Catholic Charities oversees disposal of used syringes

For about a year, Catholic Charities AIDS Services has been overseeing a used-syringe disposal kiosk in Albany.

The box, where anyone who uses intravenous drugs may safely drop off used needles, is one of many placed in pharmacies and stores in four counties of the Albany Diocese as part of the "Needle Smart" program.

Those who use the kiosks can also pick up a small "sharps" container to take home; the container holds two or three syringes, which can later be dropped into the larger container.

Kiosks

Centro Civico of Amsterdam, a Latino non-profit agency, handles the overall program for Albany, Fulton, Montgomery and Schenectady Counties. Catholic Charities AIDS Services agreed to be responsible for one of its kiosks.

Each month, AIDS Services sends a staffer to check how full the box is. If it needs to be emptied, Catholic Charities arranges through Centro Civico for a waste-disposal company to pick up the used syringes.

Angela Keller, AIDS Services' executive director, noted that such kiosks have to be approved by New York State. The kiosk handled by Catholic Charities was originally located at the Center for Community Collaboration in Albany, but has since been moved to Town Total Health, a pharmacy near Albany Memorial Hospital.

Controversy

Ms. Keller noted that some consider the program controversial.

"In some communities, people have reacted that we may be encouraging drug use," she explained. "But, really, it comes from the [perspective] of preventing HIV infections, keeping people safe."

She pointed out that the kiosks have HIV prevention and testing information available, as well as information on drug treatment programs -- which a traditional healthcare provider may not have the opportunity to give a drug user.

Expansion

Catholic Charities AIDS Services just got a grant from the State Health Department to implement a "syringe voucher program" in the next few weeks.

Catholic Charities will give vouchers to case managers at agencies serving clients at risk of HIV or using IV drugs; the clients can bring the vouchers to the pharmacy for 10 free syringes. Each packet of syringes will include information on safe injection practices.

"Ultimately, the goal is to get people into treatment, but we know people are ready for that at different times. This makes the community safer," said Ms. Keller, adding: "We're meeting people where they're at."

Going mobile

AIDS Services is also exploring the possibility of creating a mobile syringe exchange program: A staffer would park a Catholic Charities van in a neighborhood to exchange used syringes for new ones, and educate IV drug users about HIV testing and drug treatment.

Already, Catholic Charities has received a $5,000 grant from the Community AIDS Partnership of the Capital Region toward that program.

Ms. Keller told The Evangelist that there are currently no other voucher or syringe exchange programs in upstate New York, "so the Health Department is interested in seeing an initiative up here. We're at the forefront of some prevention work."

In addition, she said, the Needle Smart program and the initiatives being explored fit the mission of Catholic Charities.

"We're serving people who are often unserved and ignored," she stated. "We're helping them hopefully, later on, to improve their lives and stop using drugs."

(Syringe exchange programs have been lauded for reducing HIV transmission, as well as Hepatitis C and other blood-borne pathogens. Cities with exchange programs have seen six-percent annual reductions in HIV rates among IV drug users. Diabetics and others also use needle exchange kiosks. Exchange programs also protect sanitation and law enforcement workers from needle-stick injuries. Learn more about Needle Smart at www.redribbonpartnership.org/programs/html. Contact Catholic Charities AIDS Services at 449-3581 or go to www.ccalbany.org.)

(01/24/08)