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Answering the Call, Part 1: America’s New Mental Health Crisis Line
From Tradeoffs | 25:04
Starting July 16, 2022, anyone in the U.S. experiencing a mental health crisis will be able to dial 988 for help. We explore what it will take for this new nationwide hotline to meet the needs of millions of people struggling with suicide, addiction and mental illness.
Starting July 16, 2022, anyone in the U.S. experiencing a mental health crisis will be able to dial 988 for help. We explore what it will take for this new nationwide hotline to meet the needs of millions of people struggling with suicide, addiction and mental illness.
Harm Reduction’s Road From Fringe to Federal Drug Policy
From Tradeoffs | 23:30
More people died from drug overdoses during the first year of the pandemic — over 100,000 — than in any previous year. In response, the Biden administration is embracing a controversial strategy known as harm reduction, which seeks to keep drug users safe even as they continue using. We explore how harm reduction has become more mainstream and what kind of impact we can expect it to have on the overdose crisis.
The concept of “harm reduction” is having a moment in U.S. drug policy. The philosophy that we should focus on keeping drug users safe and alive even if they are still using drugs has been rejected and outlawed by policymakers for decades. But harm reduction tools like needle exchanges, and the overdose-reversal medication naloxone have gained popularity over the last decade. And now the Biden administration has made harm reduction a core pillar of its overdose prevention strategy, alongside prevention, treatment and recovery. At the same time, the country’s first supervised consumption sites — facilities where people can openly use drugs under supervision to prevent overdose — have opened in New York City.