Needle exchange in the Mission
March 4th, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized
Just to put a little context around the above photo I posted earlier without any words – I’ve bumped it up from a couple days ago…
That’s Jahaira in the center with the MLK shirt. She and her friends help run a mobile needle exchange program organized out the San Francisco Aids Foundation. The day that Armand and I came across them their van was setup at the edge of the Mission. Drug users in the area can trade their used needles/syringes for new. The program exchanges 2.3 million needles a year helping to contain the spread of HIV and other diseases such as Hepatitis. Contact with users also provides an opportunity for making available outreach services. I recently traded emails with Jahaira with some photos I took and will meet again in the future. Hoping to come away with a more complete photo story in the future…
