(bright music) - The Utah Harm Reduction Coalition works to share what Utahns can do to prevent health and social harms associated with substance use.

Mindy Vincent is here now with more on the organization's treatment-first philosophy.

Welcome, Mindy.

- Hello, thank you for having me.

- So tell me about this organization, how long it's been around, and why you decided to found it.

- I started the Utah Harm Reduction Coalition in July of 2016 after losing my sister in August of 2014 to an opiate overdose.

And I was already a treatment provider at that time, but it completely shifted my worldview and my perspective as to what I could and should be doing, not just as a person who's recovered from a substance use disorder but as a professional in the field, to better treat people and to save lives, ultimately.

I thought many times, like, what could I have done different or done better for my sister to still be here?

And of course, I immediately thought about all of my clients that I've lost over the years to the opioid epidemic and how many times I possibly made them feel like their recovery wasn't enough for me because it wasn't 12-step based or it wasn't abstinence based.

And right then and there, I vowed that I would never do that again and that I would spend the rest of my life doing everything I could to save every life that has been affected by addiction because every one of them are worthy, they all deserve it, and recovery's possible for everyone.

- Taking that information in and deciding to take action, even though you were grieving the loss of your sister, that had to be a lot.

What motivated you, you know, besides that, besides all the loss, to say this could be done better?

- I would say that one of the things is that the only thing I know to do with an injustice in this world is to fight it somehow.

It's how I became a social worker in the first place.

But it was really about just saving lives.

And then I was introduced to harm reduction through, you know, just whatever happens.

So I was introduced to harm reduction, and I realized that we could be doing so much more to treat these people right where they're at, to save lives, and to help people have a better life, even if they are continuing substance use.

- Well, grateful that you're doing this in the community.

And if you'd like to learn more information, you can go online to utahharmreduction.org and get more information.

I'm Liz Adeola.

Thank you for watching "Contact."

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Hi, I'm Liz Adeola, the host of Contact, a show that connects you with local events and organizations that serve your community.

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