Many harm reduction programs protect drug users and the community from blood borne disease through syringe exchange programs (SEPs). SEPs provide sterile syringes and injection supplies to drug users in exchange for used syringes and injection supplies that may be contaminated with HIV or hepatitis. These programs not only protect users against disease, but also help keep dirty syringes out of the community.
Sam Peterson, a person of transgender experience and a former heroin user living in Carrboro, NC, knows how SEPs can save lives. “During the 1980s and ‘90s when I lived in New York I was addicted to heroin,” says Sam. “I turned to risky behavior to buy drugs. I traded sex for money, and if it came down to it, I’d use someone else’s equipment to inject. When you’re addicted to a drug like heroin, you don’t think much about consequences. It’s all about the next fix.”
In the early 1990s, Sam and his partner heard about a syringe exchange program in New York City, and they decided to try it. The program provided sterile syringes, bleach kits, cookers, cottons and sterile water to Sam and his partner, and also taught them that HIV and hepatitis can be spread through the re-use of any drug equipment, not just syringes.
“The people at the exchange taught us how to inject safely,” says Sam. “We hadn’t even known we were doing it wrong! The program offered food too, and I appreciated that because I wasn’t taking care of myself and it was nice to have people who cared.”
Syringe exchange programs are proven to lower the incidence of blood borne disease in communities where they operate, but SEPs provide additional benefits as well. Studies show that SEPs act as a gateway to substance treatment programs, are proven not to encourage drug use and facilitate dialogue with marginalized populations.
“Human contact is invaluable,” Sam explains. “The help I got from the harm reduction program was more than just clean equipment, it was about being with people who didn’t judge me for my addiction, and who really wanted to help. I think a lot of addicts are missing that connection with other people and don’t even realize it.”
Sam eventually got clean when he recognized the consequences of the life he was leading. Within a short span of time he was arrested for felony theft at work, lost his home, and was assaulted and raped. At that point he felt ready to quit using drugs and attended a 12-step program to fight his addiction.
“I feel indebted to harm reduction, especially the SEPs, because they kept me alive and healthy long enough to get clean,” says Sam. “I could’ve wound up with HIV, Hepatitis C or anything else from dirty needles. Harm reduction saved my life.”
Many harm reduction programs also offer non-judgmental services to people of transgender experience, those who identify with a gender different than their biological sex. The programs provide sterile syringes for transgender people to inject hormones such as testosterone or estrogen into their bodies or silicon, which they may inject to mold their body features. In the future, Sam would like to see funding and transparency for SEPs that offer services to people who identity as transgender in North Carolina and to the state’s 50,000 injection drug users.
“There are so many people in harm’s way because they don’t have access to clean equipment and people who care,” he says. “I feel indebted to harm reduction programs for keeping me alive to the point where I can enjoy my life like I do now. I hope that in the future, other people can have that too.”