A discussion with Assistant Director Sara Bowen-Lasisi of Springfield’s Phoenix Center

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Harm reduction. It is a simple notion that human society utilizes often in everyday life. When the potential for car crashes was noted to be both high and full of dangerseat belts and safety measures and precautions were initiated as the answers in the search to reduce both injuries and fatalities.

In fact, societies use similar ideas everywhere. Food is recommended to be cooked to particular minimum temperatures so as to reduce the risk of some illness or poor reaction; helmets and pads are worn during physical activities to prevent serious issues, and wounds are cleaned thoroughly and bandaged to prevent further escalation of any issue during scenarios where escaping initial harm was not first possible.
Why not then, in other areas? Concerning individuals who use drugs? Who do not have places to go or a shelter to take refuge within? Who might be at greater risk for some greater harm or injury to themselves?

These are precisely the stances that are being taken by many social institutions around the city of Springfield, as well as parts of the greater United States itself.

While the Heartland Continuum and the Helping Hands of Springfield each continue with their all-hands-on-deck approach to bringing homelessness in Springfield and Sangamon County to what is known as “functional zero” – and the many food pantries like St. Martin de Porres and those run by the Catholic Charities of Springfield look to tackle food insecurity in the homeless, housing insecure and low-income individuals and families of the community – it is the Phoenix Center of Springfield that is playing a massive part in the fight to reduce potential harm as it concerns all sorts of lifestyles.

Whether the work is directed towards those using hard drugs such as opiates, methamphetamine, cocaine and other, often illegal substances across the city and the whole of Central Illinois, those in the LGBTQAI+ community dealing with different struggles or dangers, discrimination, illness or anything else, or the homeless community and the hardships that often follow such a strenuous and unrelenting existence, the Phoenix Center is determined to make a real difference in the lives of human beings.

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At the vibrant Phoenix Center house headquarters right E Lawrence Avenue, the spirit of love and reciprocation is both obvious and infectious. Everyone is working on some task of which they feel great conviction in accomplishing; there is a real sense that what each individual does matters for so many people and their own loved ones, and there is no sense around the building that letting anyone down is even an option.

When WMAY was given the tour of the place by Assistant Director of the Phoenix Center Sara Bowen-Lasisi, this all became apparent even more so than at any moment prior. She was able to give context to what each service was that the Phoenix Center provides, and she also connected those services with the mental and physical health of so many individuals – young and older – who require community, compassion, safety, and a safe space to be precisely who they are without discrimination or judgment.

Assistant Director Bowen-Lasisi is obsessed with creating a better society for all. Whether these are individuals out on the street who could use various, basic necessities or individuals who still often struggle for acceptance in today’s society; she and the rest of the staff at the Phoenix Center are working to reduce the potential and realized harm within communities that are at higher risks, while creating a greater paradigm of trust and communication for those who may – one day – wish to get help regarding their use of illicit substances.

That is, however, simply a byproduct of treating humans humanely – as Sara noted to WMAY when we finally got back to an office for our sit-down chat.

We got to know Sara and a bit of her history, a bit about the Phoenix Center, and how the entire center is working to better the community by introducing a greater spirit of compassion into everyday relations.

WMAY does also have an interview coming out with Phoenix Center Executive Director Dr. Jonna Cooley, which will be focusing on the overall mission of the center, as well as more particularly on LGBTQAI+ topics, discrimination, hardships and innovations, but for our chat with Assitant Director Sara Bowen-Lasisi, we enjoyed covering harm reduction to a most thorough degree; the lions-share of that interview is available below for your reading and learning pleasure, of course.

With prohibition and the war on drugs shown to be spectacular failures with horrifying domestic and international consequences, Bowen-Lasisi further noted, innovations concerning drugs must be conceived, considered and put into action that actually help people and improve the lives of those using and, oftentimes, suffering – as well as the greater society of which they are a rightful part of.

WMAY: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us and have us visit today; before we begin speaking as it concerns the Phoenix Center of Springfield, the work that you all have done already and are looking to continue to do across all of Central Illinois, as well as any and all other related topics, would you tell us please a bit about yourself and your own background, and what brought you to this point in your personal and professional life?

SBL: I didn’t find my professional passion until later in life. I was a single mother of four children and primarily worked as a bartender to get through. I did continue to go to school while working, completing a Bachelor of Arts in English from UIS and then a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Benedictine.

I was already familiar with the Phoenix Center as my transgender son was attending the weekly youth group there. It was my internship for my MPH that brought me to work for the Phoenix Center.

My focus at that time was HIV prevention in transwomen of color which segued into harm reduction work. With personal experience with substance use disorder, I knew that I had found my life’s work.

Currently, I am a Ph.D. candidate in Health Education and Promotion with a focus on global harm reduction strategies.

