Our Values

We accept people for who they are and do not expect them to change.

Who and what we have before us is all we can expect, and count on, and we value individuals for their humanity in this moment. We find beauty in who and where people are, in this moment, and we do not expect or desire for individuals to change if they do not feel this for themselves. We also accept and recognize the darkness and the danger inherent in the work that we do, and within the world in which we live. We see this every day, and we work to find options to minimize these aspects in our and our clients’ lives. We see the world for what it is, and people for who they are and where they are. We do not make value judgements on other people’s lives.

It is only through dialogue and healthy disagreement that good plans are made better.

We all come to this work with our own skill sets, our own experiences, and our own natural ability. No plan we make is perfect, and there is always room for improvement. It is only through open honest dialogue that our plans grow and that we grow. It is only through challenging each other, and being challenged, that we become the best that we can be. We respect open honest dialogue, with humility, and with a sense of learning and growth. As a not for profit organization, we serve the public interest, and it is our responsibility to present our best side and make our best effort within our operations. Open honest dialogue allows us to do this.

We seek to maintain a staff of diverse background, thought, and experience that mirrors the impact of the epidemics we address.

Diversity in all respects, and inclusion fully. We recognize that groups who have historically been cast aside, and treated as second class citizens, have carried the brunt of the HIV epidemic, and the brunt of drug related harm. We seek for our staff to mirror the impact of the epidemics we address, however, we also recognize that no social movement has ever succeeded while remaining entirely insular. We seek to maintain a staff of diverse background, thought, and experience, to give our programming the greatest chance of success. We seek to include at the table and at all levels, those who have been most impacted by these epidemics, while also bringing our message beyond those who have been most impacted and into the larger population.

We are committed to working from a place that recognizes the harms that racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, a history of colonization and imperialism, and the drug war have done to our communities.

Our work, and the communities with which we collaborate, have all been deeply affected by racist, classist, sexist, and imperialist systems that erase lived experience, limit growth, and perpetuate marginalization. It takes hard, ongoing work to challenge these systems, and we are committed to that work with the understanding that we will, at times, struggle to overcome the socialization that these systems depend on. We will remember that, even when we are struggling, we need to remain vigilant and committed to these principles and to turning our lens inward when called for, in order to explore our own biases and blind spots.

With grace and humility, we seek to recognize our success, and learn and grow as a result of our failures.

Only through recognizing our mistakes (and our successes) can we truly grow. We seek to give credit where credit is due, and also take responsibility when the situation demands it. People’s health can depend on our actions and inactions and we are each accountable and take responsibility for that within our respective realms of influence. With grace and humility, we also help each other remain accountable within our responsibilities. We do not point fingers; we lend helping hands. We recognize that we are all stronger when each of us is playing our part well and appropriately. Likewise, if any of us fail it reflects on all of us.

We recognize that real and lasting change does not happen overnight, but it is our responsibility to continue to work towards our goals.

We may want to change the world, yet we recognize that real and lasting change does not happen overnight. Real change takes time, and it takes effort and energy expended. A catch phrase in harm reduction is “meeting people where they are at”, and we can apply this to many things. We meet our clients where they are at, and work with them on whatever change they feel they are ready and able to make right now. We meet other agencies where they are at, and work side by side with them on whatever we are able to, right now. In this way we develop relationships, increase trust, and learning and change happens over time. We do not get frustrated that people are not who we want them to be right now. We don’t lash out at agencies that aren’t 100% in line with our mission. Rather, we strap on our seat belts, get a drink, so to speak, and recognize we are in this for the long haul. Real change, the change we want to see in the world, may not happen in our lifetimes, but it is our responsibility to work and continue moving towards it. With that said, we also recognize that some change must happen immediately. If so, then, in the spirit of learning and growth and with humility, we engage in open and honest dialogue.

Knowledge and information should be free for all.

Too often access to information is used as a method of social control and harm is done as a result of the purveyance of misinformation or no information. A core belief of Red Project is that people should be masters of their own lives, free to choose from the many paths that lie before them. We seek to provide factual unbiased information, and widely disseminate this within communities impacted by the health issues we address, so that at each point in the space time continuum there is the highest probability that people will be able to make informed decisions and choices from the many paths that lie before them. Critical to any individual’s ability to make an informed decision that reduces the potential harm impacting them and their community, is access to knowledge and information around that decision. We believe there should be equal access to knowledge and information, to reduce potential harm in our communities.

We have benefited immensely from the help and generosity of those that came before us and we seek to pass this on so that others can go further than we may be able.

A wise woman once said “If I have seen further, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.” We all benefit from those who came before us. Red Project, and the communities we serve, have benefited immensely from the help and generosity of those that came before us with knowledge and information. We seek to pass this on- to be radically generous with what we have so that others can carry this on, and go further than we may be able. In this time and in this society, everything has a price, and things of value are closely guarded so that a profit can be made from them. It is a radical action to be fully generous with what we have- to give freely without expecting anything in return, and then to give freely again. This is not a zero sum game.

We value breaking down whatever barriers may exist that prevent people from accessing the knowledge, tools, information and support that they need to stay healthy.

Red Project believes it is a basic human right that people have access to the knowledge, tools, information, and support that they need to stay healthy and to stay alive. Often when people do not have access to these things, it is because barriers have been placed in their way, thus Red Project values breaking down barriers. Barriers can take many forms, they can be physical such as a wall or a fence, or our not being open when clients need us. They can be legal, such us syringes being considered drug paraphernalia in the state of Michigan. They can be self-imposed, such as the way a client may think about themselves and whether they are actually deserving of good health. Whatever they may be, and from wherever they may arise, Red Project values breaking down barriers, so that people can have open access to the knowledge, tools, information and support that they need to stay healthy and to stay alive.

We seek the best data to inform our decisions to maximize our impact.

We operate in a limited resource environment, with almost infinite community need. We are stewards of public resources, and public trust. As such we need to make the most informed decisions to prioritize organizational impact. To do this we utilize data at every step in the process. This isn’t about what any of us want- this is about what the data tells us we need to do, and where the data tells us we need to be. With this said, we fully accept the gravity of the situation, that this data represents individual lives in our communities, and our actions and inactions can result in positive and negative impact. This is why we will always seek the best data to inform our decisions.

We believe we are strongest when we come together collectively, each of us secure in who we are and who we want to be individually.

We should all have control over the direction of our own lives, and our personal freedom extends to and then ends when it begins to infringe on another’s. Red Project seeks to provide resources so that individuals can make positive changes in their own lives as they decide this for themselves, enabling individuals to take power over their own lives, and over the path their life takes. Only when we are secure in ourselves can we make common cause with others, and begin to build in our collective strength.