Impact MN

We’re excited to share that Impact Minnesota has officially released our 2026 Legislative Agenda. This agenda reflects the priorities of our coalition and the lived experiences of communities across Minnesota. As the legislative session begins, we’re ready to build momentum, strengthen partnerships, and fight for meaningful change at the Capitol. Visit our website to learn more and see the full agenda and our up to date legislative tracker. #drugpolicy #snapaccess #publichealthworks #methadonesaveslives #supportnotpunishment

Get to know our coalition! Impact MN is a cross-sector coalition of organizations and individuals across Minnesota. Our goal: building healthier, safer, and more just drug policies for all Minnesotans. Want to get involved? Head to impactmn.org now.

🥳 Volunteer highlight!! Today we are celebrating Hanna Schmitt - @hanna_is_bananas ❤️ Hanna is a UMN masters student from their social work program who will be graduating on May 15 (TODAY!!) 🎓 Hanna came to us at the start of her final semester asking to volunteer with @impact_mn for her class project on Advanced Policy Advocacy. Since the end of January Hanna has coordinated and collaborated on our highlight series with coalition members, attended coalition meetings, and testified in support of criminalizing drug paraphernalia at the Minneapolis City Council in April. Hanna’s focus in social work is community, advocacy and engagement surrounding harm reduction, housing first models, queer identity and expression, and those who are justice impacted. Hanna has years of experience working with youth and young adults in schools and recreational programs. Working with Hanna was truly a pleasure. She brought creativity, dedication, and a genuine heart to everything she took on. We wish you all the best on your next adventure and can’t wait to see where life takes you.

Some meetings feel like the movement coming together. Impact MN’s communications organizer, Martina Anderson, lives in Vermont - so when executive committee member @suepurchase of @harmreductionsisters rolled through on her harm reduction and overdose prevention tour of Canada, VT, RI, and NYC, it was a rare and special chance to be together in person. They were joined by Theresa Vezina of Purpose Consulting- a driving force behind opening Vermont’s first overdose prevention center, and a consulting partner with Harm Reduction Sisters. Three women. Three nodes in the same network. One magical afternoon at @breadandpuppet theater. This is what the movement looks like.

Member Highlight! 🥳 🫂 Today we are featuring Jill DiLoreto from Families Recover Together. Jill shared, “[…] only 2% of families that need support are receiving it. Families need support and education as much as their loved ones.” Families Recover Together was created by families with loved ones struggling with addictions, for families with loved ones struggling with addictions. Through their own experience and education, family peer recovery coaches walk alongside families on their journey. 💜

Join us Wednesday at noon via zoom! We will share a brief legislative update, have some exciting shares from executive members regarding the work they are doing, and a presentation on cross-sector work. We will also keep the virtual space open to move through anything that arises collectively. We know this work is hard and tending to ourselves in community is essential. DM us or email [email protected] for the zoom link.

Our coalition showed up, and it mattered. 💚 @impact_mn members joined the Minnesota Naloxone Saturation Convening hosted by the Dept. of Human Services and the Office of Addiction and Recovery. A large group shared and learned about what is working, what’s changed, and what community still need when it comes to naloxone access. We are proud to be at the table - and to keep pushing for a Minnesota where no one dies from an overdose for lack of naloxone.

Member Highlight! 🥳 💕 Today we’re featuring Harm Reduction Sisters - @harmreductionsisters - who have been providing on-the-ground harm reduction services to northern Minnesota since 2019 (their 7th birthday is coming up on May 1st!). What began with the Executive Director - @suepurchase - providing syringes out of her car, has grown into a network of staff and volunteers, multiple brick-and-motor sides, a mobile unit, and a service area spanning across 12 counties. With their growth, the mission has remained the same: to make harm reduction as accessible as possible, and to fill the gaps that exist for people who use drugs. We are proud to stand alongside HRS in this coalition 💕 🔗 harmreductionsisters.org (Photo from the DPA @reformconference featuring staff from @harmreductionsisters and @southsideharmreduction )

Member Highlight! 🥳 Today we are featuring Brighter Days Recovery Center 🌞 “It is only together that we can create enough noise to stir the powers that are making drastic, dangerous changes that are costing our clients’ lives.” 16+ years. Countless lives changed. One unwavering mission - to inspire a brighter days. BDRC offers a full range of behavioral health and recovery services, rooted in compassion, personalized care, and community. They have spent over a decade and a half on the front lines of substance use disorder care, and they refuse to stop fighting for the people they serve. We are proud and honored to stand alongside them in this coalition. 💛

Member Highlight 🥳 🍄 Today we are featuring the Psychedelic Society of Minnesota @psychedelic_societymn For eight years, the Psychedelic Society of Minnesota has continuously built a community around psychedelics, educated on harm reduction, and removing criminal penalties for drug use. 🏛️Right now, there is exciting momentum at the Capitol - HF2906, a bill that would establish a psilocybin assisted therapy pilot program in Minnesota, recently passed committee with bipartisan support. This bill would legalize psilocybin for therapeutic use for adults diagnosed with qualifying medical conditions, administered under the supervision of a licensed facilitator. PSMN has been keeping their community informed on the progress of this legislation and empowering people to make their voices heard in the process. Jessica Nielson, Executive Director of PSMN, is also separately active in efforts to advanced this bill forward. This is the kind of meaningful, evidence informed policy change that happens when advocates show up and speak out. 💪 👀 Watch and learn from Jessica, and be sure to check out @psychedelic_societymn 🍄

Big news for SNAP access in Minnesota! 🎉 SF2868 has officially passed out of the Senate health and human services committee and is heading to the Senate floor. This bill, led by @impact_mn , removes random drug testing requirements for SNAP participants with a past drug felony. This is a critical step toward reducing barriers to food access and supporting successful reentry. we are deeply grateful to the powerful voices who helped move this forward: ✨Moncies Franco, who shared a moving testimony about how SNAP supported his reentry after his incarceration. ✨ Jess Webster from @legal_aid_mn ✨ Darin Broton from AgriGrowth ✨ Sen. Doron Clark Their leadership and lived experience made this moment possible. The next step is a House hearing this Tuesday at 3 PM. We are encouraged and grateful for the bipartisan support we have seen so far, and we look forward to continuing conversations with legislators - answering questions, building momentum, and strengthening support as the bill moves forward. Access to food is a foundation for stability, dignity, and opportunity. This is what progress looks like. 💪

We are excited to introduce our new Communications Organizer, Martina Anderson. Martina brings years of experience in harm reduction and community advocacy, including running a statewide syringe service program in Vermont and continuing her work with the Vermont Association for Mental Health & Addiction Recovery (VAMHAR) as their Director of Communications. Martina is a social justice advocate at heart. She believes in all humans - in their potential, and as they are. She is dedicated to the rights of those our patriarchal culture has marked as disposable and fosters radical care for all beings. Martina loves to create safer spaces for those who have no one else to listen, and then amplifying these voices from the ground up. Fostering connections between communities - even those with profoundly disparate belief structures - has allowed her to build collaborations that might have previously seemed improbable. Martina is thrilled to be a part of the team at @impact_mn - join us in welcoming her!