August 18, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Northern Valley Harm Reduction Coalition Withdrawals Syringe Exchange Certification
Today Northern Valley Harm Reduction Coalition (NVHRC) is announcing they will be rescinding 
their Syringe Exchange Program (SEP) certification from the California Department of Public Health 
(CDPH) after a lawsuit filed against NVHRC by a group of Chico residents and businesses. 
 
NVHRC is an all-volunteer harm reduction program that started in 2018 to address an unmet and 
growing need for evidence-based and life-saving harm reduction services in Chico. NVHRC spent a 
year distributing naloxone, which can save the lives of people suffering opioid overdoses, providing 
accessible syringe disposal, referrals, and health education to the community before becoming 
certified by CDPH to provide safe injection equipment in addition to their core harm reduction 
services. NVHRC spent the first year of operation meeting with elected officials, law enforcement, 
social service providers, business owners and public health to get input and feedback about the 
development of our proposed syringe services program. Once we received our certification in 
October 2019, NVHRC continued to stay in dialogue with Chico City Council, elected officials and 
has remained open throughout this process to hearing and addressing community concerns. 
Despite these efforts, t​ he group's co-founders began to experience harassment, in person and over 
social media, by a small but vocal group of protestors. The harassment most recently escalated 
into targeted threats of violence, doxxing and an organized effort to intimidate and humiliate 
NVHRC program participants.  
  
In addition to providing safer injection supplies, NVHRC operates a syringe litter reporting line, 
collects thousands of used syringes for safe disposal every week, performs weekly syringe litter 
cleanups across the City of Chico, provides overdose reversal training, and offers referrals to 
addiction treatment facilities, medically assisted treatment (MAT) programs, housing, medical care, 
and more. To date, NVHRC has performed over thirty HIV and Hepatitis C rapid tests and connected 
people to the appropriate treatment and care. Additionally, NVHRC has distributed over 2,000 boxes 
of naloxone, and received 45 overdose reversal reports, meaning 45 lives potentially saved.  
 
The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit that includes a claim for violation of the California Environmental 
Quality Act (CEQA). While the plaintiffs’ interpretation of this law is out of sync with the law’s intent, 
members of NVHRC have decided to not squander energy and state resources in the courtroom, 
and instead take the necessary steps to prioritize the safety of their community members in an 

 increasingly hostile situation, and to focus their energy on protecting harm reduction services in 
Butte County over the long term. NVHRC will continue many of our services including syringe litter 
pick up, safe disposal, naloxone distribution, referrals and outreach in the community. 
 
"Our organization remains invested in the health and wellness of this community. Our decision to 
rescind our application is part of a larger sustainability strategy to ensure safe syringe access is 
protected in our region long-term," said NVHRC Program Manager Angel Gomez​. 
 
“Obviously this is a setback and loss for the Chico community and people who use injection drugs, 
but we remain deeply invested in providing public health services to our participants. T
​ hough we 
have stopped providing sterile syringes effective August 17 pursuant to the rescinded syringe 
program, we will continue to support our participants by providing our other existing services while 
growing and strengthening our program,” Said NVHRC Outreach Coordinator and HIV/HCV Test 
Counselor, Marin Hambley​.
 
“It’s very clear that the plaintiffs in this case are not actually concerned about the environment. They 
are the same people who support and fund right-wing Republican representatives who have passed 
bills to get CEQA exemptions for big developments. They are the same people who are encouraging 
the local police to sweep homeless encampments during a pandemic. They are the same people 
who have fought against shelters and low-barrier housing options after mass displacement in their 
community due to wildfires. What is really devastating about this is that the consequence of this 
kind of hatred is that more people in their community will die from overdose, more of them will 
contract Hepatitis C and HIV, and overall not only is this a greater cost to taxpayers, it’s also 
completely preventable. This attitude toward people who use drugs is archaic -- even the Trump 
administration supports syringe services as a public health intervention” said Jenna Haywood, the 
Capacity Building and Community Mobilization Manager at national Harm Reduction Coalition, an 
organization that provides technical assistance and training for NVHRC and all harm reduction 
programs across the state. 
 
“I’ve been working with NVHRC since they started and have seen unwavering dedication to their 
community and development of a community-based syringe services program that is in line with 
best practices. NVHRC volunteers did this despite mean-spirited protestors committing violence 
against them and their participants. I watched the horrific video footage of an elderly participant 
with a walker being shoved to the ground. Obviously that kind of hatred can be both traumatic and 
isolating but I want NVHRC to know that they are on the right side of history and they have so many 
people on their side who will continue to fight with them for the right of their community to have 
access to public health services and compassionate care,” said Savannah O'Neill, the Capacity 
Building and Community Development Manager of the Harm Reduction Coalition. 
 
 
For questions please contact ​nvharmreduction@gmail.com​ or (530) 332-8065