Board Features - Tamara Oyola-Santiago
Each month, we’ll be highlighting a different member of the board of Faith in Harm Reduction to share more about the people, practices, and values behind our work and the movement at large.
In a phrase or sentence, what is one dream you have for the world?
In honor of Assata Shakur, I share her words:
“I believe in living.
I believe in birth.
I believe in the sweat of love
and in the fire of truth.
And i believe that a lost ship,
steered by tired, seasick sailors,
can still be guided him
to port.”
― Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography
What does "Faith in Harm Reduction" mean to you?
Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan poet, wrote, ""You can't be with God and be neutral." Faith in Harm Reduction is camaraderie that humanizes. It challenges the status quo that criminalizes people who use drugs. It is seeing God in each and every human being.
Tell us something about the work you do in Harm Reduction
I am co-founder and Program Leader of Bronx Móvil, a harm reduction collective that started as a mutual aid collective and mobilizes on the streets of The Bronx and other areas that are ground zero of the overdose crisis in New York City. We believe that harm reduction must be 24/7 and community-, linguistically- and culturally-centered.
What is one Harm Reduction related resource you love?
Getting off Right (1988). This manual was created by USA-based harm reductionists when syringe services were less mainstream and not accepted as a best public health practice. It is a starting point for any harm reductionist! (Access it here.)
Who or what inspires you in this work?
My mom, Sonia Santiago Hernández is a Puerto Rican psychologist and pacifist activist, and founder of the organization Madres Contra la Guerra (Mothers Against the War). She is hope and love in action, and my childhood was full of experiences that fed my soul. Sonia taught me that solidarity is the only way to be. That God lives in how we treat each other, that the personal is political.
What's one thing you want to see more of in Harm Reduction movements?
Embracing the movement. The provision of life saving tools like naloxone and syringes is public health. We need to also embrace "movement:” a sustained group effort by ordinary people to address injustice in the now global racialized drug policy and demand change. We use collective action and sustained campaigns to challenge powerful institutions and the status quo.
Where do you find your own spiritual sustenance?
In the intimacy of the work on the streets.
Learn more:
Bronx Móvil's website: bronxmovil.org
Instagram and Bluesky: @bronxmovil
Mothers Against the War on Instagram: @madrescontralaguerra