Abstract
The research surrounding the outcomes of harm reduction is gaining momentum, and the awareness of the harm reduction philosophy is becoming more widespread among social workers. Providers who utilize harm reduction are often the people that work directly with the most disenfranchised people in our nation. These providers most often deal with clients who are chemically addicted. Current research indicates that harm reduction can be beneficial for the clients who use chemicals. This research project sought to collect information about the experiences of case managers who implement harm reduction. The case managers expressed that the utilization of harm reduction could be difficult at times because there is a need for more provider trainings on the model; and harm reduction could be hard to implement when working with professionals from cross-disciplinary fields and chemical health professionals from the abstinence-based community. However, case managers felt that implementing harm reduction supported their ability to create a meaningful relationship with their clients, and it also lowered their general stress level. The results of this research will be used to inform social service providers about the struggles and successes that some case managers who implement harm reduction experience when working with chemically addicted clients.