FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
Editorial | Volunteer-based needle exchange program providing vital services and saving lives, but needs better oversight [Santa Cruz Sentinel, Calif.]
Dec. 20 Few local outreach endeavors have been as controversial as the efforts to exchange clean needles for used ones with intravenous drug users.
The community debate continues, even as overdose deaths in California and the U.S. multiply during the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing opioid crisis. Santa Cruz County continues to see a surge of drug overdose deaths this year although health officials says the rate is significantly less here than the state.
The Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County is a volunteer-based needle exchange nonprofit working to prevent needless deaths among the addicted. Coalition founder and Aptos resident Denise Elerick recently spoke with the Sentinel Editorial Board about the group’s emphasis on providing clean syringes to drug users, among other needed heal