The Boards of the Alliance and the Fund met in December and approved an ambitious plan for 2006. Here is summary of what we have planned: 

1) Organizing: grow the base

• Grow our email list to 300 
• Grow dues-paying members to 60
• Grow active volunteers to 20 
• Host 2 regional retreats for people who use drugs to learn what’s important to them and recruit them into leadership

2) Educating: fight stigma

• Run a visible anti-stigma social media campaign
• Publish 1 blog post each month
• Host or co-host at least 2 public education events, with directly impacted speakers centered
• Produce at least 2 educational resources (fact sheets, decks, FAQs, short videos) for our members to use in their advoacy
• Put in place safe storytelling and consent practices so we can gather and share stories of our members 

3) Advocating: policy wins

• Help advance a major state-level reform (example: paraphernalia decriminalization)
• Make measurable progress on a major local reform (example: Baltimore County deflection)
• Help shape the HB1066 follow-up toward concrete changes and recommendations
• Ensure directly impacted members deliver testimony on at least five bills
• Publish a public policy tracker on our website throughout the legislative session

Board leadership and the year ahead

As part of scaling, we’re welcoming new and returning directors across both boards, strengthening our statewide reach and capacity. Learn more about board here.

The simple ask

If you’re reading this and thinking, “ok yeah, I want in,” here are three easy ways to help:

• Become a member and invite one friend
• Volunteer with a workgroup (organizing, education, advocacy, fundraising)
• Show up: attend events, share content, respond to action alerts