A clean needle distribution program in Santa Cruz County previously halted by the courts amid resident and police opposition has been reinstated by California health officials under tightened restrictions.
Harm Reduction Coalition
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Neighborhood group opposes new attempt at Santa Cruz County needle distribution program
The Grant Park Neighborhood Association is opposing the potential approval of a second countywide syringe exchange program led by the Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County. The neighborhood group is encouraging county residents to oppose the program via public comment.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Input sought on Santa Cruz County distribution of syringes, Narcan
The Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County is seeking public comment on a “county-wide, low-barrier, evidence-based Mobile Outreach Program” that would distribute Narcan and sterile syringes and assist with wound care to reduce overdose deaths and illness among drug users.
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz County fentanyl deaths are down, but public health officials express caution about the trend
While Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office data points to a decrease in fentanyl-related deaths so far in 2024, public health and harm reduction professionals think it might be too early to confidently say if this trend will continue. They point to a number of actions that could be contributing to better outcomes — as well as the gaps in response that remain.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Sacramento court halts local syringe distribution program run by harm reduction coalition
The Sacramento Superior Court’s decision is the latest development in a years-long legal battle between a Santa Cruz neighborhood group and the Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County. The ruling is expected to reverberate beyond Santa Cruz County as other California communities face similar legal wrangling over private groups offering clean-needle programs.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
As Benchlands broke up, overdoses spiked: How much does displacement create dangerous isolation?
As the national fentanyl crisis continues to reverberate in Santa Cruz County at record rates, killing 42 people in 2021 and 39 officially so far in 2022, another record was set in September: 82 overdoses, spread out more around the county than usual. Public health officials noted the correlation and Lookout sought opinion from others about how the sweeping of a homeless encampment like the Benchlands in a county that lacks adequate addiction and mental health services can lead to “poor outcomes.”
Posted inPolitics & Policy
County’s safe syringe programs see a change as Harm Reduction Coalition loses funding
The Harm Reduction Coalition — which has officially partnered with Santa Cruz County’s Health Services Agency for two years — and its safe syringes and related programs didn’t receive funding for the year. Supervisors cited duplication of services with the county’s own efforts, but HRC leaders say they provide needed, additive options.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Harm Reduction Coalition awarded $100K grant to expand testing of hepatitis C, HIV for unhoused population
The $100,000 grant from AIDS United and others will allow the Santa Cruz group to expand its testing of viral diseases among the county’s unhoused population. Dani Drysdale, who runs the Safe Syringe program, said many people are not aware they even have hepatitis C. Knowing is the first step toward treatment.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
New law signed at crucial time for Santa Cruz will stop CEQA lawsuits blocking needle exchange
Opponents of free needle programs in California are using environmental regulations to shut them down. On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will end that strategy.
Posted inPandemic Life
‘They deserve to stay safe and alive’: Fentanyl risk, even in marijuana, has county leaders concerned
Based on the county coroner’s data from May 2021, fatal overdoses from fentanyl nearly quadrupled from five in 2019 to 19 in 2020. According to the findings, fentanyl has been found in a variety of other illicit drugs, from methamphetamine and heroin to cocaine and Xanax — even in cannabis.