WHAT WE DO

We recognize that our liberation is interdependent and interconnected to the liberation of all others. All social justice struggles are intersectional – interconnected solidarity brings immense power to our movements. We know that some people and groups disproportionately experience higher levels of oppression, trauma, stigma, and social and structural discrimination and violence. These communities are disproportionately marginalized, criminalized, and incarcerated for a variety of oppressive, intersecting structural and systemic factors. These communities include, but are certainly not limited to: 2SLGBTQIA+ and gender-diverse communities; Indigenous, Black, and communities of colour; people who use, sell, and trade drugs; people living with HIV and/or Hepatitis C; sex workers and people involved in survival sex; disabled people; and, people living in precarious housing situations, unhoused people, and people living in encampments. Those who find themselves at the complex intersections of multiple marginalized and criminalized identities are those who are the most targeted, harmed, and incarcerated. By building interconnected solidarity and social justice struggles, we organize to realize a world free of criminalization and oppression.

Transformative justice recognizes that oppression is at the root of all forms of harm, exploitation, and violence. Transformative justice as a political framework and approach aims to address and confront those oppressions on all levels – an integral part to transparency, accountability, and healing in communities. Transformative justice seeks to respond to violence without creating more violence and/or engaging in harm reduction to lessen the violence. Healing justice refers to a framework that identifies how we can holistically respond to and intervene on generational trauma and violence and bring collective practices that can impact and transform the consequences of oppression on our bodies, hearts, and minds. This framework builds political and philosophical convergences of healing inside of liberation movements and organizations.

Exercising bodily autonomy and self-determination are foundational, universal rights for all human beings. This means that each person has inherent human rights to be protected from attack, infringement, violation, or interference, and has the freedom to make informed decisions about their own body, health, reproductive care, and wellbeing. Ongoing settler colonialism, structural and systemic discrimination, and regressive health and social policies disproportionately target, restrict, and persecute criminalized, racialized, and stigmatized communities – robbing them of their bodily autonomy, personal agency, self-ownership, and self-determination. We see the universality of bodily autonomy and self-determination as fundamental to the liberation of all criminalized and oppressed communities.

People with living and lived experiences of criminalization (e.g., criminalized drug use, poverty and homelessness, sex work, survival sex, living with HIV, etc.) are unequivocal experts in their own lives and in how policies and practices directly impact their daily experiences. We affirm that those with experiences of criminalization are the primary agents of harm reduction and seek to empower criminalized people to share information and support each other in strategies which meet their needs, desires, and wellbeing. Our organizing strives to be power-aware by continually challenging the intricate power dynamics and imbalances that exist within and across groups, organizations, and communities. We commit to ensuring the full and direct leadership and participation of people with living and lived experience of criminalization, and to asserting their expertise as fundamental to harm reduction movement-building.

We consider respect for and the upholding of inherent human rights, liberty, dignity, and safety of each person essential to all organizing work. We value all people and firmly believe each person has the right to agency, choice, and independence. This means nurturing a collective built on safety, solidarity, care, compassion, collaboration, and learning – allowing all to bring, be, and move through the world as their full self.