idealist.org

The Washington Heights CORNER Project was
founded in November 2005 as a volunteer endeavor
rooted in harm reduction and aimed towards
reducing the high-risk practices of the Washington
Heights drug using community. We seek to
accomplish this objective by addressing the lack of
syringe access and harm reduction resources in a
neighborhood that is 12% higher than New York
City as a whole in terms of high-risk sexual and
injection drug use practices. CORNER seeks to
decimate the transmission of blood-born disease
and infections, infection-related medical problems,
and related transmission to drug using associates,
family members, sexual partners, and sexual
employers.


Goals:
· To facilitate harm reduction education and
skills

· Respect for the self-determination of
individuals regardless of drug use or sexual
practices

· Reduce the transmission of disease and
infection via intravenous drug use and unsafe
sexual practices by distributing sterile, no-cost
syringes, safer injection supplies, and safer sex
supplies to the drug using and high-risk
community of Washington Heights

· Facilitate user awareness and peer education
through street-based, low-threshold education
initiatives executed by highly trained, culturally
sensitive staff with extensive experience working
with various street-based populations

· Act as a liaison and promoter of local social
service organizations where members of the high-
risk Washington Heights community can access
drug treatment, healthcare, benefits counseling,
shelter access, and other social services provided
by community-based agencies and city institutions