The Youth Overdose Prevention Fellowship (“Fellowship”) is a 6-month fellowship for students who have a passion for harm reduction and outreach to communities of color to reduce overdose and other negative impacts of a lack of sensible drug policy in North Carolina. The fellows must be located across the state of North Carolina. The fellows will undergo harm reduction and community organizing best practices training prior to content creation and stakeholder engagement. Each fellow will organize a “Support. Don’t Punish” event on June 26th, and attend bi-weekly training sessions. Submission of opinion editorials or other media will also be part of the fellows overall portfolio.
Responsibilities
Participate in trainings and workshops on Harm Reduction and Community Organizing. Co-create culturally relevant overdose prevention messaging with the support of the Harm Reduction Program Coordinator, members of the SSDP staff, and other stakeholders. Organize a “Support Don’t Punish” Day community event to raise awareness of alternatives to incarceration for People Who Use Drugs on June 26th. Engage local media in discussions about overdose prevention efforts through interviews, Op-Eds, and Letters to the Editor as appropriate. Educate North Carolina officials about youth overdose prevention needs and approaches during the Legislative Education day at the State Capitol.
Qualifications
Ideal candidates for this position are young people who have a passion for harm reduction, and have strong ties to Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities in North Carolina; are friendly, outgoing, energetic, accountable, communicative; and display a strong desire to work with students and youth to change drug policy. Necessary skills and experience: Comfort and experience building relationships with potential supporters of all ideological alignments. Exceptional oral and written communication skills. Comfort with extensive phone and video chat communication. Demonstrated success in group leadership and coalition building. Demonstrated willingness and ability to adhere to strict data and record-keeping practices. Proficiency in the use of the Google Apps for Business suite; strong ability to use and understand web-based programs.
Fellowship Timeline
This is a fellowship position starting April 1st and ending Sept 30th. Some travel is required. Evening and weekend hours will frequently be required but are generally planned in advance.
Compensation and benefits
The compensation support for this fellowship is $2500 paid out based on project benchmarks.
Application Process
Please submit a cover letter with your resume by email to lanese@ssdp.org. The resume and cover letter should be combined in a single PDF file and titled as follows: Last-First-Fellow. Reference “Youth Overdose Prevention Fellow” in the subject line. Note: Only those candidates under consideration will be contacted.
Download the PDF version here
