Appalachian SSP RetreatAppalachian SSP Retreat
Challenging Pathos
In today's The Needle and the Narrative epiosode Marc and Kris sit down for a Appalachian gathering debrief to talk about the first annual Central Appalachian Harm Reduction Cohort, organized by Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition. This was a great...
30:51•29 Jun 2026
Bears, Banana Pudding and Radical Harm Reduction in Appalachia
Episode Overview
- Grassroots harm reduction groups from across Appalachia gathered in Townsend, Tennessee to build connections, share experiences and relax together outside a formal conference setting.
- The conversation traces a deep history of resistance in Appalachia, from Indigenous survival and coal miners’ struggles to ongoing fights against racism and criminalisation.
- Participants committed to offering one another “unconditional, radical love” and practical mutual aid, especially as funding cuts may force programmes back to the bare essentials of syringe services.
- A vigil honoured Tane Nicole “Rose” Miller, underlining how grief, remembrance and ceremony remain central to harm reduction work.
- Jessica’s Walk for Overdose Awareness and International Overdose Awareness Day are highlighted, alongside a clear warning to be wary of law-enforcement-led “fentanyl awareness” events that conflict with compassionate support for people who use drugs.
“We all made commitments to each other… to show up for each other no matter what, and to give each other unconditional, radical love.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey when drugs, politics, and community care all collide? This conversation between Marc Burrows and programme manager Chris Stepp offers a grounded, sometimes funny, and often moving look at grassroots harm reduction in and around Appalachia. Marc and Chris chat through the first Central Appalachian Harm Reduction Cohort retreat in Townsend, Tennessee, hosted by Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition.
Instead of a stuffy hotel ballroom, picture cabins on a hill, moonshine jars on the tables, tubing on the river, and bears stealing banana pudding. As Chris jokes about being “too tall” for cave exploring and tripping downriver on “fun guys”, you’ll still hear a clear focus on serious work: syringe service programmes trying to keep people alive despite hostile politics and shrinking funds.
They talk about the long history of resistance in Appalachia – from Indigenous survival and coal miners’ uprisings to modern fights against racism and criminalisation. Shanita from Kentucky Harm Reduction and Yami from Florida are mentioned for bringing conversations on resistance, social justice, and ancestral practices, and for a powerful vigil for Tane Nicole “Rose” Miller.
As Chris says, “We all made commitments to each other… to show up for each other no matter what.” The episode also highlights Jessica’s Walk for Overdose Awareness and stresses sticking with International Overdose Awareness Day rather than law-enforcement-branded “fentanyl awareness” events.
Marc and Chris are blunt: if someone is talking overdose awareness with one hand and arresting people who use drugs with the other, “something’s off there.” If you’re interested in harm reduction, rural and Appalachian drug use, or just want to hear honest talk about keeping people who use drugs safer, this one brings heart, humour, and hard truths. How might your view of drug policy shift after hearing people who live this work every day?
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