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Needle Exchange

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Alone in a City’s AIDS Battle, Hoping for Backup

Location: 
Washington, DC
United States
Publication/Source: 
The New York Times
URL: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/washington/29district.html

NAMA Press Release: Leaders of NAMA’s Swedish Affiliate Svenska Brukarforeningen (SBF) Report to Police for Handing Out Clean Needles

National Alliance of Methadone Advocates For Immediate Release: May 17, 2007 Contact Person: Joycelyn Woods, President, Tel: 212-595-NAMA, E: [email protected] Leaders of NAMA’s Swedish Affiliate Svenska Brukarforeningen (SBF) Report to Police for Handing Out Clean Needles On May 4 SBF’s President, Berne Stålenkrantz and the Stockhom Director, Johan Stenbäck presented themselves to the Norrmalm Police Station in Stockholm for handing out clean needles to drug users. The purpose of the action was to get an official assessment of the their crime and to bring to the public the fact that Sweden does not allow syringes to be sold in pharmacies as is done is all other countries in the European Union (EU). SBF is also considering reporting Sweden to the European Union for its failure to comply with EU rules surrounding the common market. In southern Sweden needle exchange programs have been keeping the spread of HCV nd HIV under control for the past 20 years. County and Town Councils have been allowed to establish needle exchange programmes if they so wish. However in Stockholm no such programs have been established. According to Stålenkrantz if the penalty is mild they will continue with what they are doing. However after SBF publicized that they were providing drug users with clean needles the organization suddenly found its financing from Stockholm City Council under threat. Stålenkrantz also reported that a colleague suffering from a Hepatitis C was planning to report the city's social services department to the police because he has contracted a deadly illness after being refused clean syringes. He will also state that he was a victim of SBF’s having received clean syringes from the organization.. Needle exchange programs have been used worldwide for the past twenty years and provides a way for drug users to avoid the risks of drug use as well as a way to access support services including treatment. "We are handing out syringes for purely humanitarian reasons. And we are forced to do so since society is not providing this type of healthcare," said Stålenkrantz.
Location: 
Sweden

Drugs Users Are Increasingly More Cautious With Needles

Location: 
Netherlands
Publication/Source: 
Medical News Today (UK)
URL: 
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=70884

Injected Drugs Growing Source of New HIV Infections

Location: 
United States
Publication/Source: 
Voice of America (DC)
URL: 
http://voanews.com/english/2007-05-14-voa20.cfm

Cities apply to start needle program

Location: 
NJ
United States
Publication/Source: 
Cherry Hill Courier Post (NJ)
URL: 
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070513/NEWS01/705130379/1006

it isn't balance when opinion runs as fact

Location: 
Vancouver, BC
Canada
Publication/Source: 
The Vancouver Sun (Canada)
URL: 
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/columnists/story.html?id=fad6bd9a-7c00-47aa-a549-e4e0376603c7

Politicians not helping the drug crisis

Location: 
Australia
Publication/Source: 
Village Voice (Australia)
URL: 
http://www.villagevoice.com.au/article/20070502/NWS14/705020332/-1/nws/Politicians+not+helping+the+drug+crisis

B.C. injection site risks offending world

Location: 
Ottawa, ON
Canada
Publication/Source: 
National Post (Canada)
URL: 
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=cea28869-f4df-4a0e-9f59-6aec8f4ad5b1&k=72741

