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Dear Charleston residents,
1) The end goal of a harm reduction program is not recovery. The end goal is harm reduction (less Hep and HIV) community-wide.
1) The end goal of a harm reduction program is not recovery. The end goal is harm reduction (less Hep and HIV) community-wide.
2) The most effective programs are low-barrier. (Not required to return them all as sometimes they are confiscated by police, stolen, etc.) The most effective programs also have community support/buy-in.
Read up on Baltimore’s program. They have churches and other community members calling to say “We need you to start a mobile site here.” (btw churches, participants really seem like people Jesus would surround himself with. It feels like your time to shine)
3) If attempting to erase a problem from public view worked, shutting down Tent City and removing benches would have ended homelessness.
4) If you really want to do something about getting people into recovery, instead of just complain that harm reduction programs don’t always do that, let’s work on that.
Lobby Congress, the Biden administration and the Legislature about expanding access to Suboxone, funding more walk-in treatment, expanding access to affordable health insurance.
And finally, don’t send the message to people who use drugs that they deserve used syringes and increased risk of HIV and Hepatitis. That definitely doesn’t make them feel more comfortable reaching out for treatment. It actually does quite the opposite.
