LAKEPORT, Calif. – Despite its success in collecting hundreds of thousands of needles, the syringe exchange program serving Lake County is in danger of shutting down unless it can get additional community support.
That was the news the Board of Supervisors received on Tuesday, when county Health Services Director Jim Brown and Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait presented the biannual report on the syringe exchange program.
Brown and Tait's report centered on the group called Any Positive Change, a community-based volunteer organization that carries out the local syringe exchange program.
The report said that the independently funded group centers its approaches on a harm-reduction model. The goal is to reduce the consequences of injection drug abuse; in particular, it seeks to prevent the spread of diseases like hepatitis B and C, and HIV.
While it operates separate from the county with respect to its field activities, Any Positive Change coordinates with the Lake County Department of Health Services and provides data to help define the extent and impact of injection drug use on the county's public health, according to the report.
Any Positive Change provides services throughout Lake County without a fixed site, conducting street outreach with information as well as access to a designated phone number printed on matchbooks which are distributed. A program volunteer responds within 24 hours and makes arrangements to meet with the individuals at agreed-upon locations.
Tait said that the program has grown exponentially, bringing in more needles that it exchanges. They've received no complaints or concerns from the community about the program, which operates under the radar.
She said the program now is facing a sustainability issue, and is challenged in finding new funding sources and volunteers.
Tait said one primary volunteer is committed to the program constantly. “It is very difficult to sustain that kind of commitment,” she said, and as a result there's the possibility of the program closing in the months ahead.
Tait and Brown's report to the board explained that Any Positive Change is responsible for running what is called a large exchange program, which is defined as any program exchanging more than 100,000 syringes per year.
For the two-year period from March 2011 to March 2013, the program received more than 240,000 syringes and delivered more than 116,000 syringes in approximately 459 separate exchanges, according to the report.
Altogether, 68 individuals were served over the past two years. Participants ranged between 22 years and 64 years of age, with 32 being female and 36 being male, based on the report's numbers. Of those clients, 28 had only one encounter with the program.
Tait and Brown's report noted that Lake County had the highest rate of drug-related deaths of all 58 of California's counties, according to the 2013 County Health Status Profiles.
In addition to syringe exchanges, the program refers clients to appropriate medical treatment and encourages them to seek drug treatment when they demonstrate the willingness to accept it, the report explained.
While the syringe exchange program is meant to reduce and prevent diseases like hepatitis and HIV, the report noted that Lake County showed a sharp rise in reported chronic hepatitis C cases in 2012, when 349 cases were reported as compared to 32 in 2011. The report suggested that this could be a result of increased screening and reporting.
Any Positive Change recently had received $13,000 in grants to help fund its activities. Tait and Brown's report noted that the program is expected to come to an end when those funds are exhausted because of the difficulty in finding sustained funding sources and quality volunteer staff, and the perception that there's a general lack of support for the program.
Any Positive Change won the 2012 Stars of Lake County Award for volunteer organization of the year, but Tait and Brown reported that the organization receives “little other positive recognition.”
The program also is often accused of “doing something illegal,” even though syringe exchange programs are authorized in statute and the Any Positive Change program is recognized as legitimate through the local action by the Board of Supervisors, the county health officials reported.
While Any Positive Change reported that its program is generally opposed by law enforcement, its field activities have not run afoul of law enforcement efforts.
The program is expected to come to an end at the end of this year. The potential impacts, based on the Tuesday report, include having more than 100,000 syringes per year that need disposal and individuals who use the program no longer having access.
Tait and Brown suggested that it's important to monitor for measurable consequences if the program comes to an end.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington asked if Any Positive Change is making referrals to the county's Alcohol and Other Drug Services program. Tait said there are efforts to get people treatment and medical care.
“There definitely has been a positive impact,” Tait said.
Farrington also was curious about how predominant the use of methamphetamine appears to be. Tait said the opioids appear to be predominant, with prescription drugs also on the rise.
The written report Tait and Brown presented to the board noted that most clients served the use multiple substances, with opioid drugs on the increase and Oxycodone being the primary drug of choice. Mexican heroin now also is commonly used.
Supervisor Denise Rushing thanked the program for its extraordinary efforts, noting she feels it is supported at the board level. She said safety net programs are under attack and it's sad to see a good program not get the oxygen it needs.
Annina van Voorene, founder of Any Positive Change, said she's been doing the work for 19 years. While she acknowledged having board support, van Voorene said is been a challenge to get volunteers; she has a full-time job in addition to the work.
“I think this is not sustainable in the way we've been doing it,” van Voorene said.
She said it could be sustained if they had a fixed site, rather than having to travel to different places. She's also written grants to try to get a vehicle.
“I need help,” she said, adding she can't do it all by yourself.
Farrington asked if she would be willing to consider a site if the county could find one and work through the legalities. She said yes but noted that she wanted to be outside of the city of Clearlake because she felt law enforcement there had a negative perception of her program.
Brown said he would have a discussion with AODS about having a syringe exchange location at their site.
Later on Tuesday, van Voorene, who said she's very proud of her work, told Lake County News that she would continue “until the last dime is spent on clean needles.”
She said she won't be sitting at a county building doing syringe exchange; all she really wants is a truck or van and she can find a location herself.
For more information about the program, visit http://www.anypositivechange.net/ .
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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