News and Announcements
 Celebrating Black Family Day
The County of Santa Clara Public Health Department’s Sexual Health and Harm Reduction Program will be at Black Family Day celebrating ancestry, wellness and unity on February 28, 2026, 11 a.m to 4 p.m. at Parque de los Pobladores. We are proud to join this vibrant community celebration produced by the Silicon Valley African Film Festival and presented by the Black Leadership Kitchen Cabinet.
Stop by the Sexual Health and Harm Reduction Program booth to access free services and supplies for safer sex, harm reduction, and health education. Our team is here to support your wellness journey with compassion and respect.
Celebrate African ancestry, connection, and community health with us. A day of joy, empowerment, and care for all.
 Save-the Date: May 7, 2026 | Harm Reduction Showcase
Join us, the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department, and our community partners for the fifth annual Harm Reduction Showcase! This FREE in-person event will focus on the theme “Harm Reduction in Uncertain Times”. The showcase will serve as a platform for connection and learning, uplift proven strategies, strengthen collaboration, and inspire resilience across programs. Open to all Santa Clara County community-based organizations, healthcare providers, and County employees. Lunch provided.
A Toolkit for Rapid MAT Expansion in California
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CA Bridge has driven the nation’s largest and fastest statewide expansion of medications for addiction treatment (MAT). This toolkit, Building A Rapid Medications for Addiction Treatment Network: A Call to Action, offers recommendations, resources, and outlets for people in different roles – from pharmacists to jail administrators to people living with substance use disorder – to help extend that momentum and work together to bring low-barrier, evidence-based addiction treatment to every community in California. |
Harm Reduction Service Highlight
Free xylazine test strips: know what's in your drugs
The Harm Reduction Program gives out free xylazine test strips to help keep people safe. These strips can check if a drug has xylazine in it. Xylazine, also known as tranq, is a medicine for animals, not people. It is often mixed into street drugs like fentanyl without the user knowing. It can make breathing very slow or even stop, and cause serious sores on the skin. Unlike opioids, xylazine cannot be reversed with naloxone (Narcan). That is why testing is so important. Using a test strip is easy: mix a small bit of the drug with water and dip in the strip. In minutes, it shows if xylazine is present. Knowing this helps people make safer choices, like using less, not using alone, or not using at all. These simple strips save lives by giving people the information they need to stay safe.
To learn more, download the xylazine fact sheet.
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Harm Reduction Staff Spotlight
Gina’s Commitment to Community: A Harm Reduction Staff Spotlight
As a mission-driven program manager with over 15 years of experience in the County Health System, Gina Vittori leads with purpose. She designs and directs initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes and reducing disparities, all in service of building a more equitable and inclusive healthcare environment. Her work with the Sexual Health and Harm Reduction Program's(SHHRP) Linkage to Care Team includes overseeing the low-barrier Medication for Addiction Treatment (MAT) Program, Post-Overdose Support Team, and Care Coordination Programs.
A Calling Rooted in Community
Gina traces her passion for harm reduction back to her roots in the Bay Area and her upbringing centered on social justice and community power. “I tell my two young daughters that I am a community helper,” she says. “I do what I do because I want to make my community a more equitable, healthier place.”
Inspired by leaders who champion equity and dignity, she brings those values into every aspect of her work by supervising staff, leading teams, facilitating trainings, managing grants, and breaking down systemic barriers.
The Heart of the Work
For Gina, the most rewarding part of her role is witnessing the impact her team makes every day. “My team members truly have hearts of gold,” she shares. “I see the wins—when someone is initiated on MAT, gets connected to housing, receives a ride to a doctor’s appointment, or walks away with free naloxone and the knowledge to save a life.”
She takes pride in supporting her team: “My goal as manager is to make my staff’s lives a little easier, remove barriers where I can, offer support when needed, and be an ear to listen.”
Changing Minds, One Conversation at a Time
If she could share one thing with the public, it’s this:
“Harm reduction is an approach backed by 30 years of research. It meets people where they are at, allows them to feel heard, and engages them in their health journey—not on someone else’s terms, but on their own.”
She dreams of a future where harm reduction isn’t just a program, but a standard of care across the entire health system:
“My vision is that the County Health System adopts harm reduction as a model of care for every interaction.”
A Moment That Matters
One recent moment stands out. A person who had been out of care for years came to their site and told the team:
“If it wasn’t for your caring providers, I wouldn’t have sought the healthcare I needed.”
For Gina, that moment affirmed everything. “That’s why we do this work,” she says. “It’s about connection, compassion, and creating pathways to care without judgment.”
Thank you, Gina, for your commitment to community and leadership in harm reduction!
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Trainings and Conferences
Conferences
In-person
Virtual
Virtual trainings
Live webinars:
Recorded webinars:
Self-paced courses:
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Free Harm Reduction Training for CA Residents: Get free online courses (Foundations, Overdose Prevention, Engaging Drug Users) from the National Harm Reduction Coalition. Enroll at their Online Training Institute and click “Are you a California resident? Click here for a free course bundle” or use code california100 at checkout.
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Trauma-Informed Care for Post-Overdose Outreach: Learn to apply trauma-informed approaches in post-overdose outreach. CEUs available.
Funding Opportunities
Silicon Valley Community Foundation: Community Action Grants Program
The Silicon Valley Community Foundation is accepting applications for its Community Action Grants program. This will be the only RFP for the Community Action Grants program in 2026. Grants are likely to be around $30,000. Applications will be accepted starting March 2, 2026.