WMAY: Now, with that done and sorted, please tell us if you could about the Phoenix Center of Springfield, a bit of its history, how you work with the entire Springfield community and the various subcommunities within it, and how you all look to positively impact the most vulnerable of each, each day?

SBL: The Phoenix Center began as an informal support group for LGBTQ teens. It has certainly come a long way from its roots. While the youth group remains, and is the most attended group to date, we now have housing for unhoused people living with HIV and unhoused members of the LGBTQ community.

In addition, the Phoenix Center hosts Pridefest each year which draws more than 20,000 people to the downtown area.

A part of the Center that has greatly expanded is public health programming. We offer free HIV, Hepatitis C, and STI testing as well as an extensive comprehensive harm reduction program for people in active drug use. We offer these services at our sites in Springfield and Quincy, but also via mobile services within a 15-county area in central Illinois.

We provide mail services for HIV home test kits, Narcan, and condoms throughout the state. Provision of all services is offered by staff who are members of the LGBTQ community but also people with lived experience with substance use. By requiring lived experience from our staff, we eliminate the stigma and judgment that sometimes comes from others who may not have those experiences.

In addition, we reach populations in rural areas. Our Executive Director, Dr. Jonna Cooley, is from a rural area, so she understands the importance of making sure our rural communities have access to our services.

WMAY: WMAY previously reported that the Phoenix Center had introduced these mutual aid and community safety vending machines just weeks ago it seems; from what we’ve since learned, this is an innovation that can be largely tracked back to you. With that said, can you please explain the ideas behind these vending machines, what they have for those people who need the supplies within, and how this innovation will positively impact the community; have results been witnessed thus far?

SBL: We have a temperature-controlled vending machine at our location in Springfield that was recently installed with the help of the Sangamon County Public Health Department. This machine offers 24-hour access to harm-reduction supplies for people using drugs.

The supplies we offer are to reduce the incidence of HIV and Hepatitis C as well as STIs with the provision of condoms and other safer sex supplies. In addition, we offer feminine hygiene products and snack packs, and water for our participants.

The vending machine is only used by our participants who are given a four-digit code to access supplies; however, next to the machine is a Narcan box that provides free access to anyone who needs Narcan. These boxes have been placed throughout the community. There is one outside of Grace Lutheran Church, two in the Christian County courthouse, one in Quincy, and several pending installations.

We hope to continue to have these installed in as many places as possible. Greater access to Narcan means more lives saved.

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Mutual Aid Vending Machine at the Phoenix Center in Springfield

WMAY: We are so glad you brought up Narcan. Anyone who has driven through Springfield, must surely have driven past the numerous Narcan billboards that the Phoenix Center put up some time ago. Talk to us please about Narcan, why its so vital, and why defeating the stigmas around such a positive innovation of public health are so vital for the health and transparent communication of communities?

SBL: We have heard many responses about the free availability of Narcan. Some believe that it is enabling people to use drugs – which is not at all accurate. It is something that keeps people alive, nothing more.

We have also heard the argument that there should be free insulin and other medicines. I couldn’t agree more; however, years of lobbying and activism are the reasons why Narcan is as available as it is to the public.

To be clear, Narcan is not treatment. It is a life-saving mechanism. I hope that we can agree that we are all due whatever it takes to stay alive.

As an example, if someone is overweight or obese, which more than 70% of the American population is, we would not deny them CPR or defibrillation if they had a heart attack because they couldn’t stop eating unhealthy foods or lacked exercise.

We must look at substance use disorder the same way, and at Narcan as a like tool for keeping people alive.

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The Narcan Box open and full of Narcan for those who require it to take as necessary.

WMAY: Why has society stigmatized addiction for so long, and why has it such bias towards communities such as those who have battled addiction, those who have battled housing insecurity and homelessness?

SBL: There are a couple of primary reasons why addiction is stigmatized. The first is illegality. Alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs in society when misused, but because of it’s legality, it is widely accepted and even promoted in society.

When people use illicit drugs, often for the very reasons people drink alcohol, they are stigmatized simply because it is illegal.

Additionally, there are some actions, such as possession of illicit drugs, that result in legal ramifications that remain for a lifetime. This makes it problematic to get jobs both in and out of substance use as well as to secure housing – thus, the cycle of substance use may continue as a result.

On the other hand, substances that are deemed legal – but in other ways very similar to illicit drugs – often do not result in the same outcomes.

Lastly, substance use is often perceived as a moral failure and not the chronic illness that it is. Some believe that a person can just quit. This is not the case. The addicted brain simply does not work this way.

Additionally, the vast majority of those who struggle with substance use disorder have co-existing mental health disorders and have experienced incredible trauma that is often undiagnosed and untreated. This certainly cannot be addressed in a 30-day inpatient treatment program.

In sum, addiction is not a moral failure but rather a systemic one, and the stigma against the individual is unwarranted.

