County to Pay Harm Reduction Subcontractors $150K

The county says it will pay subcontractors that were stiffed by the Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego months before the county cancelled its contracts with the nonprofit last summer. 

The county announced Monday that it will send nearly $150,000 to six subcontractors after initially directing those strained by the unpaid bills to seek payment from the troubled nonprofit. 

The announcement comes as the criminal case against the Harm Reduction Coalition’s former finance chief expands to include three new felony charges, including for allegedly forging a $105,000 invoice to the county. Ex-COO Amy Knox had already faced six felony misappropriation charges for allegedly spending public money on everything from plastic surgery to purebred dogs.  

The missing payments to subcontractors – and previous bouncing or delayed checks from the nonprofit – were early signs of escalating financial chaos surrounding a nonprofit that once had two county contracts totaling $2.2 million annually. The county began learning of the Harm Reduction Coalition’s struggle to pay its bills in 2024. The situation only worsened as the months went on, raising questions about county oversight. 

On Monday, the county said it would collectively pay three partners on the Harm Reduction Coalition’s overdose reversal drug contract – SAY San Diego, A New PATH and Project AWARE Enterprises – nearly $74,000. UC San Diego, which partnered with the coalition on research and reviews of its county work, is also set to receive nearly $37,000 while drug testing technology firm Bruker Scientific LLC will get about $34,000. Sourcing and distribution company VIDL Sourcing will get a nearly $5,000 check. 

Voice of San Diego previously reported that the three organizations that partnered with the Harm Reduction Coalition on its county contract to deploy overdose reversal drug naloxone reported being collectively owed nearly $200,000 in county money that the coalition was supposed to distribute to them. A former Harm Reduction Coalition contract employee also told Voice that the Harm Reduction Coalition failed to pay her about $36,000 from March through July 2025.   

The county noted in its statement that the subcontractors may also seek restitution for additional unpaid bills through the ongoing criminal case. 

A New PATH Executive Director Gretchen Bergman, whose small nonprofit helped the Harm Reduction Coalition train San Diegans on how to use overdose reversal drug naloxone, said her organization now expects to receive about $40,000 of the roughly $100,000 it’s owed.  

Bergman said it was her understanding the county payouts covered work her organization and others completed in May and June 2025 that the Harm Reduction Coalition never billed the county for payment on. 

“I think it’s really positive,” Bergman said. 

The pile-up of unpaid bills previously forced A New Path to slash some full-time staffers’ hours by a quarter and temporarily led Bergman to give up her own salary. 

The county’s decision to pay subcontractors represents a shift from its initial position. First, it directed them to try to work something out with the Harm Reduction Coalition. 

Then, as Voice reported on the unpaid bills in March, a county spokesperson wrote that the payments were the Harm Reduction Coalition’s responsibility but that it was “exploring options” for reimbursing subcontractors.  

On Monday, the county said it ultimately decided to pay subcontractors due to “unique circumstances.” 

County spokesperson Tammy Glenn wrote in an email that the county decided to issue direct payments after confirming the subcontractors’ work fell within those county contracts, they could provide adequate documentation and that the Harm Reduction Coalition failed to submit invoices for their work.  

 Glenn separately noted in a statement that an independent auditor is now reviewing county contracting processes with the expectation of delivering a report next Monday. 

“Once the independent audit is complete, the county will evaluate the findings and determine additional steps needed to strengthen contracting practices and protect public resources,” Glenn wrote.  

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