syringe exchanges

A person in a sports cap holding a needle box to be packed away and delivered to needle exchange participants. Dunlap says they meth use never went away in Haywood County.

Even as opioids ravage WNC, mountain folks say meth never went away

December 3, 2019 by Liora Engel-Smith

Even as opioids ravage WNC, mountain folks say meth never went away - North Carolina Health News

While the current conversation surrounding drug use is dominated by opioids, residents in North Carolina’s Appalachians say meth has always been there.

By Liora Engel-Smith Jesse-Lee Dunlap goes where not even the mail carrier does. The Haywood County resident, who works with the N.C. Harm Reduction Coalition, routinely navigates into dirt pathways so narrow they hardly count as roads. On a recent afternoon, Dunlap maneuvered a white rental van up one such trail, squeezing up a steep […]

Two glass vials that say "Naloxone HCL" and two wrapped syringes rest on a metal shelf at a needle exchange facility. In the background is a paper instructions on using the medication to reverse an opioid overdose

NC needle exchange programs expand their reach despite the odds

August 29, 2019 by Liora Engel-Smith

NC needle exchange programs expand their reach despite the odds - North Carolina Health News

Since syringe and needle exchanges became legal in North Carolina, the number of programs offering these services increased, and so has their reach. But not everyone who needs help is getting it.

By Liora Engel-Smith Roughly three years after syringe exchange programs became legal in North Carolina, more people than ever are receiving clean needles and kits to help them reverse an overdose. Collectively, North Carolina’s syringe exchange programs — operated by local health departments, as well as faith-based and other community organizations — had more than […]

shows a room full of people meeting from many churches listening to a speaker

Houses of God, and harm reduction

July 25, 2019 by Emily Davis

Houses of God, and harm reduction - North Carolina Health News

With a multitude of locations, North Carolina's churches have the potential to be potent weapons in the fight against opioid overdoses and deaths. If only church leaders take the opportunity.

By Emily Davis On a recent Monday morning, a clean syringe and a bottle of naloxone got passed around the room at Grace United Methodist Church. Alongside a buffet of bagels and coffee, the Greensboro parish’s tables were scattered with leaflets of scripture recommendations, example prayers and supply lists, all on the theme of harm […]

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