KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The Kalamazoo City Commission has approved a Needle Exchange Program that will allow citizens to exchange used syringes for new ones.
According to city documents, this resolution authorizes the Community Outreach Prevention and Education (COPE) Network to engage in the program for a period of two years.
Previously, programs of this nature were not allowed in the city, but the restrictions for having one were lifted last June.
During a virtual city meeting Monday night, Commissioners discussed the program with Nancy King, Executive Director of the COPE Network.
“Our program is designed to be able to provide harm reduction to the community of people who inject drugs,” King said. “What that means is being able to look for people who might be needing recovery services. Those recovery services [could be] medicate-assist treatment to inpatient or outpatient rehab and allowing them to get the support systems they need to have health perspectives in their life.”
On the subject of needle-based drugs, the COPE Network is concerned with reducing diseases that could be contracted by their use.
“People who inject drugs are at risk to communicable diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis C, as well as other soft tissue disease and other infections,” King said. “Making sure that people have access to safe paraphernalia allows them to be able to reduce those risk of potential infection.”
King also touched on the HOPE Network’s services in providing overdose reversal drugs to the public.
“We provide Naloxone, which is the antidote to an overdose, we’ve been doing this in the community since 2016,” King said. “Not only do we provide Naloxone to the community in eight counties, but we also provide Naloxone to many law enforcement and firefighters as well. Making sure people that are at risk of an opioid overdose have access to Naloxone is a very important part of helping them to achieve recovery. If we can keep them alive, that puts them in line for potential recovery services.”
King also provided some statistics to the program to illustrate its effectiveness.
“People who attend these programs regularly are five times more likely to enter into treatment programs,” King said. “They are three times more likely to stop injecting drugs. When we have safe syringe programs, it does [reduce the risk of] needle sticks to law enforcement, and that’s another community health care that we want to be able to take into consideration.”
After the initial speech, Commissioners raised some questions about the program.
One question raised by Praedel raised was in regards to concerns of rising drug use in relation to the COVID-19 crisis. He asked why a program like this matters in the ongoing climate.
“Right now, we are seeing an increase in the number of people that are relapsing because of COVID-19, whether its stress issues, financial issues, whatever may be the concerns that they’ve had that have increased their trauma,” King said. “We are very concerned about the fact that more people may result in going back into something like using drugs. Currently with COVID, we are seen as an essential service by the State of Michigan, so we are able to make sure people have access to those needles during this time, even during our social distancing, making sure we’re taking proper practices for our staff, as well as those coming into the program.”
The organization also offers Naloxone delivery in light of social distancing standards.
“We do want to recognize that this is an increased risk time for many people, and with people having less access to services and transportation, this may increase the use of sharing of needles and also possibly reusing needles themselves,” King added.
Concerns were also raised in relation to whether or not these programs increase or encourage drug use by offering clean needles.
“We know over the 30-year history of syringe-access programs in the United States, there has not been any increase in the use of illicit drugs because of syringe programs,” King said. “It is recognized by the Federal Government, it is recognized by our state. Currently in Michigan, we have 16 programs with 38 sites that have now become available. From that, what we’re seeing is a positive outreach to people getting access to the health care they need, and not increasing the use of their substances.”
The current plan would be to remain a fixed location on Pioneer St., but the organization may branch out depending on community needs.
Ultimately, the resolution was passed unanimously by the board.
