The policy would be a departure from her predecessors and could impact the largest and oldest syringe exchange program in Philadelphia.
vowed “not one city dollar” will be used to fund the distribution of sterile syringes to people who use drugs as she revealed plans for her first budget Thursday, taking her opposition to using city resources on the programs a step farther than she previously had.
“Sterile syringes have a return on investment. They cost pennies on the dollar but create a cost savings” by preventing the spread of blood-borne illnesses like HIV and hepatitis C, said Robert Ashford, executive director of Unity Recovery, a Philadelphia recovery support organization that also distributes harm-reduction tools like syringes. “I don’t think our scarce resources should be allocated in a way that ends up in death and misery.
Any loss of city funding, she said, would mean “a lifesaving program would have to be funded privately, which would be extremely challenging to do every year.” Asked Thursday if Prevention Point would lose city funding, Parker said only: “I’m not referencing any specific organizations, the only thing that I wanted to make clear in our budget process is that the city of Philadelphia will not fund any kind of needle exchange programs.
Philly City Council postpones effort to require data collection on overdose reversals and homeless encampments
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