Judith Porter, lifelong harm reduction advocate and co-founder of Prevention Point Philadelphia, passed away on October 21 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Judy began working in the HIV/AIDS-related field in the early days of the epidemic in the late 1980s. As a volunteer, she went to welfare offices and did street outreach educating members of the public about HIV/AIDS. Eventually she spent more than a decade working among people who use drugs, providing sterile syringes in exchange for used ones.
She was the first co-chair of the Board of Directors of Prevention Point Philadelphia. Her professional work doing research and teaching Sociology of AIDS at Bryn Mawr College continued full time until she retired from teaching in 2010. She also served on the Mayor’s Executive Commission on Drugs and Alcohol in Philadelphia and other regional boards.
In 2022, PPP created the Judith Porter Award at our 30th anniversary event. We hope this award will play a part in keeping her legacy alive and inspire future leaders in harm reduction. Judy will forever be an integral part of not only Prevention Point’s history but also the advancements in harm reduction since the AIDS crisis. Our hearts are with her husband, children, and entire family.
Read Judy's obituary in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.
