Project Weber/RENEW explained

Project Weber/RENEW
Formation:2016
Founder:Rich Holcomb and James Waterman
Type:501(c)(3)
Vat Id:(for European organizations) -->
Location:Providence, Rhode Island
Services:harm-reduction and recovery
Leader Title:Executive Director
Leader Name:Colleen Ndoye

Project Weber/RENEW is a harm reduction organization in Providence, Rhode Island established in 2016 by the merger of Project RENEW and Project Weber.[1] The organization is staffed entirely by people who have directly experienced mental health issues, substance abuse and/or sex work.[2]

It plans to open an "overdose prevention center" in early 2024, which will be the first supervised injection site to be state regulated in the US.[3]

History

Creation of Project RENEW

In 2006, Colleen Daley Ndoye started Project Revitalizing & Engaging Neighborhoods by Empowering Women (RENEW), which connects women sex workers with social services and substance abuse treatment.[4] Project RENEW has been credited with reducing arrests in Pawtucket.[5]

Creation of Project Weber

In 2008, Project Weber was founded by Rich Holcomb and James Waterman, in Providence, as the first supportive services in America to exclusively serve male sex workers. The project was named in honor of Roy Weber, a sex worker who was found murdered in Providence in 2003. Project Weber opened its first drop-in center in 2013. After two years of running the drop-in center and nearly seven years of complete abstinence from drugs and alcohol, Holcomb relapsed and resigned as director of Project Weber. The merger into Project Weber/RENEW occurred, in part, to sustain the work of Project Weber, after Holcomb's departure as director. Holcomb continues to be involved in the organization.[6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Merger into Project Weber/RENEW

In 2016, Project Weber which served male sex workers and Project RENEW which served female sex workers merged to become Project Weber/RENEW in a hope to gather more funds and help more people. Project Weber/RENEW is funded by the Rhode Island Department of Health. Weber/RENEW's interventions include education, distribution of harm reduction supplies, peer-led street outreach, addressing basic needs, HIV prevention testing, support groups, and case management.[11] [12]

Services

In 2021, Weber/RENEW began handing out harm reduction supplies in Kennedy Plaza.[13] The organization runs two drop-in centers run by workers in recovery. One in Providence and another in Pawtucket.[14] [15] [16] Additionally, the organization runs a mobile outreach van in Providence, Central Falls, and Pawtucket.[17]

In partnership with the organization CODAC Behavioral Health, it intends to open an overdose prevention center at 349 Huntington Ave in Providence, a location currently occupied by CODAC.[18] [19] After the controversial announcement of the supervised consumption center's opening, some private donors terminated donations to CODAC.[20]

It is one of the largest distributors of Narcan in the state.[21] [22]

Work

COVID-19 pandemic response

In 2020 and 2021, Weber/RENEW was one of the only organizations in Rhode Island to continue in person harm reduction and outreach work, despite the risk of transmission at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the pandemic, the organization expanded services to meet clients' basic needs. Weber/RENEW also started distributing COVID masks and cleaning supplies, hosting vaccination clinics, and sharing educational information about COVID and vaccines.[23]

Collaboration with schools

In January 2022, Project Weber/ RENEW taught a Community Leadership in Nonviolence and Substance Use Prevention class for students at Blackstone Academy Charter School, in partnership with U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha, Local Initiatives Support Corporation Rhode Island, and the Nonviolence Institute.[24]

Advocacy of supervised injection sites

In July 2022, Rhode Island became the first state in America to legalize supervised drug consumption sites.[25] [26]

In November 2022, Project Weber/RENEW and CODAC Behavioral Healthcare submitted a joint proposal to Rhode Island's Executive Office of Health and Human Services for funding to open a supervised injection site on Huntington Avenue in Providence. Two million dollars in funding for the project will come from settlement money the state of Rhode Island was paid from opioid makers.[27]

Outreach in Kennedy Plaza

Project Weber/RENEW focuses much of their outreach on the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) bus terminal, Kennedy Plaza. Kennedy Plaza has one of the highest rates of overdoses in Providence.[28] [29]

Awarded grants

In 2018, Miriam Hospital received a $2.5 million federal grant to partner with Project Weber/RENEW and the Rhode Island Public Health Institute to create Rhode Island's first substance use treatment program for gay and bisexual, Black and Latino men. In 2018, Project Weber/RENEW was awarded $10,000 from the Rhode Island Foundation for advocacy and training, as well as to connect high-risk transgender men and women with health and prevention services. [30] [31]

PrideFest honor

In June 2022, Project Weber/RENEW was named Grand Marshals for the return of PrideFest and the Illuminated Night Parade in Providence.[32]

