Jessica Ellis, Syringe Services Program Coordinator for the Frederick County Health Department, recently spoke to the Francis Scott Key Lions Club about harm reduction and the Syringe Services Program.
Harm reduction is a spectrum of practical strategies to reduce the negative consequences associated with high-risk behaviors such as drug usage and unprotected sex. It does not mean “anything goes,” since it does not enable drug use or high-risk behaviors, nor does it condone or encourage drug use or sex work; but it accepts that drug use will happen and works to minimize harmful effects rather than ignoring or condemning the drug users. Harm reduction incorporates a continuum of strategies from severe abuse to total abstinence, acknowledging that some ways of using drugs are clearly safer than others; and acknowledges that needs are specific to individuals and communities, resulting in no universal answer for implementing harm reduction. Some harm reduction strategies include distribution of condoms, sterile syringes, naloxone/Narcan©, and medication-assisted treatment.
Studies from noted health groups have shown that Syringe Services Programs do not cause an increase in drug usage but instead decrease drug use by connecting marginalized persons with treatment options.
The Frederick County program offers sterile needles, syringes, and other injection equipment; safe disposal containers for used needles and syringes’ education about safer injection practices; and much more.
For more information contact Frederick County Health Department Behavioral Health Services at 301/600-1755 or visit www.frederickcountymd.gov/BHS. For more information about opioids and opioid abuse, visit www.stayintheknow.org.
The FSK Lions also welcomed the latest Operation Blue Thank You honoree, Frederick Police Department’s Ofc. Sean Geiser of the Special Operations Division’s Outreach Unit. Operation Blue Thank You is the club’s way to thank local police officers for their efforts in keeping us safe by inviting them to join the Lions members for a meal.
Speaker Jessica Ellis of the Frederick County Health Department’s Syringe Services Program, FSK Lions President Toni Gray, and Operation Blue Thank You honoree Frederick Police Department Ofc. Sean Geiser.