Harm Reduction Coalition announces new syringe disposal and delivery service application

The Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County announced Wednesday that it is filing a new application for a syringe disposal and delivery service program.

The coalition said the new application focuses on needle disposal and home delivery, but unlike a previous application, there are no proposed locations in Felton or Watsonville. Instead of a mobile service, it will focus on visiting homes in the county and running a needle exchange at its location in Santa Cruz. The coalition said it will not offer services in city or county parks.

The Harm Reduction Coalition filed an application earlier in the year for more syringe distribution, but it was later withdrawn in response to community feedback. The coalition said it focuses on collecting and properly disposing of dirty syringes and that syringe service programs reduce the amount of syringe litter, but the coalition has its critics.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart wrote a letter to the California Department of Public Health speaking out against the coalition, and more than 14,000 people signed a petition against it. One of Hart’s main concerns was that the secondary program had little to no oversight and that it offered a too simple approach to a complex issue.

Former addict Damon Bruder told KION that the service involves handing out needles and hoping for the best. An organizer with the coalition said it collected more than 9,000 needles at the Ross Camp before it was cleared, but Bruder said the coalition helped create the problem.

“The Harm Reduction Coalition was handing out between 300 and 600 needles a day for months at the Ross Camp. There was a huge red kiosk for depositing used sharps within feet of that camp,” said Bruder.

Despite criticism, others said the coalition has helped more than harmed.

“I struggled with those addictions for seven years, and almost lost my life to them many times. Harm Reduction saved my life back then … I know people have strong feelings about these programs, and all I want is for people to set their biases down for a second so they can look at the data and listen to the stories of people who use drugs. Harm Reduction at its most basic is about meeting people where they are at, but never leaving them there,” said Dani Drysdale, a coalition member from Aptos.