Syringe exchanges: Santa Cruz was once famous
By SARAH RINGLER
<Denise Elerick, organizer for the Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz.
Science is on their side. Santa Cruz Public Health Officer, Dr. Gail Newell, Mayor Justin Cummings and former county Public Health Officer Dr. Arnold Leff, all support it. Syringe exchanges are an effective way of protecting the community by preventing the spread of dangerous diseases like Hepatitis C and HIV, as well as reducing the high public cost of emergency hospital bills for those who get abscesses, endocarditis from reused needles and are uninsured and poor.
Back in the early 90s, when syringes were illegal
to possess and could not be purchased, Santa Cruz mayor, Mardi Wormhoudt, came forward and supported a volunteer nurse, Richard Smith, who distributed bleach and condoms to sex workers and people who used drugs.
She held a hot dog fundraiser at her home to raise money for syringes so that volunteers could distribute and collect used syringes in coffee cans. The county health officer at the time, Ira Lubell, and Chief of Public Health, Elizabeth McCarthy, issued a letter of support in 1993 stating, “We believe that the Santa Cruz Program is doing what an ideal needle exchange program should do, relative to the information and educational components of the service.”
Santa Cruz was famous for its Harm Reduction Community and was only one of four authorized programs in North America. Richard Smith’s operation grew and soon was operating out of hotel rooms and a hot dog stand. Volunteers with backpacks would travel through the community and soon the Santa Cruz Needle Exchange Program (SCNEP), operated county wide. It later became the Street Outreach Supporters (SOS).
In 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger, under the guise of the 2008 recession, removed all HIV prevention funding, and county wide drop-in centers were forced to close. Drug use had not declined and AIDS cases were on the rise. The County Health Service Agency began to operate what is now known as the Syringe Services Program (SSP) and SOS continued the mobile program. When the director of SOS died, along with lack of community support and weak support from Santa Cruz City Police and City Council, the mobile program ceased leaving the county with only two fixed locations.
Now, Denise Elerick of Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz (HRC of SCC) - part of a national organization - is working with a group of volunteers trying to keep Richard Smith’s legacy alive by
resurrecting the mobile program to reach people that cannot or will not access the county program. Their goal is to provide
material support for our community by
distributing naxolone, offering secondary syringe exchange and distributing new sharps' containers. They also provide county
wide contacts
for people who have found syringes, an issue that has led to a weakening of support locally.
They have secured a grant that will support the program for years to come, but are waiting authorization from the California Department of Public Health that is on hold due to Covid-19.
Although HRC of SCC has the support of Dr. Newell and our mayor, some county supervisors, city council members and law enforcement are reticent. Supervisors have already implemented changes to the law that are more restrictive that other California communities. Please write to your local and county wide office holders and ask them to fully support a more liberal needs-based program as supported by the California Department of Public Health.
Also, if you would like to donate
:
Online:
https://www.davepurchaseproject.org/donate
Fill out the form to donate your desired amount. Include
“ For Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County” in the “comment” box
or we won’t get access to this money!
To write a check, write out a check to “Dave Purchase Project” and include
“HRC of Santa Cruz County” in the memo
line of the check or we won’t get access to this money! Send the check to:
Dave Purchase Project
535 Dock Street #113
Tacoma, WA 98402
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Two men move a bed and other belongings near the Coral Street Shelter.
Photo by Tarmo Hannula
SCPD - STOP STEALING PEOPLE’S HOMES!
By BEN and LIV
On Monday, July 13th, Santa Cruz Police Department, SCPD, illegally stole - towed - Ben’s car and home from a public parking lot. This is a continuation of SCPD’s ongoing war on people experiencing poverty. For people who live outside or who can’t afford to rent in this town, there is no place to sit, rest, sleep, or exist that is safe from police harassment.
Ben’s car is currently his home, and contained all of the supplies he uses to survive. After being taken by the police, his car is now impounded and is racking up $100 per day in fines, on top of the initial towing fee. Ben is now experiencing an emergency and is trying to build a community to help save his life. Together we are trying to raise money to rescue his vehicle and avoid the growing debt! Please help, every little bit counts! Much obliged.
You may have recently seen a
crowdfunding campaign
to post bail for a Santa Cruz community member, Pirate, who was
violently arrested
while attempting to stop the police from confiscating his friend’s vehicular home. Thank you so much to everyone who supported getting Pirate out of jail! He is now out and free.
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August 5 - Buddhist Temple Bell will ring over Watsonville
By SARAH RINGLER
August 5, the Buddhist Temple in Watsonville is holding a memorial to remember the 75th anniversary of the day the United States dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The event will start outside with a short memorial service led by Reverend Jay Shinseki followed by the lighting of incense. The community is invited.
At exactly 4:15, to coincide with the exact day and time that the bomb was dropped, those is attendance, and who are willing, are invited to help ring the huge bell, in memory of all who died in the blast and those who later died from the effects of the A-bomb. A second memorial will be held on August 8, at 7:02 pm to remember the second bomb that fell on Nagasaki.
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Sarah's County Covid-19 Report
By SARAH RINGLER
The Santa Cruz County Health Department regularly releases data on the current status of Covid-19 in the county. As of July 30, there are 1,076 cases who have tested positive. This is an increase of 27% from last Thursday. Four people have died.
To get tested without a doctor’s request, call 1-888-634-1123 or go online at
https://lhi.care/covidtest
ing
.
The testing clinic is at at Ramsay Park in Watsonville.
To visit the website for the Santa Cruz County Health Department:
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Weekly increases in positive tests:
June 12-19 - 7%
June 19-26 - 23%
June 26 to July 3 - 22%
July 3-9 - 23%
July 9-16 - 40%
July 16-23 - 20%
July 23-30 - 27%
Tested positive by jurisdiction:
4% Capitola
18% Santa Cruz
2% Scotts Valley
18% unincorporated
51% Watsonville
Under investigation 6%
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Tested positive by age:
17 and under - 12%
18-34 - 36%
35-49 - 24%
50-64 - 19%
65 or older, 8% tested positive
Tested positive by ethnicity, rounded off:
8% multiracial or other - 9% of the county's total population
42% white - 56% of the county's total population
50% Latinx - 34% of the county's total population
Tested positive by gender:
53% female
47% male
0% other
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Wear a mask, be a Zapatista
"Always, since our birth, we've insisted on another way of doing politics. Now, we had the chance to do it without arms, but without stopping being Zapatistas; that's why we keep the masks on."
Subcomandante Marcos
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W
elcome to Serf City Times
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Over time, our county has grown more stratified and divided with many people feeling left out. Housing affordability, racism and low wages are the most obvious factors. However, many groups and individuals in Santa Cruz County work tirelessly to make our county a better place for everyone. These people work on the environment, housing, economic justice, criminal justice, disability rights, immigrant rights, racial justice, transportation, workers’ rights, education reform, gender issues, equity issues, electoral politics and more. Often, one group doesn’t know what another is doing. The Serf City Times is dedicated to serving as a clearinghouse for those issues by letting you know what is going on and how you can support them. This is not a profit-making enterprise and all work is volunteer.
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