At CAMP, we believe in the power of community and collaboration. We value the voices, perspectives, and experiences of community leaders.
Our team conducted a qualitative study to explore the perceptions of substance use, harm reduction and best practices to form community-academic partnerships that encourage open dialogue and centers community input. At the conclusion of this study, we formed our Community Advisory Board (CAB) to guide our work.
What is the CAB?
Formed in September 2022, our CAB is a diverse group of passionate individuals who live and/or work in West Philadelphia and are dedicated to helping shape the delivery of services and ensure proper support for Black People Who Use Drugs (PWUD). It’s a place where members can come together, share feedback, offer insights, and brainstorm ideas that will drive equitable, sustainable change.
Under the guidance of our CAB, we have identified areas of opportunity for community engagement to enhance the accessibility of harm reduction outreach and services and create awareness of the pertinent issues that affect West Philadelphians.
Our team hosts bimonthly meetings with our CAB, which consists of:
All members either live or work in West Philadelphia
We interviewed community members who live or work in West Philadelphia to hear their
thoughts about substance use, harm reduction and resources available in their community.
Our goal was to take this information and use it to create programs that are effective, useful
and culturally-appropriate. Here’s what we found:
Download the 2-page report of the findings here
What are some early outcomes of our community-driven engagement plan?
Within the first year, our team has distributed over 8,188 Fentanyl Test Strips and 3,983 doses of Narcan, and a host of other street outreach and formal education events and community meetings:
Additionally, under guidance of our CAB we have expanded our weekly outreach to include multiple SEPTA MFL stations, which has helped to increase access to harm reduction education and supplies!
We are not actively recruiting for our CAB at this time, but we may have opportunities in the future! If you work with a community organization in West Philadelphia and would like to learn more about ways to engage with our team, please reach out to Jasmine Barnes (jasmine.barnes@pennmedicine.upenn.edu)
