A new report by The Center for Community Solutions shows that programs that get used syringes off the streets in Ohio have more than doubled in the last three years.
Health Planning Chairperson at Community SolutionsMelissa Federman said the addition of 10 new syringe service programs across the state is a response to the opioid epidemic.
“Really what we were seeing was the community responding to the increase not only in overdoses because it’s an excellent way to reach people who inject drugs with Naloxone, the overdose reversal medication, but it’s also in response to increasing Hepatitis C and HIV rates that we’re seeing across the state," Federman said.
Federman said Cuyahoga County was the first to have a program like this, and it’s helped the county curb the spread of disease despite increasing drug use.
There are two more developing syringe service programs forming in Lorain and Licking County.