Two Job Opportunities at Washington,DC-Based PreventionWorks

PreventionWorks, a needle exchange/harm reduction program operating in the District of Columbia, has recently applied for funding for a new program they are calling FOCUS. This will be an HIV treatment adherence support program for low-income residents of the District of Columbia who are current or former drug users, are in care for HIV infection, and struggling to focus on their HIV care and/or treatment regimen. Though funding has not been secured, the recruiting of strong candidates -- people with solid backgrounds in HIV and substance use, and who know District resources -- to staff the program has begun. Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to Paola Barahona, PreventionWorks executive director, by e-mail ([email protected]), fax (202-797-3553), or mail (PreventionWorks, 1407 S Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009). Job 1: FOCUS Consultant Clinical Director The FOCUS Clinical Director will work 20 hours per week and will provide the leadership for the FOCUS program. The Clinical Director will supervise the two full-time Care Coordinators who will each carry a caseload of 20-25. The Clinical Supervisor will not carry a caseload. Instead, the Clinical Supervisor will conduct all of the support group meetings, will provide coverage during drop-in hours, and will provide individual counseling with clients as needed. Meetings will be an important part of this job, as the Clinical Director will attend the PreventionWorks weekly meeting, will conduct a weekly team meeting with the Care Coordinators, and will meet privately with the Executive Director weekly (or as needed). The FOCUS Clinical Director will be supervised by the PreventionWorks Executive Director. Performance goals will be outlined with the Executive Director at the beginning of the assignment. These will serve as the primary means of performance evaluation during semi-annual performance evaluation meetings. The FOCUS Clinical Director will work at least one evening per week and on Saturday afternoon. Aside from meetings, support groups, and drop-in hours, the schedule will be flexible. Requirements for the FOCUS Clinical Director include a bachelor's degree (master's degree preferred), certification as a Licensed Professional Counselor (CAC, LCPC, or LCSW), documented experience in HIV care and treatment and substance use issues, experience leading support groups and providing individual therapy, belief in and commitment to harm reduction approach regarding substance use, prior case management experience, prior supervisory experience, and a clean driving record. Additional desired qualifications include being bilingual (English/Spanish), having life experience with substance use and/or HIV treatment adherence, and having a familiarity with and connections to a wide variety of services in DC to which clients could be referred and from which clients could be recruited. Job 2: FOCUS Care Coordinators (2) Two Care Coordinators will be hired by the FOCUS Director to work with clients and help them adhere to their HIV medication regimens. The Care Coordinators will each work 40 hours per week (some evening and weekend coverage will be required) and carry a caseload of twenty to twenty-five clients. The Care Coordinators will work with clients to develop an individual treatment adherence plan and help clients stick to their plan. This position will require accompanying clients to medical appointments, meeting with clients individually on a weekly basis, calling and emailing clients to remind them about appointments and taking their medications, referring clients to a wide range of services that are geographically convenient and will meet the client's needs, staffing drop-in hours, and providing any additional support that clients require to help them adhere to their treatment regimen. The Care Coordinators will be supervised by the FOCUS Director. Performance goals will be outlined by each Coordinator with the Director at the beginning of the assignment. These will serve as the primary means of performance evaluation during semi-annual performance evaluation meetings. In addition, the Director will observe services and provide feedback to each Care Coordinator on a scheduled and/or spontaneous basis. The Care Coordinators will work at least one evening per week and on alternate Saturday afternoons. Aside from meetings and drop-in hours, the Care Coordinator's schedule will be flexible to allow each Coordinator to meet the needs of his/her individual clients. Requirements for the FOCUS Care Coordinator include an associate's degree (bachelor's degree preferred), experience with addictions counseling (CAC, BSW, LGSW preferred, but life experience could be substituted for these degrees), documented experience in HIV care and treatment and substance use issues, belief in and commitment to harm reduction approaches regarding substance use, prior case management experience, and a clean driving record. Additional desired qualifications include being bilingual (English/Spanish), having life experience with substance use and/or HIV treatment adherence, and having familiarity with and connections to a wide variety of services in DC to which clients could be referred and from which clients could be recruited.
Location: 
Washington, DC
United States

Harm Reduction: Los Angeles County Okays Needle Exchange Program

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a $500,000 needle exchange program Tuesday. The board approved the harm reduction measure, which is designed to save lives and dollars by reducing the rate of spread of blood-borne diseases such as AIDS and Hepatitis B and C, on a 3-2 vote.

https://stopthedrugwar.org/files/needle-exchange-logo.gif
widely-used syringe exchange logo
The city of Los Angeles and seven California counties already have approved needle exchange programs. Los Angeles County has an estimated 120,000 to 190,000 drug injectors, nearly half of whom are estimated to share needles.

The new needle exchanges targeting heroin users will be at the Asian American Drug Abuse Program, Bienestar Human Services, Common Ground-The Westside HIV Community Center, Public Health Foundation Enterprises (and through them, Clean Needles Now) and Tarzana Treatment Centers.

Supervisors Mike Antonovich and Don Knabe voted against the program. "The problem that we have here is you're having the government be in a position of sponsoring a known drug that could lead to death and leads to dependence," Antonovich said. "I would rather put our money into rehabilitation and education encouraging a drug-free society instead of being politically correct and helping addicts remain addicts," he said.

But Supervisor Gloria Molina defended the program, saying its aim is to prevent AIDS. "This is a very simple program that's had unbelievable success, and it's unfortunate (that) it is not supposed to address, and it does not address, the rehabilitation of drug users. All it does is, hopefully, address the issue of prevention of HIV," Molina said.

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