📅Deadline: March 31, 2026
Emergent Fund: Rapid Response and Emergent Organizing Grant
The Emergent Fund supports grassroots, frontline-led organizing by Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities responding to urgent crises or transformative opportunities. It funds time-sensitive efforts that build power, resist injustice, and advance racial, economic, reproductive, climate, and gender justice, prioritizing groups with limited access to traditional funding. Grants are typically under $30,000 and provided monthly during open cycles.
📅Deadline: April 23, 2026
Comer Family Foundation
The Comer Family Foundation offers grants for syringe services and community-based harm reduction programs that provide safer use supplies, education, and wraparound services to reduce opioid overdoses and the spread of HIV and viral hepatitis. Applications are accepted annually on May 1 and November 1. Grants range from $2,500 to $20,000 and support organizations with budgets under $600,000, especially those led by people who use drugs or from communities disproportionately impacted by drug criminalization and health disparities.
📅Deadline: May 1, 2026
The Health Trust: Health Partnership Grants
The Health Trust is offering grants for projects aligned with their focus areas: Food and Nutrition, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, and Supportive Housing. Priority will be given to Policy, Systems, Practice-Change, and Programmatic Support projects. The Health Equity Fund supports projects outside these areas that address health disparities. General Operating Support is not available under this fund. For more details, visit The Health Trust’s website.
📅Deadline: Concept Forms are accepted on a rolling basis. Funding decisions are made quarterly, in September, December, March, and June.
The Awesome Foundation
The Awesome Foundation awards $1,000 monthly grants with no strings attached to creative, community-focused projects worldwide. Individuals, groups, or organizations can apply, and funding decisions are made by local or thematic chapters independently.
📅Deadline: Applications are accepted year-round.
Resources for Community Organizations
 Overdose prevention social media toolkit
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department’s Overdose Prevention Hub (ODFreeSCC.org in English and SCCSinSobredosis.org in Spanish) is dedicated to ending overdoses and connecting people to life-saving resources. We launched a new social media toolkit this year to help raise awareness about these resources, including free naloxone, treatment options, safer use supplies, support groups, and more. The toolkit includes ready-to-share graphics and messages in English and Spanish. Download the materials and help spread the word!
City of San José Homeless Services Guide
The City of San José Homeless Services Guide helps connect individuals with the right government agencies and nonprofits. Visit the Homeless Services Guide page for a digital version or download a copy below.
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New Harm Reduction Health Ed Materials Available for Download
Two new harm reduction resources are now available for download! The brochure "How to Use More Safely and Reduce Overdose Risks" offers practical tips for safer substance use and information on where to access free harm reduction supplies. Also available is the easy-to-carry card "How to Save a Life with Naloxone," which outlines overdose signs and where to get free naloxone.
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Toolkit: Naloxone and fentanyl test strip distribution for CBOs and clinics
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The Naloxone Distribution Project (NDP) has released a comprehensive toolkit for community-based organizations (CBOs) and clinics outlining how to request and distribute free naloxone and fentanyl test strips. This toolkit includes guidance on inventory tracking, storage, distribution policies, and best practices for low-barrier, needs-based harm reduction services.
Access the toolkit here:
👉 NDP Toolkit
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Overdose prevention and harm reduction trainings
Santa Clara County Public Health Department's Sexual Health and Harm Reduction Program (SHHRP) offers local organizations free trainings and technical assistance on overdose prevention and harm reduction.
Trainings include:
•Naloxone Distribution Program Overview •Harm Reduction Principles and Practices •Overdose Prevention •Recognizing the Signs of Overdose •Stigma Reduction •Other overdose prevention topics
Technical Assistance for: • Overdose prevention activities • Ordering and distributing supplies through the Naloxone Distribution Project
Stay connected: Follow us on LinkedIn for harm reduction updates.
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Free technical assistance from the Opioid Response Network
The Opioid Response Network (ORN) offers free, tailored education and technical assistance on preventing, treating, and supporting recovery from opioid and other substance use disorders.
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Substance use and suicide prevention trainings
The Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services Department – Prevention Services Division and their community partners offer free prevention services and materials for schools, families, and community organizations.
Trainings and programs are available for:
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Free safer sex supplies for organizations
In partnership with the California Department of Public Health's Condom Distribution Program, the Sexual Health and Harm Reduction Program offers community organizations free condoms, lube, and dispensers to help reduce HIV transmission. Get your free safer sex supplies today.
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Get Involved
Join the Drug User Health Advisory Committee (DUHAC)
DUHAC is a collaborative space for people who use drugs and community partners to shape harm reduction services in Santa Clara County. Share feedback, offer recommendations, and help improve support for the community.
Meetings: Every 4th Thursday from 5 to 6 p.m. on Zoom.
Subscribe to our mailing list to stay up to date or contact us below to join the next meeting.
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Join the ODFree SCC Coalition
ODFree SCC (formerly known as "SCCOOPP") is a coalition of community members and volunteers, healthcare providers, and professionals working to reduce overdoses in Santa Clara County through equity, community, and collaboration. The coalition's vision is to create a Santa Clara County free from fatal and non-fatal overdoses and other harms of drug use through the mobilization of multi-sectoral partnerships and the use of data to inform action.
Interested in joining? The ODFree SCC coalition meets on the last Tuesday of each month from 12 to 1:30 p.m. online (over Zoom) and in-person. Questions? Contact us at ODFreeSCC@phd.sccgov.org.
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About the Harm Reduction Program
For the past three decades, the Harm Reduction Program has been at the forefront of public health efforts to promote safer behaviors proven to control the spread of blood borne viruses, such as HIV and Hepatitis C. The program is also playing a vital role in helping to decrease opioid overdose deaths and serve as a bridge to other health and social services.
The Harm Reduction Program is housed within the Sexual Health and Harm Reduction Program of the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department.
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