We Take Care of Each Other
Below Sea Level Aid is a community-driven harm reduction organization dedicated to supporting our neighbors in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the surrounding parishes. We provide essential public health and social services, grounded in the principles of harm reduction. Our mission is to meet people where they are, advocating for their autonomy and empowering them to make informed decisions about their health and well-being.
Direct Services
We provide a comprehensive array of harm reduction supplies, including emergency contraception, safer drug use supplies, hygiene products, and more. In addition, we offer case management services to facilitate emergency shelter linkage, crisis intervention, food insecurity support, and access to other vital social services.
Policy Reform
Stigmatizing policies create significant barriers for individuals seeking essential services. We concentrate on addressing local and national policies related to encampment sweeps, the criminalization of homelessness and drug use supplies, and improving access to harm reduction services in rural communities.
Education
We offer Overdose Reversal Training and Street-Based Outreach 101 to community members and organizations. These trainings, conducted by our experienced staff, are available both in-person and via Zoom.
Want to join the team?
Below Sea Level Aid is a predominately volunteer ran team, assisting with data collection, policy reform, research, outreach, and more. Fill out our interest form below and a member of our team will reach out to you.
Jack Waguespack, Executive Director/Co-Founder
Born and raised in Louisiana, Jack founded Below Sea Level Aid to support the community that nurtured them. Jack's dedication to public health began as a research associate for the National HIV Behavioral Health Surveillance grant, particularly during the People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) cycle. Jack then went on to manage the largest syringe exchange program on the Gulf Coast, further enhancing their commitment to harm reduction and mutual aid. With their experience and passion, Jack created Below Sea Level Aid to uplift the voices of Louisianan's and advocate for access to basic services in the South and rural areas.
Lauren Hall, Esq, Policy Director/Co-Founder
Lauren Hall is a Juvenile Public Defender in New Orleans, Louisiana. As a Louisiana attorney, she works to end systemic poverty with judicial justice, progressive legislative policy, and community advocacy. She has experience working with law firms and social justice nonprofits throughout the city. Her lifelong career aspirations are to protect disadvantaged communities from poverty disparities, cultural eradication, and incarceration.
Taylor Gair, Communications Director
Taylor’s journey into activism began in Starkville, Mississippi, where he grew up. He has been involved in social justice movements around the country before landing in New Orleans, where he’s member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Taylor is a freelance graphic designer devoted to helping nonprofits build mass movements for change. He brings 10 years of marketing experience to support Below Sea Level Aid’s mission to serve the community and save lives. His work with BSLA is dedicated to the memory of his dear friend, Chaz Dixon.
Eden Artigues, MFT, Programs Manager
Eden Artigues is a sex and relationships therapist who works with individuals, relationships, and families across the South. They provide pleasure-positive and anti-oppressive services that help people cultivate sexual and relational health practices that affirm their lived experiences.
Jack Smith, Grant Writer
Originally from Connecticut, Jack is a dedicated advocate for the empowerment of marginalized communities. A recent graduate of Boston College, Jack's foundation in rhetoric, business, and the promotion of community underscores his commitment to creating positive change. Bringing this wealth of experience and fervor to his role as a grant writer, Jack is driven by the conviction that collective action is paramount in addressing societal inequities.
Jake Tadevich, Prevention Coordinator/MSW Intern
Jake is a New Orleans Transplant from Indiana with an abundance of clinical and public health knowledge. His passion for those who are struggling to be seen and cared for equally drives the motivation for social justice. His work in HIV/STI prevention and treatment has not only allowed him to educate others, but also to challenge stigmas within society. Jake prioritizes unconditional empathy, well-being, and love for all individuals.
Joan Jungbin Lee, Chair
Joan Jungbin Lee (she/they) is a nonprofit professional who specializes in operations and fundraising/development. She is originally from NYC & has lived in New Orleans for almost 6 years. She currently works as a Central Services & Operations Manager at Acceleraise, a consulting firm that supports Black and Brown nonprofit and education leaders. She believes that creativity and rooted community are the only ways to collective freedom.
Jenn Vigue, MSW-BACS
Jenn is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Board Approved Clinical Supervisor with a decade of experience working in the New Orleans community. Beyond their clinical practice, Jenn serves as the co-founder and co-director of the nonprofit, Wellness Project New Orleans. This worker-led initiative is committed to enhancing accessibility to mental health and wellness services within the community while providing support to wellness practitioners.
Natalie Rupp
Natalie Rupp is the Founder and Executive Director of the Trans Income Project in New Orleans, where she leverages her extensive background in public policy and economic justice to advocate for and empower the transgender community. With a Master of Public Policy from George Washington University and a diverse career-spanning role at the Foundation for Louisiana, Causal Design, USAID, and the White House, Natalie combines her expertise in program evaluation and economic analysis to address systemic inequities. Her work focuses on creating inclusive policies, securing funding, and providing holistic support services to foster financial stability and well-being for transgender individuals.
Ami Truong
Ami Truong is the Project Coordinator at Sông Community Development Corporation in New Orleans East, focusing on environmental justice, food access, and arts and cultural placemaking to build community resilience. With a background in community organizing and disaster preparedness, they empower local residents through programs that promote youth mental health, sustainable food, and creative cultural projects. Their work bridges communication gaps to foster a more inclusive and connected community.
New Orleans Youth Alliance (NOYA)
The New Orleans Youth Alliance (NOYA) is a healing-centered youth development intermediary for the Greater New Orleans area. NOYA works to cultivate a system of high-quality, well-resourced youth development organizations that center youth leadership, racial equity and intersectional equity in their work with young people. NOYA achieves its mission through three key areas of service: program quality and professional development, policy and advocacy, and organizational effectiveness.
New Orleans Voices for Safety and Accountability (NOVAS)
New Orleans Voices for Accountability and Safety (NOVAS) is currently made up of community organizers, scholars, teachers, lawyers, artists, criminal justice leaders, people impacted by incarceration and many more residents of New Orleans. All members are volunteers dedicated to reducing the jail population and increasing equity in the criminal legal system.
Gilead Compass Initiatives
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and commercializes innovative medicines in areas of unmet medical need. Gilead is dedicated to transforming and simplifying care for people with life-threatening illnesses around the world. We also recognize that it takes more than medicine to address challenges patients and communities face in accessing the best possible care, and we know that passion for scientific discovery alone — and that Gilead alone — cannot solve these challenges. Gilead applies the same values of partnership, integrity, and dedication to our work tackling the social and structural challenges that patients, healthcare providers and other partners must overcome to identify and elevate the best possible solutions.
Comer Family Foundation
The Comer Family Foundation is a private family foundation dedicated to seeding ideas and supporting innovative programs that make a lasting and positive impact on the lives of individuals and their communities.
New Moon Network
The mission of New Moon Network is to secure rights and opportunity for people in the sex trade by building capacity in the field and organizing philanthropy to channel critical resources into grassroots movements.
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