Fargo Cass Public Health will host a news conference on Monday, July 23 at 9:30 a.m. to introduce the new Harm Reduction Center (HRC). The news conference will take place at the HRC, located at 510 5th Street North in Fargo.
The HRC is under the newly formed harm reduction division led by Director Jan Eliassen. The division consists of several programs including the Gladys Ray Shelter, Veteran’s Drop-in Center, Withdrawal Management Unit, Downtown Homeless Outreach (based out of the library), community service coordination and supervision, Mobile Outreach Program (MOP), state targeted response to the opioid crisis (STR) and the Good Neighbor Project Harm Reduction Center.
The main goal of the HRC is to help individuals and the community stay as healthy as possible by reducing disease and other health disparities among people who inject drugs. The program aims to decrease HIV, hepatitis C (HCV) and other diseases and infections transmitted through intravenous drug use. It offers a number of services in a safe and trusting place. Director Jan Eliassen will be available for interviews after the news conference, as will a variety of other HRC staff members.
For questions and additional information, contact Fargo Cass Public Health at 701.241.1341 or send an email.