THRA Organizing Proejct
The organizing project was the community organizing arm of Texas Harm Reduction Alliance. It existed to end the war on drugs and homelessness through local and state-level community organizing. due to the need for increased organizing capacity in the state of Texas, the organizing project has spun off into a separate organization called VOCAL-Texas.
CAMPAIGNS
FREE BUS FARES FOR AUSTIN’S UNHOUSED COMMUNITY
When someone becomes unhoused, lack of access to transportation can mean missed meals, job opportunities, case manager meetings, escalating health issues, and more. We fought for a free bus fare program for people experiencing homelessness.
ovERDOSE CRISIS DECLARED PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY
As the overdose crisis in Austin escalates, overdose has become a more likely cause of death than car accidents in Travis County. In 2022, Texas Harm Reduction Alliance held a town hall with more than 100 people to address local leaders' response to the crisis. We then organized to fight for a public health crisis declaration in Travis County and the City of Austin. The declaration resulted in funding for harm reduction, including increased naloxone access, harm reduction outreach workers, and a community awareness campaign.
THE ORGANIZING PROJECT NOW EXISTS AS
VOCAL-TEXAS
VOCAL-TX is building a movement of low-income people dedicated to ending the AIDS epidemic, the war on drugs, mass incarceration, and homelessness across the country. We fight for systemic change rooted in justice, compassion, and love. We approach this work with a firm belief in reducing harm and ending stigma, and the knowledge that the issues impacting our communities are driven by institutional oppression, not personal failings.