About
Points of Distribution Marketplace is a full service harm reduction marketplace focused on providing services & supplies to the harm reduction and drug using communities and creating jobs for people who use drugs and other marginalized folks.
The Points of Distribution Marketplace focuses on nationwide access, opportunity and support for communities and individuals by:
-
Providing access to harm reduction supplies and customer service that align with best and most promising practices.
-
Providing supplies that support sex worker health and the health of unhoused folks or those housed unstably.
-
Ensuring opportunities for people who use drugs and other marginalized community members to meaningfully participate in the workforce.
-
Providing technical assistance to start-up, and existing, harm reduction programs in order to: support sustainability, build partnerships and ensure the ability of programs to align with best practices in the field.
-
Providing fiscal sponsorship to emerging harm reduction organizations at no charge to help them take advantage of opportunities available to existing non-profits and to get established more formally should they choose to do so.
-
Providing supplies to newly emerging harm reduction service organizations and existing organizations experiencing a gap in supplies. To learn more about these resources please see our page explaining them.
Getting Started
To get started with POD you must register so we can determine your pricing. POD makes no profit from the sale of the supplies we offer, however we do add a sliding scale margin (from 0% to 3%) based on the size of your program’s budget to offset the cost of shipping and handling. We chose a sliding scale because we felt it was the most equitable way of defraying costs and supporting the growth of the movement. We’re telling you about it because we feel it's our responsibility to be as transparent as possible.
Again please complete our registration form to gain access to our full price list and support services.
PLEASE NOTE: because our prices are as near to cost as possible they are sometimes subject to change based on our suppliers and the market.
Once You Have Registered
After you have registered you will receive a login to shop. After you submit your order, we will send you an invoice and you can submit a check or Venmo us.
The work we do is possible because of your help.
History and Dedication
Points of Distribution Marketplace was started in 2018 in an effort to meet an emerging need for safer smoking and other harm reduction supplies that move beyond the tools for safer injection drug use. POD takes its name (with enthusiastic consent) from Points of Distribution syringe access services, an outreach based syringe service program that operated in the San Francisco Bay Area from 2001-2014. The name is double entendre referring to syringe provision.
We dedicate our work to our friends, personal mentors and adopted ancestors in harm reduction such as Dave Purchase, Imani Woods, Pete Morse, Robin Few, Rebecca Brooks, Bob Quinn, Dan Bigg, Don McVinney, Orlando Chavez, Keith Cylar, Rod Sorge, Jon-Paul Hammond, Larry Pasco, John Watters and so many others we loved and continue to miss.
“Our ancestors are an ever widening circle of hope,”
— Toni Morrison
Meet the team
-
Shantel Davis
Admin Director
“My favorite part of working for POD is building community through shared love and opportunity. Dim days are brighter with POD folks in my life.”
Ask me about bully dog photos, non-profit program development, living a life without fruit, and snowboarding.
Contact Shantel: -
Briana Carlson
Marketplace Director
My favorite part of working for POD is being able to meet people where they are at, no questions asked.”
Ask me about my family, my three fur babies and all things food.
Contact Briana:
briana@pointsofdistribution.org -
Jill Westermark
Technical Assistance Director
“My favorite part about working with POD is helping the programs locate what they need, assisting with fiscal sponsorship and having the opportunity to provide donation supplies when available.”
Ask me about my animals, family, hiking, fishing, gardening, fiscal sponsorship and real estate.
Contact Jill:
jill@pointsofdistribution.org
FAQs
How do I order supplies?
First you’ll need to register so we can determine your pricing and then we’ll send you a login. You can find more information on our Access Marketplace page.
What are your prices like?
Because we aren’t in business to make a profit, we do not have a overhead markup. We do charge a sliding scale surcharge on our prices. Please login to our Marketplace if you’re already a member to see our current prices. If you are not yet a member you can access a price list of our top twelve products to get an idea of our prices.
How do I get technical support or fiscal sponsorship?
Please see our page on technical support and fiscal sponsorship and feel free to reach out to us at jill@pointsofdistribution.org.
I’m a new organization and really need supplies for my folks OR my organization is (nearly) out of supplies and broke, how do I get help?
We provide limited grants of harm reduction supplies through our start up and service gap fund on an as needed/ as available basis. Please see our page on startup and service gap funding for more information.