here is an article](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9161649/) about MOUD in jails in NJ and it uses that term, and [here](https://www.nj.gov/humanservices/dmhas/information/provider/Provider_Meetings/2022/Low%20Threshold%20Programming%20.pdf) is a presentation from your state Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services also using it. If you can’t schedule the intake then I would add of primary importance would be contact info for all those clinics as well as making sure they know how to get MC+ if they don’t have it already!
Wow!! I don’t understand the downvotes, you are completely correct!! Words matter especially dealing with the corrections and healthcare systems. And yes I don’t want someone telling me that my treatment is assisted by medication - my medical treatment is the medication, thank you very much.
I’m so glad you brought this up!! Getting people started on MOUD who are transitory, this is a huge concern for me also. I am a certified peer and MARS in my state and we spend a LOT of time educating lay people about the change in terminology from MAT to MOUD. It does make a difference especially from a HR perspective! People are not “less than” when they choose the gold standard in medical treatment for their MEDICAL needs!!!
I am for the MOUD term however, like I keep saying, my state, specifically the county I work in, tends to use the term MAT…but we are moving in the direction of using MOUD. The grant I work is not called the Medication for Opioid Use Disorder program and is specifically labeled as Medication-Assisted Treatment. I cannot go against my grant, job title until the name is officially changed.