Like substance use, those who face housing insecurities face the same stigmas, but – again – this is a systemic failure. Some may believe that an unhoused person just refuses to work and is lazy. If one worked within the unhoused community, this would be disproved quickly.

Like those with substance use, there are many with mental health issues and nowhere to get help. Income and education disparities are growing every day making it harder for those in the lower socioeconomic populations to be able to make ends meet. Individuals who are unhoused have not failed. Society has failed in ensuring that there is affordable housing for everyone.

WMAY: We have asked a few different officials – both public and private – about the “Food as a utility” question, which has become a growing idea and movement across the country, as the amount of food available is unevenly distributed across communities across the country–not even considering the world for the sake of this question. We’ve ask as well, why not shelter too? What are your thoughts on these ideas, and would such innovations – in your estimation – help those who find themselves in dire straits?

SBL: Housing is a human right, just as food and health care are human rights. Income disparities are the issue. I am amazed to drive through Springfield and see boarded-up homes while knowing at least 100 or more people who live on the street and even more living in motels.

The shelters in our area do the very best that they can but it is not nearly enough. There have been tiny home communities built in other cities for the unhoused that have been successful. The same could be done here, but we must remove stipulations.

If someone is using drugs, they still deserve to be housed. If someone has a criminal record, they still deserve to be housed. As human beings, we don’t feel obligated to help one another without stipulations.

We must first change that way of thinking.

WMAY: What can everyday people do to assist their fellows–outside of public or private institutions? Is there anything, furthermore, that they can do with or through the Phoenix Center and other organizations to make a greater impact upon those who need the most?

SBL: The best thing we can all do is love unconditionally, give unconditionally, and understand that we are all people worthy of dignity, respect, and love no matter our current situation. We are all just trying to make it.

In terms of the Phoenix Center, we can always use volunteers to help put together harm reduction materials, work Pridefest and other events, and we always need donations for clothing, hygiene products, feminine hygiene products, bottled water, and snacks.

Helping Hands has a meal train for those who would like to provide meals for their clients.

The St. John’s Breadline always needs volunteers.

Fifth Street Renaissance/SARA Center needs much of the same items Phoenix Center uses as does Sojourn, Contact Ministries, and the Washington Street Mission.

Julie Benson with Helping the Homeless does incredible work every day and is completely donation based.

Many of us work under grant funds, but she does not.

Drop off some food gifts cards, bus passes, or monetary donations to her. These small contributions make such a huge difference in people’s lives every single day.

WMAY: WMAY has also asked various officials with the Heartland Continuum and Helping Hands of Springfield this question concerning homelessness – “Would you say…that the long-term costs of widespread homelessness across local communities, the states and the entire nation as a whole, are greater than the cost of creating a stronger social and economic floor–with assistance for those that stumble–to save these souls from suffering and help them become more functional parts of our collective society once again?” We wonder whether it is also applicable in many of the areas which you come into contact with across a daily, weekly, and yearly basis?

SBL: The annual cost of homelessness in our country is between $15 and $25 billion per year in supportive services. Providing long-term housing solutions could decrease this number significantly.

Implementing Housing First programs are essential in ending homelessness.

This means simply ensuring housing without stipulations and then working on all the issues that may have contributed to the individual becoming unhoused. There are several studies that have shown that providing housing security directly contributes to reduced rates of unemployment and substance use while increasing diagnosis and treatment for mental health disorders.

I have witnessed this firsthand from participants in our programs so many times. One must feel safe to start working on everything else. One must have a home to start healing. If we provided cost-free housing to those experiencing homelessness for one year, with wrap-around services, I believe the annual costs I quoted earlier would be reduced significantly.

WMAY: What is the path forward concerning addiction and various illicit substances? With prohibition ineffective in either coercing people from using substance or incentivizing them towards other avenues, does the society need to reconsider how it educates its people and legislates substances – from local to state and national levels?

SBL: Legalizing all drugs has proven effective in other countries. It could be effective in the United States; I also think we are far from achieving that.

As an alternative, providing safe consumption sites for drug use will reduce fatal overdoses and other medical problems related to drug use.

A bar or tavern is a safe consumption site. The bartender is required to monitor how much is served to reduce problematic consequences. The same applies to safe consumption sites for illicit drugs.

Decriminalizing drug use is also important. What I am referring to is not arresting people who use drugs for petty possession, and related charges. This will enable those who use drugs to have a chance at employment and housing opportunities despite battling substance use disorder.

WMAY: Any special events or announcements, innovations or the like would be useful for alerting the public about?

SBL: 2023 Pridefest is on May 20th. Also, we have our Golden Girls Bingo night on April 21st and our Annual LaCage Drag Show on April 22nd at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Information can be found on our website www.phoenixcenterspringfield.org.

 

Our thanks to Assistant Director Sara Bowen-Lasisi, the Phoenix Center of Springfield, and all of their staff for their time and consideration.

 

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