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By David R. Shorey, East County Program Director, Institute for Public Strategies
February 5, 2024 (San Diego) - Tara Stamos-Buesig hit rock bottom one Sunday night while working the streets on El Cajon Boulevard near Hoover High School. She was a sex worker wearing a mini skirt and fishnet stockings. She was snared in a San Diego Police sting operation in an area notorious for prostitution. It was after she had filled her hypodermic needle with the drugs she recovered off the dirty floor of a fast food restaurant restroom and injected them into her system. That’s when she decided to change her life.
“I was 42 and I was exhausted. I didn’t want to live like that anymore and I didn’t want to die,” Tara said. “I didn’t want to die like that either. I saw too many of my friends die.”
Tara got out of jail, went back to school and became a drug counselor. She tried changing the system for the better from the inside, but met resistance. She was contacted by the National Harm Reduction Coalition with the suggestion that a San Diego chapter get established.That’s how the Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego was born in 2020. She started HRCSD after quitting her job.
“There were some very real changes that needed to be made that were not evidence-based, best-practices,” Tara said. “They were just very old, outdated policies that really needed to be changed.”
Tara said the programs were unsuccessful not because of the people in them. It was the rigid, outdated policies that were based on a “black or white,” “all or nothing” approach. The CEO of HRCSD embodies the transformation from adversity to advocacy. Having walked a challenging path herself, transitioning from a former sex worker and user of methamphetamine and heroin, to an internationally-recognized expert on harm reduction. Tara's journey is a testament to the potential for personal change and societal impact. The Lakeside resident’s pivotal moment came when she realized the dire need for a system to provide the support and resources she wished she had encountered during her struggles. Harm reduction efforts have proven to work.
She was already doing the work out of her garage and the back of her car before she started the coalition as a nonprofit. She became San Diego County’s first authorized syringe service program through the State of California Department of Public Health. Her three-year goals were achieved within a few months of starting the program.
She hit the streets to meet the people she wanted to help and give them the supplies they needed. She wanted to get to know their stories. Her experience led her to conclude that existing systems in place were not enough and she felt there was no one coming to help them.
“What I know now that I didn’t know then is that one person can really make a difference,” she said.
Tara lived that life and could empathize with the people she met. She grew up in Eucalyptus Hills in the 1980s when drugs were rampant and East County had the reputation as the methamphetamine capital of the world. The La Mesa-based HRCSD was founded on prevention, treatment, and harm reduction principles. The coalition stands as a testament to innovative, evidence-based practices aimed at curbing the detrimental effects of substance use in our community.
The coalition, which is always looking for volunteers and donations, operates on a multifaceted approach, not merely distributing supplies but also offering a holistic range of services. Initiatives include public overdose education, the distribution in 2023 of more than 100,00 doses of Naloxone--a life-saving overdose reversal medication--to at-risk individuals and first responders, as well as providing access to counseling, treatment referrals, and safe supplies for injection and other high-risk behaviors. Their mobile drug checking program further underlines a commitment to harm reduction.
Tara's journey solidified her belief that transformation is possible and that change, both personal and societal, begins with empathy and action. Her lived experience allows her to connect with those facing similar struggles and advocate for policies that prioritize human dignity and well-being.
“We all deserve to be treated with a little bit of love and a little bit of respect and little bit of dignity and a little bit of kindness,” Tara said. “People will change when they’re ready and the circumstances allow.”
HRCSD can be reached at its website at hrcsd.org, by email at info@hrcsd.org, or by calling 1-(888) NARCAN-0.
IPS works alongside communities to build power, challenge systems of inequity, protect health and improve quality of life. IPS has a vision for safe, secure, vibrant and healthy communities where everyone can thrive. To learn more about IPS East County, follow us on our social media platforms: IPS East County Facebook, IPS East County X and East County Youth Coalition Instagram. Our website is at IPSEast.org. Resources and services are available to assist with screening, treatment, and recovery for individuals with a substance use disorder via the Access & Crisis line, which is open year-round, 24/7 at (888) 724-7240 or just dial 988.
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