Over the December break we received new friends to The Platia, those who want to attend events or that have attended an event. If you're one of them, thank you so much. Now, let me take a moment to explain what The Platia is, and what I'm trying to do in 2026 with your help.
Harm reduction is defined as the practice of reducing the harm associated with drug use. It’s a practice that believes everyone deserves dignity, and you can’t make a better choice tomorrow if you don’t make it to tomorrow. But, it also aims to provide resources to people who live in communities that have been impacted by drug policy and laws.
The Platia focuses on that scope, the wider group of people who have been harmed not only by drug use, but by laws and policy that have an outsized impact on already-vulnerable neighbors and communities.
That means harm reduction includes learning how to use Narcan on a stranger you find overdosing, but it can also mean providing after-school resources to schools in neighborhoods where drugs are likely to impact teens. It can mean making meals for community refrigerators, or understanding how open-air drug markets make it more difficult for nearby immigrant neighborhoods to be without grocery stores. It also includes understanding how our own bias and misinformation harms our neighbors.
The Platia investigates how acts of care and putting resources back into the community can create thriving neighborhoods when municipal resources are dwindling.
Why make a newsroom focused on harm reduction? Because drug use and enforcement have an outsized impact on urban areas, cutting off educational and civic resources and creating decades-long harm in our neighborhoods.
How does this newsroom work? The Platia puts the power back in the hands of the community through free and low-cost civic trainings, activities and discussions where you don’t need to be afraid to ask basic questions. We call those "live newsrooms" where you might be writing letters to incarcerated people while learning about the prison system, or crafting charm bracelets while learning deescalation techniques.
At Platia live newsrooms you'll meet mutual aid groups that will inspire you and help you chart the course of where you fit in. We connect audiences with the right organization to fit your skills. And through blog posts, we break down the big questions you want to understand, with guides you can download and reuse through a Creative Commons license. You can read about our first 6 months here.
Our venues are low-cost or free, and other than operating costs for website and materials, all donations go to certified trainers and partnering charities and mutual aid groups. We have a fiscal sponsorship through the Tiny News Collective, a group of micro newsrooms aiming to improve their communities.
This year I hope you'll join us at an event to understand how even small changes can impact your neighborhood. Thanks for reading this, and reach out with any questions.
Annemarie