People Centered Practice for the Month

By Fitzgerald Clark, Director of People-Centered Practices 

We all have good intentions. There is a common phrase that says, “the path to hell is paved with good intentions”. One people centered practice that we should utilize when we make decisions and do our work, is to embody the principle of harm reduction.

We should ask ourselves these questions, who might this action, policy or decision harm? Can that harm be prevented? If harm cannot be prevented what can be done to reduce the harm to the least possible amount?

Take for example food service. Would it be reasonable for a food service worker to provide peanuts and milk as snacks for all of the youth at DYS? The answer to that is a resounding no, when we consider the principle of harm reduction.

While peanuts and milk might be a healthy and appreciated snack for many, when we ask ourselves the question of who might this action harm, we realize that those with peanut or milk allergies could be seriously harmed by having this as the only option for a snack. The intention to provide a healthy snack is a sincere one but absent the presence of mind of considering who could be harmed, it becomes a reckless and harmful action with potentially tragic consequences.

Only 1-2 percent of the population has a peanut allergy and if we only considered the 98% of people who might have no problem eating peanuts, then that might seem a reasonable decision. However, when we consider the potential harm to those with an allergy this will change our decision on what to serve for a snack.

Next, we would ask ourself whether the harm could be prevented. The answer in this example is a definite yes. We can choose snacks that don’t have the potential for harmful allergic responses and thus remove that risk altogether.

In a situation where the risk could not be removed at all, we would then consider how to reduce it to the largest extent we could. We might offer different types of snacks so that people with these allergies have healthy options for them as well.

This principle of harm reduction is one that we should always be keeping in mind as we go about our work. We should be asking ourselves, who will be impacted by this and would anyone be harmed. What needs to be changed or how can we do this differently to prevent the harm that might be done to some? How can we make sure the potential harm is reduced to the smallest level possible?

Keeping this principle and questions in mind is one way we can practice social responsibility and make DYS a healthy environment for youth and staff.