That's Not Public Health... Is It?

In this second episode, Rudy is joined by Robin Rieske, Coordinator of Community Substance Response (CSUR), and Dakota Roberts, Harm Reduction Specialist and Syringe Services Coordinator with the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont. They discuss the concept of Harm Reduction, especially in the context of substance use since overdose prevention through drug product testing and opioid overdose reversal with medications like Narcan are life-saving strategies. Perhaps most enlightening about Robin’s and Dakota’s work is that harm reduction is also an avenue towards building relationships, trust, and hope with the clients they serve. This can lead to support for people’s social and health needs like food, shelter, medical care, and social connection as they are helped with referrals to needed services. In its broadest sense, much of public health is about harm reduction whether the use of seat belts, bike helmets, condoms, vaccines, or any other intervention that lessens the chance for injury or illness.

More information about the work of the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont can be found here: https://www.aidsprojectsouthernvermont.org/

and

https://windhampartnership.com/csur/

In this first episode, Rudy is joined by Executive Director of United Way of Windham County Rebecca Baruzzi, and Nora, a UVM senior and public health intern in the Brattleboro Local Health office. The trio discuss the risks of social isolation, improving community health through promoting social connection, and how Rebecca’s work with United Way looks to volunteerism as a way to build a stronger, more connected Brattleboro for both older and younger generations.

· Health Risks Due to Social Isolation Among Older Adults, Vermont Department of Health (2025) https://www.healthvermont.gov/sites/default/files/document/hsi-databrief-aging-health-social-isolation.pdf

· Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community (2023) https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf

In this first episode, Rudy is joined by Executive Director of United Way of Windham County Rebecca Baruzzi, and Nora, a UVM senior and public health intern in the Brattleboro Local Health office. The trio discuss the risks of social isolation, improving community health through promoting social connection, and how Rebecca’s work with United Way looks to volunteerism as a way to build a stronger, more connected Brattleboro for both older and younger generations.

· Health Risks Due to Social Isolation Among Older Adults, Vermont Department of Health (2025) https://www.healthvermont.gov/sites/default/files/document/hsi-databrief-aging-health-social-isolation.pdf

· Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community (2023) https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf