Madison County approves new needle exchange program
ANDERSON, Ind. (WISH) — Madison County commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday to relaunch a needle exchange program.
The Madison County Health Department ran a needle exchange until the county council voted to end the program last year. Tuesday’s vote from the commissioners gives Aspire Indiana, a nonprofit health center with offices across central Indiana, the green light to start a needle exchange.
“I don’t think anybody wants a needle exchange program in their community,” Aspire Indiana CEO Jerry Landers said. “And I live in Madison County. It is my home and the home of my children. But we definitely need a needle exchange program right now.”
The goal is to prevent hepatitis C from spreading through drug users sharing needles.
Landers said he plans to have an exchange rate close to 100 percent, meaning addicts who want to get new needles through the exchange will first have to return their used needles.
“I do think there is an element of enabling in this because we are working with addicts and saying, ‘okay, here’s a needle,’” Landers said. “At the same time, I truly believe this is the only alternative we have and, if we don’t do this, the consequences are going to be quite serious.”
The county health department said between 2015 and 2017, 53 percent of the needles from their program were returned. The exchange rate is one reason county leaders said they voted to end the program last year.
Landers said Aspire has more resources than the county. The group plans to host a forum with police and prosecutors before launching.
He said Aspire is focused on not just exchanging needles, but getting users into treatment for their addictions. He also said exchanges will happen inside a clinic.
Lawmakers voted to legalize needle exchanges in Indiana after Scott County’s 2015 HIV crisis.
“If Scott County had been able to institute a needle program about two years before that outbreak, the rest of the world would not know who Scott County is,” Landers said.
Before Aspire Indiana can move forward, they do still have to provide some insurance documents to the county.