How does Harm Reduction link to learning?

Table #1, on page 37 shows principles and practices taken from selected Harm Reduction and Literacy programs. Some of these common principles are:

• being inclusive, respectful, and non-judgemental
• encouraging participation/giving users/learners a voice
• safety
• holistic approaches
• user-centred: affirming drug users and other program participants as primary agents
• recognizing and addressing poverty, violence, past trauma, racism, exclusion and vulnerability.

Another comparison of Harm Reduction and Literacy is provided in Table #2, Comparison of Progress Criteria in Harm Reduction and Literacy (page 38). This shows the “three stages of building stability” in Harm Reduction programs (Murray & Ferguson, 2003) next to the stages that learners and peer tutors go through as they make progress in non-formal literacy outreach programs. The literacy part of the table comes from research we at Capilano College did as part of a collaborative provincial project to develop outcome measurement frameworks, and create tools that measure progress. (Alderson, Alkenbrack, & RiPAL-BC, 2007)