References

  1. News: Ovalle . David . 2023-05-17 . Overdose prevention centers are tough sell in U.S. despite successes . en-US . Washington Post . 2023-08-31 . 0190-8286.
  2. Book: Scott . John Geoffrey . The Routledge Handbook of Male Sex Work, Culture, and Society . Grov . Christian . Minichiello . Victor . 2021-03-21 . Routledge . 978-1-000-37311-0 . en.
  3. Web site: Gagosz . Alexa . April 19, 2023 . First state-regulated overdose prevention center in US slated to open in Rhode Island in early 2024 - The Boston Globe . 2023-08-31 . BostonGlobe.com . en-US.
  4. Book: Ioannou, Maria . Prostitution Control in America: Rethinking Public Policy . Safer Sex in the City: The Experience and Management of Street Prostitution . 2016-04-15 . Routledge . 978-1-315-60742-9 . Canter . David . 0 . 209–228 . en . 10.4324/9781315607429 .
  5. Web site: Klepper . David . November 13, 2013 . Effort aims to help prostitutes get off the street in Providence . 2023-09-03 . www.boston.com . en-US.
  6. Web site: 2021-09-24 . Police: Suspect in 2003 Providence murder 'shouldn't rest too easy' . 2023-02-07 . WPRI.com . en-US.
  7. Web site: Milkovits . Amanda . 'Invisible' shines spotlight on male prostitutes . 2023-02-07 . The Providence Journal . en-US.
  8. Web site: Former Male Prostitute Helps Hustlers Leave R.I. Streets EDGE Boston, MA . 2023-02-07 . EDGE Media Network . en-us.
  9. Web site: 2016-03-03 . Options Magazine Drop-In Center Opens for Male Sex Workers in Providence . 2023-02-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221005/http://optionsri.org/drop-in-center-opens-for-male-sex-workers-in-providence/ . 2016-03-03 .
  10. Web site: NEWS . ALISON BOLOGNA, NBC 10 . 2021-05-12 . Man starts program to help addicts, including himself, stay clean . 2023-02-07 . WJAR . en.
  11. Web site: Milkovits . Amanda . R.I. groups serving female and male prostitutes to merge . 2023-02-07 . The Providence Journal . en-US.
  12. Web site: United . AIDS . 2020-04-17 . Seven Amazing Community Groups That Support Transgender People . 2023-02-07 . POZ . en.
  13. Web site: Rhode Island community members turn to mutual aid, direct outreach during pandemic . 2023-02-07 . The Brown Daily Herald . en-US.
  14. Web site: Amaral . Brian . Paving a road to recovery in Rhode Island - The Boston Globe . 2023-02-07 . BostonGlobe.com . en-US.
  15. Web site: Judson . Abigail . 29 September 2021 . 'Life-saving' Project Weber/RENEW opens new location in city . 2023-02-06 . The Valley Breeze . en.
  16. Web site: NEWS . ALISON BOLOGNA, NBC 10 . 2022-06-29 . Project Weber Renew expands into Pawtucket to save lives . 2023-02-06 . WJAR . en.
  17. Web site: Milkovits . Amanda . Van a donation in name of overdose victim . 2023-02-07 . The Providence Journal . en-US.
  18. Web site: 2023-04-18 . Rhode Island's first safe consumption site for illegal drugs slated for early 2024 . 2023-08-31 . The Public's Radio . en.
  19. Web site: 2023-08-31 . RI prepares to open first safe injection site amid onslaught of overdose deaths . 2023-08-31 . WPRI.com . en-US.
  20. Web site: 2023-09-01 . R.I. plans for state's first supervised consumption site for illegal drugs proceeding cautiously . 2023-09-02 . The Public's Radio . en.
  21. Web site: Staff . Brian Amaral Globe . 'Fentanyl is killing people. It's thinning the streets.' - The Boston Globe . 2023-02-07 . BostonGlobe.com . en-US.
  22. Web site: 2022-03-31 . Opioid overdose alert issued for 9 RI communities . 2023-02-07 . WPRI.com . en-US . Project Weber/RENEW is doing what they can, she said" "but there’s “not enough of anything.” said Colleen Daley Ndoye, executive director of the overdose prevention organization Project Weber/RENEW.".
  23. Web site: allen . 2022-08-30 . Building relationships and fighting for systemic change in Rhode Island . 2023-02-07 . AIDS United . en-US.
  24. Web site: 2022-01-26 . U.S. Attorney joins high school mentoring program for substance abuse and violence prevention . 2023-02-07 . ABC6 . en-US.
  25. News: Weiland . Noah . 2022-10-12 . As Overdoses Soar, Rhode Island Embraces a Daring Addiction Strategy . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-02-06 . 0362-4331.
  26. Web site: Solowski • • . Jason . Safe Consumption Sites Are Coming to New England This Year . 2023-02-07 . NBC Boston . 20 January 2022 . en-US.
  27. Web site: Staff . Brian Amaral Globe . 6:00 a m Share on Facebook Share on TwitterView . Fatal R.I. overdoses remained high in 2022. Here's what two organizations want to do about it. - The Boston Globe . 2023-02-06 . BostonGlobe.com . en-US.
  28. Web site: After an overdose in Kennedy Plaza, advocates fault police, RIPTA for not carrying naloxone . 2023-02-06 . The Providence Journal . en-US.
  29. Web site: Advocates urge RIPTA to improve overdose response in Kennedy Plaza . 2023-02-06 . The Brown Daily Herald . en-US.
  30. Web site: Borkowski . Rob . 2018-09-20 . The Miriam Hospital gets $2.5M grant for substance abuse treatment for gay and bisexual black and Latino men . 2023-02-07 . Providence Business News . en-US.
  31. Web site: ChrisS . RI Foundation Awards $53,200 in Grants to 8 Nonprofits Serving LGBTQ Communities . 2023-02-07 . GoLocalProv . en.
  32. Web site: Spirit . Boston . RI Pride announces grand marshals, new parade route, festival location Boston Spirit Magazine . 26 May 2022 . 2023-02-07 . en-US.

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