Aubri Esters
Aubri Esters was an American activist for the rights of drug users.
Early life
Esters was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, to mental health counselor Laura Pelkus-Esters and clinical psychologist Joshua Peter Esters.In her late teens, Esters transitioned and legally changed her name to Aubri. Coming out as a transgender woman caused Esters to lose close relationships, but drove her passion for activism. Esters' sister, Cheraya, who is also queer, credits Esters with giving her the safety and strength to come out.
Esters lived with fibromyalgia and a heart condition. She used a walker.
Esters was a drummer. She studied interrelated media at MassArt.
When she was 18, Esters began using drugs. After a couple of years, Esters was spending up to $300 daily on her drug use and suffered from abscesses. Esters experienced homelessness and said she benefited from services available at Long Island. For over a decade, Esters used methadone to treat chaotic opioid use.
Activism
Esters spoke about herself as a "person who happens to use drugs." She taught medical practitioners and politicians about the challenges of life on the streets and the discrimination and abuse she and other people who use drugs faced. Esters always carried Narcan and saved many people's lives from drug overdose. Esters lost friends to fatal overdose, many of which she witnessed. She urged the state to recognize thousands of lives "wasted" due to preventable overdose.After learning about the use of fentanyl test strips in Canada, she helped bring them to harm reduction organizations in Boston.
In 2016, Esters was on the winning team of a hackathon seeking methods to prevent drug addiction and deaths. Esters' team presented the idea of a mobile van that would visit neighborhoods known for drug-use in Boston. Staff would distribute sterile needles and provide counseling and two-days worth of Suboxone.
Before she died, Esters was planning to work with Miriam Harris, an addiction medicine fellow at Boston Medical Center, on a study that would determine how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted people who use drugs.
Esters was an organizer with the Boston Homeless Solidarity Committee.
Esters advocated for people who use drugs in policy conversations with local government officials. She cofounded SIF MA, a group that promoted safe consumption sites. In 2018, she was a representative on the Massachusetts Harm Reduction Commission, where she urged the state to launch a pilot for supervised injection sites. The pilot gained support from the Massachusetts Medical Society.
In 2019, at a Harm Reduction Commission meeting, Esters interrupted Boston mayor Marty Walsh and said "I'm sorry, this is personal, my people are dying!"
In 2019, Esters spoke to the Massachusetts Legislature about safe injection sites.