My interest in harm reduction began in 2006 when I began volunteering with a now-defunct Washington DC syringe services program (SSP) run out of an office behind a laundromat and riding around in a rattly Winnebago handing out supplies. Since then, I have had a winding road of various positions, including University of Florida's Clinical and Translational Science Institute and Virginia Commonwealth University's Center on Society and Health, interspersed with side jobs like working at a pool hall and waiting tables, as I slowly traversed higher education. I worked for several years at Virginia Department of Health in HIV care and prevention services and later became the Overdose Response Coordinator for Richmond City and Henrico County Health Districts in Virginia, supporting local and statewide harm reduction and overdose response work. I currently work at the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) as a Senior Program Analyst, working on projects related to syndemic approaches to addressing drug user health needs, as well as opioid settlement spending. I now volunteer with a different scrappy SSP and am an adjunct instructor at VCU, teaching a sociology course on the overdose crisis. Thankful to have had so many mentors in this work and to do this work in honor of lost loved ones who have taught me so much about dignity, love, and perseverance.