Stop the Ban on Harm Reduction Outreach in Phoenix Parks

Phoenix Harm Reduction Ordinance language on a black and red background.

Most recent signers:

Background

On Wednesday, December 17, Phoenix City Council will vote on an ordinance that bans community organizations from conducting medical and overdose prevention outreach in city parks and criminalizes harm reduction services and healthcare providers. This ordinance runs counter to Arizona public policy, violates the first amendment of the constitution, and puts people’s lives at risk.

The recipients

Phoenix City Council: Mayor Kate Gallego, Vice Mayor Ann O'Brien, Councilmember Jim Waring, Councilmember Debra Stark, Councilmember Laura Pastor, Councilmember Betty Guardo, Councilmember Kevin Robinson, Councilmember Anna Hernandez, and Councilmember Kesha Hodge Washington.

The impact

City council members urgently need to hear from you before they vote on an ordinance that would take critical overdose prevention and public health resources away from people in need. Send a message urging them to vote ‘no’.

Background

The recipients

The impact

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Your Message

Subject Prioritize Community Health: Vote NO on G-7467

Community-based organizations in Phoenix have worked hard to improve outcomes for people who use drugs through critical overdose prevention outreach. They meet vulnerable populations where they’re at to provide lifesaving tools and pathways to treatment. Banning events intended to provide resources from taking place in parks and criminalizing healthcare providers will not stop or hide drug use. Instead, it will jeopardize public health and lead to preventable deaths. Ordinance G-7467 runs counter to evidence-based practices and will do nothing but harm. Vote NO.

Message Body

Banning and criminalizing community-based medical outreach, including opioid overdose prevention and basic health services, removes critical lifelines for people at high risk of overdose, infection, or medical crisis. Programs and services that provide safer supplies to people are essential to save lives and reduce the harm associated with drug use.

The events targeted by this ordinance are often the only point of contact where service providers can build trust and help people enter detox, treatment, or housing programs. Removing these events shuts down an important, low-cost pipeline into recovery services.

Ordinance G-7467 targets strategies that are proven to reduce crime, undermining community safety. Communities with access to opioid overdose prevention services see less public syringe litter, fewer 911 calls, and lower infectious disease rates. The ordinance green lights an emergency response only AFTER a crisis has happened but bans the very prevention work that keeps people safe and out of crisis situations. Prevention is always safer, cheaper, and more effective than emergency response.

Lastly, this ordinance is unconstitutional. In violation of the First Amendment, Ordinance G-7467 would prevent valuable life-saving information from being distributed at parks, during public events such as Pride, and to people who are often the most vulnerable and in need of help in the community.

Ordinance G-7467 is bad for public health and will not improve community safety. Please support the lives, health, and dignity of ALL Phoenicians. Vote NO on Ordinance G-7467.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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Stop the Ban on Harm Reduction Outreach in Phoenix Parks

Most recent signers:

Background

The recipients

The impact

Background

The recipients

The impact

Recent participants