People standing behind a table at an outdoor event, with a sign that says "Connections to Giving Back" and supplies on the table, in a parking lot under a sunny sky.

Connections to Giving Back is the only peer-led Syringe Service Program in Western New York, and it did not happen by accident.

Connections to Giving Back was founded by Ivette Chavez Gonzalez, a Latina woman, a person living with HIV, and someone whose own lived experience of substance use, housing instability, and navigating broken systems is woven into the very foundation of this organization. Ivette is also the first Latina woman to found a needle exchange program in Buffalo, a milestone that represents not just a personal achievement, but a shift in who gets to lead in this space.

At Connections to Giving Back, people with lived experience are not invited to sit at the table as a gesture. They hold leadership roles, shape policy decisions, design programs, and drive every aspect of how this organization operates. This is harm reduction, practiced from the root.

The Evidence Behind Our Model

Peer-led, community-based harm reduction is not just a philosophy. It is backed by decades of research.

  • According to the CDC, syringe service programs are associated with an estimated 50% reduction in HIV and hepatitis C infections. Nearly 30 years of research confirm they are safe, effective, and cost-saving, without increasing illegal drug use or crime.

50% reduction in HIV and hepatitis C incidence:

  • Despite this evidence, a 2025 study found that between 69.5% and 81.8% of high-need counties across the United States still lack a syringe service program. Peer-led, community-based providers like CGB are not supplemental. They are essential.

A critical gap in access:

Sources: CDC, Strengthening Syringe Services Programs, October 2024

We don't ask people to earn care. We believe care is a right, and we show up to deliver it.

A man with a black cap and black hoodie holding a yellow flower and talking to an elderly woman in a gray hoodie who is holding a soda can and a yellow flower.
A large, purple heart shape outlined in black.
A large, purple heart shape outlined in black.

Our Approach

Harm reduction is not a set of rules. It is a philosophy that recognizes the dignity of every person, accepts that people use substances as part of human reality, and focuses on reducing harm rather than demanding abstinence as a condition for support.

At Connections to Giving Back, we layer harm reduction with radical love: a commitment to showing up for people consistently, meeting them without judgment, and building genuine trust over time. That trust is how real change happens. Not through coercion, but through connection.

  • We actively serve Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and those disproportionately impacted by the criminalization of poverty and substance use.

  • We respect every person's right to make decisions about their own life, body, and path forward.

  • People with lived and living experience of drug use are not tokenized. They lead, decide, and define this work.

  • We show up with warmth, consistency, and a refusal to abandon anyone.

  • We are transparent about who we are, how we operate, and how community trust is held.

  • We build systems of mutual support that extend beyond our direct services.

Our Values

Outdoor table with products products for donation such as toiletries and cosmetics, under a black canopy, alongside people browsing and volunteering, with a street and buildings in the background.

Our Commitment to the Community

  • Centering harm reduction principles in every interaction, meeting individuals and organizations where they are, with acceptance, humility, and inclusion.

  • Serving programs led by Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, as well as communities with limited access to care.

  • Ensuring people who use drugs (PWUD) hold real, supported roles in leadership, service delivery, and program evolution. Not one-off committee appearances, but meaningful, sustained power.

  • Respecting the human rights, cultural values, autonomy, and dignity of every person we serve.

Connections to Giving Back is committed to:

Our Team

Staff

Smiling woman with red hair and glasses standing behind a table of medical supplies outdoors, with a blue sky and a building in the background.

Ivette Chavez Gonzalez

Executive Director and Founder

A smiling woman with curly brown hair, wearing a white T-shirt with a yellow hand logo, standing behind tables with medical supplies, outside in a parking lot with a supermarket in the background.

Jordon
Frank

Administrative Support Specialist

Illustration of hands holding a purple heart above the text 'Connections to Giving Back' in purple.
Illustration of hands holding a purple heart above the text 'Connections to Giving Back' in purple.

LaTanya Walton-Brown

Office and Contracts Manager

A woman standing outdoors in front of cars, wearing a black shirt with white and red text that says 'I ❤️ SOMEONE WHO USES DRUGS'. She is smiling and holding a box of Easy Touch diabetes test strips. There are banners and posters on a table in front of her.
A woman standing outdoors in front of cars, wearing a black shirt with white and red text that says 'I ❤️ SOMEONE WHO USES DRUGS'. She is smiling and holding a box of Easy Touch diabetes test strips. There are banners and posters on a table in front of her.

Savannah
Gross

Data Specialist

Board of Directors

A man wearing a beige hat, dark sunglasses, and a beige embroidered shirt, standing indoors against a white wall with visible pipes and wiring.

Manuel Welch

Vice President

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Darold Fountain

Treasurer

A woman standing outdoors near a vehicle, wearing a black T-shirt with a red heart and white text that reads 'I love someone who uses drugs.' She has dark hair pulled back, gold hoop earrings, and gold necklaces. In front of her are various medical supplies and drug testing kits on a table. In the background, there is a supermarket with a sign and a clear blue sky.

Crystal Pereira

Member at Large

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Dawn Trotter

Member at Large

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Gary Harding

Member at Large

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Judy Torres

Member at Large

Woman with curly dark hair and glasses, wearing a black shirt with white and red text that says 'I ❤️ SOMEONE WHO USES DRUGS', standing outdoors at a table with health-related products.

Laurie Abbatessa

Member at Large

A woman smiling, wearing a blue top and gold jewelry, with long brown hair and large hoop earrings.

Lisa Ortega

Member at Large

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Rosemary Roche

Member at Large

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Wilfredo Morel

Member at Large

Our training is grounded in the foundational principles of harm reduction,
as defined by the National Harm Reduction Coalition:

The Eight Principles of Harm Reduction

  • Accepts, for better or worse, that licit and illicit drug use is part of our world, and works to minimize harm rather than ignore or condemn it.

  • Understands drug use as complex and multi-faceted, encompassing a continuum from severe use to total abstinence, and recognizes that some ways of using drugs are safer than others.

  • Establishes quality of life and well-being, not necessarily the cessation of drug use, as the measure of a successful intervention.

  • Calls for non-judgmental, non-coercive services and resources for people who use drugs and the communities in which they live.

  • Ensures that people who use drugs have a real voice in programs and policies designed to serve them.

  • Affirms that people who use drugs are the primary agents of reducing the harms of their own drug use, and seeks to empower peer knowledge-sharing.

  • Recognizes that poverty, racism, trauma, social isolation, and other inequalities affect vulnerability to drug-related harm.

  • Does not minimize or ignore the real and tragic harms associated with drug use.

Principles sourced from the National Harm Reduction Coalition.