~~ PROTECT SYRINGE EXCHANGE IN NEW YORK ~~
Please consider signing your ORGANIZATION onto this letter urging Senator Schumer to block Republican attempts to reinstate the federal funding ban on syringe exchange in the current federal budget. To sign-on, send your organization's name to Daniel Raymond at raymond@harmreduction.org by WEDNESDAY AT 12pm (apologies for the short notice). Thanks to our colleagues at the Harm Reduction Coalition and amFAR for drafting the letter. President Obama and the last congress finally lifted the deadly funding ban in 2009, affirming decades of research and direct experience that shows syringe exchange prevents the spread of HIV and viral hepatitis and protects communities without increasing drug use. There are now syringe access programs operating throughout New York. VOCAL-NY's Users Union has been working to expand syringe access in New York, including reconciling state laws governing syringe possession and expanding access in shelters and methadone programs. The letter is copied below and attached. Thank you for considering signing your organization onto the letter. ~~ Honorable Charles Schumer U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Schumer, We are writing to urge you to reject attempts to reinstate the ban on use of federal funds for syringe exchange. Syringe exchange programs have been instrumental in reducing HIV rates in New York, and enjoy broad support from state and local health departments and the communities they serve. Two decades of syringe exchange experience in New York, backed by volumes of research, have established that these programs are vital to protecting public health and addressing addiction and drug use across our state. Since the December, 2009 passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010, Congress has allowed federal funding to be used for syringe exchange unless local health authorities or local law enforcement authorities deem a program site to be inappropriate. New York has already benefited from this flexibility, allowing $1,722,733 of HIV prevention funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allocated to programs targeting people who inject drugs to be used to support syringe access. In addition, two SAMHSA-funded substance abuse treatment outreach programs in New York (one on Long Island and one in New York City) have received permission to use a portion of their grants to support syringe access. Several other states, including California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, have also opted to direct a portion of their federal funds to syringe exchange under the current Congressional policy. These programs will be jeopardized if Congress adopts policy riders for the remainder of the FY 2011 Appropriations cycle contained in the version of H.R 1 passed by the House of Representatives. Language in the House FY 2011 Continuing Resolution would impose a complete ban on the use of federal funding for syringe exchange (section 1847 on p. 304). Furthermore, H.R. 1 would restore a parallel restriction on use of local Washington DC tax funds for syringe exchange (section 1591 on p. 243), which Congress had removed in 2007. New York State currently has 19 syringe exchange programs operating at over 50 sites under authorization by the state Health Commissioner. These programs collectively provide 3 million sterile syringes annually, along with HIV and hepatitis prevention and testing and linkage to primary care and drug treatment. Syringe exchange programs in New York have made over 175,000 referrals to detoxification and substance abuse treatment programs, health care services, HIV counseling and testing, and social services. New York’s syringe access programs represent a national model and a major success story in the fight against HIV/AIDS: the proportion of new diagnoses in New York State attributable to injection drug use has decreased from 52% of new AIDS cases in 1992 to 5.4% of new HIV cases in 2008. As the historic epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States, New York relies on preserving flexibility in use of federal funds for syringe exchange in order to meet the continued challenges of disease prevention and public health. We call upon your continued leadership to champion the needs and priorities of New Yorkers, and oppose any restoration of the ban on use of federal or District of Columbia funds for syringe exchange programs as you negotiate the provisions of the FY2011 Continuing Resolution. Sincerely, [list in formation] amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research Harm Reduction Coalition
Please consider signing your ORGANIZATION onto this letter urging Senator Schumer to block Republican attempts to reinstate the federal funding ban on syringe exchange in the current federal budget. To sign-on, send your organization's name to Daniel Raymond at raymond@harmreduction.org by WEDNESDAY AT 12pm (apologies for the short notice). Thanks to our colleagues at the Harm Reduction Coalition and amFAR for drafting the letter. President Obama and the last congress finally lifted the deadly funding ban in 2009, affirming decades of research and direct experience that shows syringe exchange prevents the spread of HIV and viral hepatitis and protects communities without increasing drug use. There are now syringe access programs operating throughout New York. VOCAL-NY's Users Union has been working to expand syringe access in New York, including reconciling state laws governing syringe possession and expanding access in shelters and methadone programs. The letter is copied below and attached. Thank you for considering signing your organization onto the letter. ~~ Honorable Charles Schumer U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Schumer, We are writing to urge you to reject attempts to reinstate the ban on use of federal funds for syringe exchange. Syringe exchange programs have been instrumental in reducing HIV rates in New York, and enjoy broad support from state and local health departments and the communities they serve. Two decades of syringe exchange experience in New York, backed by volumes of research, have established that these programs are vital to protecting public health and addressing addiction and drug use across our state. Since the December, 2009 passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010, Congress has allowed federal funding to be used for syringe exchange unless local health authorities or local law enforcement authorities deem a program site to be inappropriate. New York has already benefited from this flexibility, allowing $1,722,733 of HIV prevention funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allocated to programs targeting people who inject drugs to be used to support syringe access. In addition, two SAMHSA-funded substance abuse treatment outreach programs in New York (one on Long Island and one in New York City) have received permission to use a portion of their grants to support syringe access. Several other states, including California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, have also opted to direct a portion of their federal funds to syringe exchange under the current Congressional policy. These programs will be jeopardized if Congress adopts policy riders for the remainder of the FY 2011 Appropriations cycle contained in the version of H.R 1 passed by the House of Representatives. Language in the House FY 2011 Continuing Resolution would impose a complete ban on the use of federal funding for syringe exchange (section 1847 on p. 304). Furthermore, H.R. 1 would restore a parallel restriction on use of local Washington DC tax funds for syringe exchange (section 1591 on p. 243), which Congress had removed in 2007. New York State currently has 19 syringe exchange programs operating at over 50 sites under authorization by the state Health Commissioner. These programs collectively provide 3 million sterile syringes annually, along with HIV and hepatitis prevention and testing and linkage to primary care and drug treatment. Syringe exchange programs in New York have made over 175,000 referrals to detoxification and substance abuse treatment programs, health care services, HIV counseling and testing, and social services. New York’s syringe access programs represent a national model and a major success story in the fight against HIV/AIDS: the proportion of new diagnoses in New York State attributable to injection drug use has decreased from 52% of new AIDS cases in 1992 to 5.4% of new HIV cases in 2008. As the historic epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States, New York relies on preserving flexibility in use of federal funds for syringe exchange in order to meet the continued challenges of disease prevention and public health. We call upon your continued leadership to champion the needs and priorities of New Yorkers, and oppose any restoration of the ban on use of federal or District of Columbia funds for syringe exchange programs as you negotiate the provisions of the FY2011 Continuing Resolution. Sincerely, [list in formation] amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research Harm Reduction Coalition
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