Meet the Vibe! An Introduction to Bee the Vibe
Welcome to Bee the Vibe! *in the voice of that one sorority* We’ve been waiting for you all summer and we’re so glad you’re finally here! WOOOOOO!
If you’ve stumbled across our website or social media, or you’re actively looking for some resources to help keep you safe, healthy and thriving, then you’ve come to the right place! Bee the Vibe is Mile High Behavioral Healthcare’s newest harm reduction program dedicated to preventing the spread of infectious diseases (think: HIV/Hepatitis C/STIs) and preventing opioid overdoses. For us, harm reduction means meeting everyone where they’re at and offering resources that help lower risk when engaging in certain activities. In summary, we do anything in the realm of safer-sex and safer-drug use; so, I always like to say our job is “Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll” but not a lot of rock & roll.
Our program has a lot of resources available to the community FOR FREE! Which is a huge deal! Bee the Vibe is based on five main tenants: know the vibe, check the vibe, get the vibe, live the vibe and bee the vibe, all with their own resources and tools to support you. So, take a moment and read about all of the different things we can offer you.
Know the Vibe
One of the most empowering things you can do is know your status. That’s why at Bee the Vibe, offer FREE sexual health testing options so you can know your status, and know the vibe.
We offer these in a couple of different ways. First, we have HIV and Hepatitis C rapid testing that can give you preliminary results in under 30 minutes. All it requires is a single fingerprick and our team is trained not only to complete the test for you, but also have a conversation while the results develop to talk about some safer-sex strategies. We also offer STI take home test kits that do a tri-site (oral, anal, genital) and full panel (Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, HIV, Hepatitis C and Syphilis) test that you can do from the comfort of your home! Normally these types of take home tests can be up to $250 without insurance, but we give them away for free. This is a great option if you don’t have time to go to a lab to get tested, or even if you simply don’t want to deal with the medical system because #WeGetIt.
And if getting tested isn’t what you need in the moment, we also offer free safer-sex kits complete with condoms and lube, as well as provide PrEP referral and navigation services with Denver Element (our sibling program). If you’ve ever wandered about PrEP, an HIV prevention medication, or want to get on it, then we can help you!
Check the Vibe
People use drugs, we get it! Hell, some of us do too! Rather than shaming people for their drug and substance use, we want to help people reduce their risk of harm when using illicit substances. Hence, we can provide you with safer-drug use and drug checking options so you can check the vibe.
We offer individual education sessions and group presentations/trainings around safer-drug use and overdose prevention, like how to identify if someone is having an overdose and how to help them. We also distribute, for free, naloxone which is the overdose reversal tool and can help save people from an overdose while you connect the person with EMS. We also offer fentanyl test strips so that you can test your drugs for fentanyl before using them to make an educated risk assessment about if you want to do them or not. Fentanyl is synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times stronger than morphine and can lead to a quick and sudden overdose. Unfortunately, Denver’s illicit drug supply is frequently adulterated with fentanyl so it is more important than ever to always test your drugs before you ingest.
In the future, we’re hoping to ramp up our drug checking services to supply medication disposal bags and more complete drug testing reagents, but more info on that in the future!
Get the Vibe
Navigating social services can be incredibly difficult on your own. That is why we offer free case management regardless of insurance or status, so you can get the vibe!
In our Prevention Case Management model, you can work 1-on-1 with a case manager to develop solutions for any issues at hand, connect with resources to provide additional care and address underlying factors that may prevent you from living a thriving life. Whether it’s applying for health insurance or trying to create harm reduction prevention plans, our Case Manager is here to help!
Live the Vibe
Living your best, most authentic life is a tall order and sometimes it takes a village to help build you up to be the best version of yourself. So, we offer free prevention services led by our Prevention Peer Specialist with lived experience, so you can live the vibe!
Our Prevention Peer Specialist provides a weekly harm reduction group, called “Reduce the Sting”, to learn about the principles and tools of harm reduction. He also provides 1-on-1 peer coaching sessions dedicated to creating prevention plans in your life. Looking for someone to keep you accountable and share information to keep yourself safe? Our Prevention Peer Specialist is perfect for you!
Bee the Vibe
Once we’ve taken a step back to know the vibe, check the vibe, get the vibe and live the vibe, it’s finally time to bee the vibe. To do that, we offer free educational sessions and fun events with safe, sober spaces!
At our newest location in Sunnyside neighborhood, we will have collaborative events with the Transgender Center of the Rockies and Denver Element. We’ll also have presentations, trainings and guest speakers for all things harm reduction all year round!
So, are you ready to Bee the Vibe?