Over the years, harm reductionists have used a variety of strategies to fund their services. Because of the stigma related to drug users and the mythologies that have arisen around drug use, harm reduction was seen as “enabling” problematic behavior at a time when much of the world was still trying to fix problematic drug use by criminalizing it.

The two primary tools that harm reduction leaders reported using the most to track their transactions (money received and money spent) were the Excel spreadsheet and Intel’s Quickbooks.

It’s important for SSPs to ground any research or data collection they do in the insights and best practices for working with marginalized folks. The following are some of the best practices for collecting data from participants in harm reduction programs based on the experiences of harm reduction leaders.

In traditional for-profit businesses, inventory control helps control costs and track “shrinkage” (theft). These are not concerns for most harm reduction programs so one unexpected finding from the Hacks conversations with harm reduction leaders is how concerned leaders are with inventory control and management.