Salt Lake Harm Reduction Project’s Impact in 2025
Despite legislative challenges and an administration that is often hostile to harm reduction, Salt Lake Harm Reduction Project has had a year of growth and success. From needle exchange to our community food bank, we are grateful for the chance to continue making an impact in our community while taking tangible steps to keep our neighbors safe and our communities healthy.
With 2025 coming to a close, we wanted to document the work we’ve been doing and outline some of the numbers behind our programs to show the impact our team has made with the help of incredible volunteers and generous donors.
We’ve served thousands of people in our community this year, and we wanted to talk a little bit about our demographics. In 2025, 59% of our clients were men, 38% were women, and the final 3% were transgender or nonbinary.
Of those clients, 10% of them are in the 18-30 age group. The majority of our clients are between the ages of 31 and 45 (53%), followed by folks ages 46-65 (29%). Clients over the age of 63 are 5% of the people we serve.
We served these clients at our office, through our delivery service, and while tabling at other events. In total, we participated in 26 outreach events in 2025 and are looking to expand in 2026!
Syringe Exchange in 2025
Our main purpose is providing syringe exchange services, which we do in our office and through our delivery model–bringing the service directly to our clients and meeting them where they are.
Syringe exchange empowers the health and dignity of people who use drugs by making it safer and healthier for them to manage their habits with less risk of infection or other complications that arise from reusing or sharing needles. Beyond that, people who access syringe exchange are five times more likely to access other services and three times more likely to reduce their drug use. Syringe exchanges are also proven to reduce the rate of HIV and HCV in populations by up to 50%.
We aim to be there for clients at all points along this spectrum, making treatment options and other resources available and accessible so they can continue to make sound choices for their health and safety.
To that end, here are some of the numbers for 2025.
Facilitated 2,815 syringe exchange encounters at our office or via delivery
Served 812 clients total, including 233 new clients for 2025
Processed 1,857 exchanges in the office and another 1,031 via our delivery services
Properly disposed of 15,000 pounds of used syringes
Distributed 1,000 wound care kits to help prevent infections
We also want to call out that in 2025, our team received more syringes than we gave out. This fact combats the myth that syringe exchanges are a one-way door or an out-but-not-in process, and shows that our clients care about disposing of syringes properly.
Overdose Prevention in 2025
We provide resources to keep folks safe from opioid overdoses, saving lives and reducing the need for trips to emergency services.
Part of our effort to combat overdoses includes making naloxone more available to people, so they can reverse an overdose if someone they love finds themselves in that situation or even if they encounter a stranger in need of care.
To that end, we installed a self-service Naloxey Boxey outside our office. This allows folks to access naloxone 24/7, even when our office is closed. It also makes it easier for folks to access this medication without stigma, as they can collect naloxone from the box without having to interact with anyone and in privacy. We have plans to expand the program to and place more Naloxey Boxeys in other locations throughout northern Utah in 2026.
Another way we are making naloxone more accessible is through lanyard kits at outreach events for raves and other places. This allows folks an easy way to keep naloxone on hand, even if they don’t have pockets. The increased visibility also makes it easier for folks to tell at a glance who is carrying naloxone and where to turn in case of an overdose.
Here are some of the numbers relating to our overdose prevention efforts in 2025:
Distributed more than 5,000 doses of naloxone at our office, through delivery, and while doing outreach at events
Between August and December, distributed 438 doses of naloxone through our Naloxey Boxey
Held 10 naloxone trainings
Distributed 12,000 test strips, which allow folks to test their supplies for the presence of fentanyl or xylazine
We also want to call out that in the last two years we’ve seen an increase in fentanyl showing up in methamphetamine, and not just in opioids and cocaine. While the latter two are the most common drugs to contain unexpected fentanyl, the increase in instances of laced meth underscore the importance of regularly testing your supplies to make sure you know what you are putting in your body and enabling folks to stay safer.
Community Health in 2025
Another way we protect our communities is by making health resources more available, including for sexual health. This includes providing contraception, birth control, and tests for various infections.
Marginalized folks may not always have access to the same health resources as their peers, and we strive to narrow that gap by making it affordable and free for people to access the medications and supplies they need.
We also provide testing for HIV, hepatitis C, and syphilis, so people can understand their status and get referrals for treatment and care. Many of these infections can be cleared with medical treatment, or be managed more safely with access to proper care. In cases of a positive test, we are able to connect folks with treatment options and even arrange transportation to get them to their appointments.
Here are the numbers for these efforts in 2025.
Distributed 6,500 condoms, including standard, latex-free and internal condoms
Gave away 3,000 packets of lube
Provided 1,100 dental dams
Provided folks with 350 doses of Plan B
Facilitated about 60 tests for HIV and HCV
Additionally, we offer Opill contraception through our office free of charge, and allow folks to pick up a 3-month supply at a time. Once enrolled, we also offer an option for people to receive automated text reminders about when it’s time to pick up their next batch of O pill.
Food Assistance and Other Support
Our community food bank is another way we care for our neighbors. Our food pantry is available to anyone in need, and with no questions asked. Anyone can come by for a box of food to help them stretch their budget or shore up households where food insecurity is at issue. We also deliver boxes of food as part of our syringe exchange delivery program.
We distributed about 51,586 pounds of food to our community in 2025. With an average cost of groceries at $4 a pound, that amounts to saving our clients $206,344 at the grocery store. We are grateful to be able to help folks keep themselves fed, while helping folks who are struggling stretch their resources even further thanks to saving money on food.
No one in our community should go hungry, and we are committed to doing our part to counteract food insecurity.
We also collect clothing donations to give out to folks who are in need, including winter clothing and workwear so people can be ready to meet their obligations and whatever the weather throws their way.
Final Thoughts
This has been a challenging year for many people, with reductions in SNAP spending and attacks on basic social programs like healthcare assistance and more. We hope for a more empathetic approach to these social issues from our government as time goes on, but no matter what happens at the state or the federal level: We will be here supporting our neighbors and reducing harm.
We are proud of the work we have done, and we couldn’t have done it without the generous donations of people like you. Harm reduction was founded on the principles of making the world a safer and better place for everyone, and we can’t thank you enough for your support in helping us do this work. We’re incredibly grateful to the volunteers who gave their time to help with exchange, stock the food pantry, assemble naloxone kits, and more.
It’s been inspiring for us to see so many members of our community give their time, energy, and talents to making a difference. In these unsteady times, it’s heartening when people stand up to help others.
Please consider making a donation or volunteering with SHRP in 2026. We are excited to increase our collaboration with other organizations and with more people in our community so we can make an even bigger impact in 2026!