Harm Reduction Training Scholars Program

Harm Reduction Training Scholars Program is sponsored by RIZE Massachusetts Foundation. Supports specialized internships for Master of Social Work students at participating universities, developing a pipeline of social workers trained in harm reduction approaches to the opioid crisis.

The two-year grant program for Master of Social Work degree students at Boston College, Bridgewater State University, Simmons University and Westfield State University has supported paid internships and specialized training for 55 HaRT Scholars at these schools, and will support an additional 20 scholars in the 2025-2026 academic year. The model has the potential to be scaled and replicated nationally.

Harm reduction is an approach that focuses on reducing the negative consequences of drug use and supporting individuals in embracing positive change in their lives and health. The interventions can include a range of services such as syringe exchange, overdose education, naloxone distribution, and drug checking.

Harm reduction itself should not be seen as a way to end opioid use, but rather as a survival plan that keeps people alive and safe until they decide to move onto a clinical treatment phase, and then hopefully, onto full recovery. The HaRT Scholars program increases the clinical presence at harm reduction organizations to improve linkages to behavioral health and medical treatment.

To increase racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse social workers in the field of harm reduction, each participating university specifically promotes internships to Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) students.