PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -
A program that aims to keep drug addicts healthy is seeing success in New York and it's expanding.
Since June 2015, the Alliance for Positive Health in Plattsburgh has run a syringe exchange program that provides people with free, clean needles and safely disposes of used ones.
"We don't collect a name. We collect date of birth, initials and their gender, race, age. We also talk about what kinds of substances they inject, so we can help match the type of syringe that they should be using for the substance," said Diana Aguglia, regional director.
Around 128 people have enrolled in the program and disposed of 75,000 used syringes. They say a handful of the participants use the needles for insulin shots or hormone injections, but their overall goal is to prevent the spread of diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C that affect injection drug users.
"They're going to use whether they have clean needles available or not, but what they're going to do is reuse their own needles, which is dangerous, and they'll share needles with each other, which is even more dangerous," said Aguglia.
The syringe exchange is available three times a week in Plattsburgh, but now, it's expanding to Ticonderoga.
"Ticonderoga is a little off the path. It's not in a very generalized location right off the highway or anything, so the community is pretty rural, and it lets us really hit a pocket of population that has a strong need," said Taylor Gibbons, harm reduction supervisor.
It's all funded by the New York State Department of Health Aids Institute.
Gibbons says that for every $1 that is spent on their syringe exchange program, it's estimated it saves around $7 to $9 that would have been spent on medical treatment for diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C contracted from using dirty needles.
The alliance supplied Plattsburgh City police with a syringe disposal container, and officers say that with opiate use on the rise, safe needle disposal is key.
"Especially in this day in age where these needles are more and more prevalent. People are discovering needles, syringes on private property, in parks, in places like Wilcox dock. So anytime there's a program where people are encouraged to dispose of them properly, it's going to be advantageous to us," said Sgt. Brad Kiroy, Plattsburgh City Police Department.
The program also offers participants various first-aid kit items, toiletries and the overdose-reversing drug Narcan. They say nearly 30 people in the program have successfully reversed overdoses using it. That will also be supplied, free, in Ticonderoga. The program will be available there twice a month starting on April 21.
Since June 2015, the Alliance for Positive Health in Plattsburgh has run a syringe exchange program that provides people with free, clean needles and safely disposes of used ones.
"We don't collect a name. We collect date of birth, initials and their gender, race, age. We also talk about what kinds of substances they inject, so we can help match the type of syringe that they should be using for the substance," said Diana Aguglia, regional director.
Around 128 people have enrolled in the program and disposed of 75,000 used syringes. They say a handful of the participants use the needles for insulin shots or hormone injections, but their overall goal is to prevent the spread of diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C that affect injection drug users.
"They're going to use whether they have clean needles available or not, but what they're going to do is reuse their own needles, which is dangerous, and they'll share needles with each other, which is even more dangerous," said Aguglia.
The syringe exchange is available three times a week in Plattsburgh, but now, it's expanding to Ticonderoga.
"Ticonderoga is a little off the path. It's not in a very generalized location right off the highway or anything, so the community is pretty rural, and it lets us really hit a pocket of population that has a strong need," said Taylor Gibbons, harm reduction supervisor.
It's all funded by the New York State Department of Health Aids Institute.
Gibbons says that for every $1 that is spent on their syringe exchange program, it's estimated it saves around $7 to $9 that would have been spent on medical treatment for diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C contracted from using dirty needles.
The alliance supplied Plattsburgh City police with a syringe disposal container, and officers say that with opiate use on the rise, safe needle disposal is key.
"Especially in this day in age where these needles are more and more prevalent. People are discovering needles, syringes on private property, in parks, in places like Wilcox dock. So anytime there's a program where people are encouraged to dispose of them properly, it's going to be advantageous to us," said Sgt. Brad Kiroy, Plattsburgh City Police Department.
The program also offers participants various first-aid kit items, toiletries and the overdose-reversing drug Narcan. They say nearly 30 people in the program have successfully reversed overdoses using it. That will also be supplied, free, in Ticonderoga. The program will be available there twice a month starting on April 21.
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