Supplies like clean syringes and containers, cookers, rubber tie-offs and two different kinds of pipes are offered, all provided by the organization DAP Health.
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - A health program is handing out free, sterile supplies, such as needles and crackpipes, to people with drug addiction issues in California. And soon, they’ll be available in vending machines.
“It’s important to give them this because what we’re looking to do, certainly kind of overarching, is save lives, reduce HIV and C transmission, and have people be as healthy as they can be,” said Neil Gussardo, the harm reduction supervisor for DAP Health. Five days a week, the organization’s mobile clinic goes to locations throughout Palm Springs to hand out the items as part of its harm reduction program.
“And other people are at part of their journey right now where they just want a hug, and they want somebody to talk to for 10 minutes because this is the one spot where they can be treated like a human, because that’s what they are,” he said. DAP Health said it has provided supplies to about 2,600 people in Palm Springs over the past year. More than half were referred to support services, including recovery centers.Beginning this summer, the organization plans to set up vending machines with all these items.“I see harm reduction as really dangerous. And it’s essentially enabling people addicted to opiates,” Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin said.“I think they should educate themselves.
In response to critics, Gussardo said the program gives people the chance to change by reducing their chances of dying from drug abuse.
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